Prästost

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Prästost ("priest cheese", sometimes spelled prastost or prestost) is a Swedish cheese with historical roots in Sweden's one-time custom of paying tithes with agricultural goods including milk.^[1] It was common for the church to make cheese from this milk from the 16th though 19th centuries. Today, this style of cheese once produced in chuches across Sweden is factory-made from pasteurized cow's milk. The shortened name Präst was granted European Union trademark protection in 2001.^[2]

Prästost is sometimes soaked or cured in whisky or other spirits; Saaland Pfarr is one such whisky-soaked variant.^[3] A version of prästost aged for 12 months and cured in Absolut vodka has been marketed as VODCheese.^[4]

A 1969 USDA booklet describes the manufacturing technique for one whisky-cured style of prästost:

Fresh, whole milk is set with rennet at a temperature of 90° F. When the curd is very firm, it is cut coarsely, then put in a sieve to allow the whey to drain off. The curd is collected in a cloth and kneaded to expel more whey. Whisky is mixed with the curd, then the curd is packed in a basket and salt is sprinkled on the surface. Curing is done in a cool, moist cellar. The cloth covering is changed daily for 3 days, and the cheese is washed with whisky after the third day.^[5]

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Ridgeway, Judy. The Cheese Companion: The Connoisseur's Guide. Quintet Publishing. ISBN 0762405007. p. 20
2. ^ http://www.bioscience-explained.org/EN1.2/pdf/cheeseEN.pdf
3. ^ http://www.cheese.com/Description.asp?Name=Saaland%20Pfarr
4. ^ http://www.usashop.ch/theproducts.cfm?cat=1&master=6976&owner=11
5. ^ Doane, C.F.; Hargrove, Robert C.; Lawson, H.W.; Matheson, K.J.; Sanders, G.P; Walter, Homer E. (1969). Cheese Varieties and Descriptions. U.S. Department of Agriculture. p. 95.

[edit] References

Cheese.com