🧀 Esrom

Esrom is a Danish cheese with a protected geographical indication (PGI), made from cow's milk produced in Denmark. According to the specification it is a drained, mature cheese, semi-hard to hard.

Making. The cow's milk is standardised for fat and pasteurised at low temperature, then starters and curdling agents are added. The curd is cut, stirred, drained of whey and heated, poured into moulds and lightly pressed. The cheeses are cooled and salted, the surface is treated with a culture, and they are kept at high air humidity. After ripening they are washed, dried and packaged. Ripening lasts at least 2 weeks.

Look and taste. The rind is thin, supple and edible, yellow to yellowy-orange, with a clean, almost dry outer skin of yellowish brown to reddish brown; older cheeses are slightly greasy. The paste is uniformly yellowish to white, soft but easily cut, with evenly spread irregular holes about the size of rice grains. The smell and taste are mild, acidic and aromatic, with notes of surface ripening that become dominant as the cheese ages.

Fat grades. Esrom is sold as 20+, 30+, 45+ or 60+, by minimum fat in dry matter (20, 30, 45 and 60%). Minimum dry matter is 47, 48, 50 and 57% respectively.

Labelling. The pack gives the grade (Esrom 20+, 30+, 45+ or 60+) and the words "Protected Geographical Indication" or "PGI".

Background. According to the specification, the cheese was developed by the monks of Esrom Monastery in the 12th and 13th centuries and developed further by the National Experimental Dairy in the mid-1930s. The name has been a PGI since 1996.