Alpkäse () is a type of
cheese
Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...
made with
cow's milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Milk contains many nutr ...
in the
Alpine region
The main valleys of the Alps, orographically by drainage basin.
Rhine basin (North Sea)
High Rhine
*Aare
**Limmat
***Linth (Glarus)
**** Lake Walen
***** Seeztal
**** Klöntal
**** Sernftal
**Reuss
***Lake Lucerne
****Sarner Aa (Brünig Pass c ...
(Austria, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany). It is classified as a
Swiss-type or Alpine cheese. The first written mentions of the alpkäse cheese from
Bern
Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
are from 1548.
Similar to the majority of
hard
Hard means something that is difficult to do. It may also refer to:
* Hardness, resistance of physical materials to deformation or fracture
* Hard water, water with high mineral content
Arts and entertainment
* Hard (TV series), ''Hard'' (TV ser ...
/
semi-hard cheese
There are many different types of cheese, which can be grouped or classified according to criteria such as: length of fermentation, texture, production method, fat content, animal source of the milk, and country or region of origin. These criter ...
, the more it is
matured, the more flavour it develops.
The alpkäse cheese from Trentino Alto Adige is made from cow milk. Some of those cheese varieties, exceeding 60 products, native to that place include Asiago Antico Maso Rosso, Arunda, Asiago d'allevo, Asiago Mezzano cheese and Asiago Pressato Trentino cheese.
Austria
In
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
, Alpkäse refers to a hard cheese that resembles
Vorarlberger Bergkäse
Vorarlberger Bergkäse (German language, German for 'Vorarlberg mountain cheese') is a regional cheese specialty from the Austria, Austrian state of Vorarlberg. It is protected within the framework of the Geographical indications and traditional sp ...
in taste and texture. The difference between these cheeses lies in the period and place of production. Bergkäse is produced in the low mountain range (between 600 and 1500 m) and year-round, so even in winter, when the animals are in the stables and fed with hay. Alpkäse, on the other hand, is produced only in the summer between May and September on high mountain meadows above 1500 m (
Alpine pastures or alps), where the animals graze Alpine herbs. Therefore, Alpkäse is a seasonal product. An example of Austrian Alpkäse is the ''
Vorarlberg
Vorarlberg ( ; ; , , or ) is the westernmost States of Austria, state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the second-highest popu ...
er Alpkäse'' or ''
Tiroler Alpkäse'' both of which have been registered as
PDO.
The production of Alpkäse is closely tied to the traditional farming practice of
Alpine transhumance
Alpine transhumance is transhumance as practiced in the Alps, that is, a seasonal droving of grazing livestock between the valleys in winter and the high mountain pastures in summer (German ' from the term for "seasonal mountain pasture", '). ...
.
Tiroler Alpkäse, also called Tiroler Almkäse, has a hard rind and its name first appeared in 1544. Vorarlberger Alpkäse has a dry rind and a mild, slightly acidic flavor.
See also
*
List of Italian cheeses
*
List of Austrian cheeses
*
Swiss cheeses and dairy products
Switzerland has a strong and ancestral dairy farming and cheesemaking tradition. The breeding of cattle, sheep and goats for milk is attested in the Neolithic period and, since Antiquity, cheese has been exported from the Alpine regions. The rugg ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alpkase
Cow's-milk cheeses
Italian cheeses
Austrian cheeses