Havarti

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Cream Havarti on toasted bread.
Cream Havarti on toasted bread.

Havarti or Cream Havarti (Fløde Havarti in Danish) is semi-soft Danish cow's milk cheese named after the experimental farm on which it was first made in the mid 1800s.

Havarti is an interior-ripened cheese that is rindless, smooth and slightly bright-surfaced with a cream to yellow color depending on type. It has very small and irregular openings ("eyes") distributed in the mass. The texture (also depending on type) can be supple and flexible.

Havarti has a buttery aroma and can be somewhat sharp in the stronger varieties, much like Swiss cheese. The taste is buttery, and from somewhat sweet to very sweet, and it is slightly acidic. It is typically aged about three months, though when the cheese is older it becomes more salty and tastes like hazelnut. When left at room temperature the cheese tends to soften quickly.

Flavored variants of Havarti are also available, such as cranberry, garlic, caraway, dill, basil, and jalapeño.

Havarti is popularly matched with lesser-oaked Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, or light-bodied Pinot Noir wine and occasionally accompanied with figs; smoked turkey; raisins; walnuts; hearty bread; pears; apples.

Havarti is a table cheese that can be sliced, grilled, or melted.

Nutritional Highlights for 1 slice (1 oz./28g):

[edit] See also

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