trying to find the name of a cheese

[steffb503]

I had a friend some 40 years ago whos mom used to buy this amazing cheese.
It was very dark color, almost brown. It had a very different taste, earthy and sharp. The best way to eat it was super thin shaves. You could not really eat a big piece.
Any thoughts?

[ArnaudForestier]

Did it taste sweet? 

[Spoons]

An aged gouda is caramel colour, a bit sweet and very sharp. It's also a shaving or shredding cheese as it's as hard as a parmesan. It's a very unique taste. Earthy? maybe not.

Your description sounds like an aged gouda except for the "earthy" part.

[RouxBdoo]

It could be Gjetost, a Norwegian goat cheese, dense, brown and sweet.  I love this cheese.

Timmy

[steffb503]

It was dense but I do not remember sweet.
 Got a recipe?

[Spoons]

It could be Gjetost, a Norwegian goat cheese, dense, brown and sweet.  I love this cheese.

Timmy

That's a pretty interesting cheese! Here's a brief description on how it's made (Source: Wikipedia)

Brunost is made by boiling a mixture of milk, cream, and whey carefully for several hours so that the water evaporates. The heat turns the milk sugar into caramel, which gives the cheese its characteristic brown colour and sweet taste.[1] It is ready for consumption as soon as it is packed in suitable sized blocks. A low-fat variant is made by increasing the proportion of whey to milk and cream.
Messmör

If boiled for a shorter time, the soft, spreadable version called prim in Norwegian (or messmör in Swedish and mysingur in Icelandic), similar to dulce de leche, is produced. Prim had been made in Norway for a long time when Anne Haav (Anne Hov in some sources), a budeie in Gudbrandsdalen, got the idea of putting cream into the cheese and invented the Fløtemysost. She found that the cheese was better and easier to cut by increasing the percentage of fat with the addition of cream. She received a good price for her new cheese, and this merchandise is said to have saved the Gudbrandsdalen financially in the 1880s. In 1933, when Anne Haav was 87 years old, she was awarded the King's Medal of Merit in silver.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brunost

[steffb503]

Yes very interesting.
i will have to try.
I have goat milk, cream and whey a plenty.

[Al Lewis]

It could be Gjetost, a Norwegian goat cheese, dense, brown and sweet.  I love this cheese.

Timmy

That would be my guess.  I had this about 45 years ago at the Sons of Norway Lodge in Thurston MD.  Delicious cheese.

[jwalker]

Or have a look at this link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brunost

[Al Lewis]

The one I had was geitost.  I distinctly remember as it was the first goat cheese I ever had.  Tasted very nutty.

[steffb503]

I am going to attempt today.
I will let you all know how it turns out.

[mjr522]

Good luck!  I recently made brunost from the whey of a 10 gallon batch.  In general, it was a bad idea.  I have had much more success with smaller batches (2-4 gallons).  It's delicious stuff, usually best on a piece of bread with some jam on top.  I also like mine in omelets (though I think the Norwegians thought that was strange).  They make a pretty good sauce with it as well--I think it's a rue with the brunost added to it frequently put on meatballs.  Good stuff.

[steffb503]

So mine did not come out so good.
It also did taste much tangier than i remember

Mike does yours taste like the stuff i the store?
Maybe I am remembering it wrong.
Are you using whey from any type of cheese or is some better than others.
I have the whey and the wood stove is on so it is no problem to keep trying.

[mjr522]

My most successful make was when I used whey from a citric acid mozzarella.  I assume that one was better because 1. I added a lot of cream to it once it started to caramelize and 2. it still had all the lactose.  I also put it in a blender as recommended to reduce crystallization.  That one did taste like Floetemyost http://www.tine.no/produkter/ost/brunost/tine-fl%C3%B8temysost from the store.  Ekte geitost http://www.tine.no/produkter/ost/brunost/tine-ekte-geitost, or "real goat cheese" is always going to be more tangy than a cow's whey cheese.

My biggest challenge has always been the texture--it should be pretty smooth, creamy, and melt in your mouth.  Mine more often than not have crystallized.  The flavor is still right (I've done it with whey from a number of different cheeses and haven't noticed a huge difference in flavor, though the one I mentioned above was the best), but the texture is frustrating.

It would make sense that if you want a less tangy flavor, the whey needs to have as little acid in it as possible.

[steffb503]

Mine smelled almost as I remember while it was still cooking. but the taste was very similar to the taste of whey.
I will try adding more cream next time