North Sea Cheese
The North Sea family
A sea of flavour
The first North Sea Cheese, the “Vesterhavsost” saw the light of day in 2008, but what no one knew at the time was that this ”primal cheese” was going to evolve to become the mother of all North Sea Cheeses. Over the years, a whole small family of sisters and brothers has sprung up. The common name is:
The North Sea Cheeses
The North Sea Cheeses are made in Thise but matured right behind Bovbjerg Lighthouse, where the frothing North Sea is the nearest neighbour. The fresh salty sea air is sucked into the cheese storage facility via an advanced ventilation system, where the system ensures that the sea air is continuously replaced, which is why fresh sea air is always wrapped around the cheeses. After 6 months or more depending on the specific variant the cheeses are unrecognisable: They have become more weathered, weighing a kilo less, firmer in texture and with a more yellow and suntanned colour.
Here, they are matured in an atmosphere of fresh salty North Sea air, but after that, the similarities end and the different family members evolve in different directions.
North Sea Cheese
Thises most famous cheese
North Sea Cheese has a harmonious and slightly nutty flavour and is matured for about 30 weeks.
In 2008 an unanimous judgment panel awarded one of the first North Sea cheeses at the Danish Dairy Industry’s gourmet award “International Food Contest”. The panel of judges justified the award with the words:
”Fantastic. A super cheese. Beautiful structure with good texture, breaks easily, almost crystalized. Good juice and flavour. Great acidity. The cheese has character".
North Sea Cheese; Smoked
The well-known North Sea Cheese – now with aromatic smoke taste
Thise North Sea Cheese is made in Thise but matured right next to Bovbjerg Lighthouse, where the frothing North Sea is the nearest neighbour. Once the cheese is made, it is gently smoked and then stored in fresh salty wind, which is sucked info the storage facility via an advanced ventilation system.
The combination of the firm cheese and the cold smoke gives the cheese a faint but very aromatic smoke flavour, and it is matured for about 30 weeks.
Lighthouse Cheese
Extra matured North Sea Cheese
All of the North Sea Cheeses are continuously evaluated for taste and quality, and already at an early stage of the process, a group of North Sea Cheeses is sorted into a group, which is suitable for an extra-long maturation period. Just as it is with wine, not all vintages are suitable for storage.
The main criterion for the selection is the taste of the cheese combined with the consistency of the cheese. The firmer/harder the cheese is, the more suitable it is for long-term storage. The ’specially selected’ cheeses are stored almost twice as long time as the North Sea Cheeses, and when they are around one year old, they are ready for sale.
The extra storage time has made the taste and consistency of the cheese more concentrated: Even greater flavour – even harder consistency – even more North Sea.
North Sea Cheese; Grube
Softer, sweeter and quite its own
Basically, the North Sea Cheese Grube is an ordinary North Sea Cheese for the first 30 weeks, but while the other North Sea Cheeses are now ready for sale, phase 2 of the storage process for the cave ripened cheeses starts. They are shipped from Bovbjerg to Hjerm, to Thise´s underground limestone cave, where they are stored for 3 months in an environment composed of a temperature of 9 – 10 °C and an air humidity of close to 100%.
The post-ripening/enrichment of an ordinary North Sea Cheese leaves its distinctive mark on the final result: The North Sea Cheese Grube is softer in consistency than the North Sea Cheese, the taste is sweeter with notes of nuts and fruit, but like the North Sea Cheese, the cave ripened family member still has its fine protein crystals.