Login
Raw materials/Variety/Race
The Berner Alpkäse AOC and the Berner Hobelkäse AOC are cheeses made with raw milk obtained from cows summering on high mountain pastures.
Method of working/Cultivation/Breeding
the Berner Alpkäse AOC is daily made during the summer season. Since silage is forbidden during the cheese production, the cows used to produce the milk are nurtured above all with grass from the pastures. The raw milk is poured out into a copper cauldron, heated directly or indirectly by a charcoal fire (steam heating system). After the pressing, the cheese is immersed for one day in a salty bath. It is then rubbed regularly with salt and water that can contain wine or spices. The cheese ripening lasts at least two weeks and must take place in the summering farm. The Berner Hobelkäse AOC results from the selection of the best cheeses and cannot be sold before being at least six months old. After six months passed in cellars, cheeses dry upright in a tire rack for 12 months.
Aspect and Taste
the Berner Alpkäse AOC is a fat cheese with a compact paste and a firm rind with scars. It has a round shape and measures between 28 and 48 cm in diameter for a weight comprised between 5 and 14 kg. The paste has no openings. It is between semi-hard and hard, lightly breakable, non adhesive and presents fine or medium granularities. The taste is lightly sour, moderately salty, with a clear smoked note and a spicy effect. The Berner Hobelkäse AOC is a fat cheese à rebibes with an extra-compact paste and a firm rind covered with a natural fat film. The paste is between moderately and highly breakable, lightly dry, soluble, non adhesive and can contain crystals. It has a moderate salty taste, lightly sour with a roast touch which can appear spicy.
Production Zone
The production area of the Berner Alpkäse AOC and the Berner Hobelkäse AOC includes the pastures of the Bernese Oberland located in the canton of Berne, in particular in the district of Thun, Niedersimmental, Obersimmental, Château d'Oex, Frutigen, Interlaken, Oberhasli and Saanen.
History
The origins of the Berner Alpkäse AOC and the Berner Hobelkäse AOC go back to the 16th century. In 1548 the Chronique de Stumpf mentions the peculiar quality of the cheese made in the mountain pastures of Bernese Oberland, known as Sibenthaler and Saanerkäss. The production of mountain pastures cheese in the Bernese Oberland increased quickly during the 17th century. The norms of the current production method don't differ very much from the norms for the cheese dairies in 1872.
Gastronomy
The Berner Alpkäse AOC is tasted in pieces. The famous rebibes of Berner Hobelkäse AOC are small pieces of cheese traditionally cut in thin slices thanks to the use of a special plane (Hobel).
Marketing
The Berner Alpkäse AOC is marketed in pieces. The Berner Hobelkäse AOC is sold in rebibes, packed in individual boxes.
Distinctive features
The production of Berner Alpkäse AOC and the Berner Hobelkäse AOC with extra-compact paste results from the tradition of preserving food by means of drying.