Jarlsberg is a mild, buttery, nutty cheese with a mild, rubbery-textured mild-aged cheese. It’s commonly available in Norway, the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, where it was born. Jarlsberg can be purchased as wedges, slices, or shreds and is typically served on cheese boards, deli trays, and sandwiches. Special to the Courier Press: Aimee Blume Jarlsberg is a Norwegian cheese that resembles Baby Swiss. Serve it on a Reuben or wherever else you’d want to eat Swiss. Jarlsberg is frequently described as Swiss or Baby Swiss cheese.
Jarlsberg is a prominent Norwegian cheese famous in the United States and other parts. The cheese is connected to Emmentaler and other “Swiss” cheeses with wide holes and a creamy, nutty flavor. Jarlsberg is a semi-firm, tasty cheese that melts well. It’s used on sandwiches, in fondues, quiches, and anywhere else that a semi-firm, savory cheese is needed. Jarlsberg is one of Norway’s most important exports, and some regard it as a financial success story for the Scandinavian country.
What is Jarlsberg?
During this time, Jarlsberg, a cheese-based on the characteristics of Swiss Emmentaler and Dutch Gouda, was produced. However, it was not widely adopted until the mid-twentieth century, when the Norwegian Agricultural University developed a new and improved version.
Jarlsberg is now one of the most readily available cheeses in shops, with precut wedges and packs of slices available. It’s also a common sight in restaurants and deli counters, where it’s thinly sliced for sandwiches.
Jarlsberg was responsible for 80 percent of Norway’s cheese exports until recently. Tine, the firm that owns Jarlsberg, decided in 2019 to relocate manufacturing to Ireland for cheese consumed outside of Norway due to the loss of agricultural export subsidies (the company also has production plants in the United States). On the other hand, Tine makes cheese for the Norwegian market.
How is Jarlsberg Made?
In the cheesemaking vat, pasteurized cow’s milk is warmed. The cheesemaker adds starter cultures, including a mix of mesophilic lactic acid bacteria seen in Gouda-style cheeses and propionibacteria, which are responsible for the holes and nutty flavor found in Swiss cheeses such as Emmentaler. The milk is then curdled with the addition of rennet.
The curds are swirled and warmed to assist them in discharging whey, and the gel-like curd is sliced. When they’re done, the whey is drained from the curds, and the curds are hooped into spherical cheese molds. The cheese is salted and left to age in the aging cave. After three months, Jarlsberg is usually bottled and sold.
Jarlsberg Cheese
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What are the Uses of Jarlsberg?
Jarlsberg can be used in the same way as other mild Alpine cheeses, and it’s excellent sliced on hot or cold sandwiches, cheese boards, and snack plates. Jarlsberg melts well and can be shredded to add flavor and texture to casseroles, quiches, frittatas, gratins, and other baked foods. It can also be grated and used in cheese balls and dips and melted into soups, creamy sauces, or fondue.
Substitutes
If you can’t get Jarlsberg, any readily available Swiss-style cheese, such as Emmentaler or young Gruyère, can be substituted. Other pleasantly flavored melting cheeses, such as mild cheddar, Monterey Jack, or mozzarella, can be used in a pinch, but bear in mind that the meal’s flavor profile will be slightly altered.
How to Store Jarlsberg?
Jarlsberg should be kept in its original packaging in the refrigerator. If not opened, Jarlsberg wedges can be kept in the refrigerator for three weeks. Refrigerate the cheese tightly wrapped in plastic wrap, sealed in a plastic baggie, or another airtight container after being opened. The cheese should keep for up to 10 days after being opened.
If your Jarlsberg develops a small amount of surface mold, cut it off before eating. Take care to remove the moldy area of the cheese altogether, and avoid cutting through it with your knife, as this may spread the mold to other portions of the cheese. While most cheeses should not be frozen, Jarlsberg can be kept in the freezer for six months. Keep the cheese in its original packaging or wrap it tightly in foil or plastic wrap and place it in an airtight plastic bag. Before using, thaw Jarlsberg in the refrigerator overnight. Because freezing changes the texture of the cheese and makes it crumbly and brittle, it’s best to use thawed cheese in meals rather than eating it straight from the freezer.
Can you Freeze Jarlsberg Cheese?
You should freeze the cheese portion if you don’t want to eat it right away. Before freezing, make sure the Jarlsberg cheese is sliced into slices 1 pound or less in weight. After that, double-wrap the cheese and place it in the refrigerator as previously. Seal it tightly in a plastic bag or film wrap to freeze cheese, ensuring that as much air is trapped inside. Before freezing cheddar and other semi-hard cheeses, such as those you listed, several sources recommend shredding them. I’ve never tried it, so I’m interested in hearing from anyone who has tried both block freezing and freezing grated cheese to see if one method consistently performs better or worse.
Conclusion
Jarlsberg is the story of a cheese that almost didn’t exist. Swiss cheesemakers came to Norway in the 1830s to teach Norwegian dairies how to create their traditional nutty, sweet, holed cheeses. Swiss-style cheese became quite popular, and it was produced in significant quantities for several years before disappearing entirely from the market. Scientists at Norway’s Agricultural University grew interested in the cheese in the 1950s and attempted to duplicate it, eventually releasing Jarlsberg in 1956 and exporting it in 1961. The cheese is named after the Norwegian county, where it was first produced in the 1830s.
Because it shares many of the same properties as Swiss cheese, Jarlsberg is frequently sold. On the other hand, Jarlsberg has a nuttier flavor and is generally more robust and sweeter than Emmentaler. The semi-firm, very smooth cheese has no gritty feel and is lovely alone, atop hot foods, or in grilled cheese sandwiches. Furthermore, the vast holes make it a lot of fun to eat.
