Vaster what?! (Vasterbotten)

Member Name: sweetpea01

Product:	Vasterbotten
Date:	29/07/09 (39 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great tasting

Disadvantages: Very hard to get hold of

Im a huge fan of Sweden and was on Gothenburg back in April this year and the year before I was in Stromstad for a few days and one thing I love to eat is Vasterbotten cheese! A great Swedish cheese which is in limited supply and is hard to get in the UK but if you manage to find it, try it and savour the taste!

It's made in a small dairy in Burträsk in northern Sweden, and it's very strictly regulated. It's been made in the same way since 1872, when it's rumored that a dairy maid named Ulrika Eleonora Lindström made a mistake. She was constantly interrupted in her work, and the fancy version states that it was due to a handsome farm boy who came to see her. You can choose to believe that, or the more boring version where Ulrika Eleonora just had too much to do. (Very likely, giving the working conditions in those days.) This resulting in alternating periods of heating and stirring of the curdling milk. Either way, she was interrupted, and the cheese was altered because of it. And what a delicious mistake it was!

Vasterbotten cheese is a cheese from the Vasterbotten region of Sweden. Considered the "celebration" cheese of Sweden, it is a hard cheese, aged for a year or more. It has tiny eyes or holes and a firm and granular texture. As in cheddar cheese, the curd is heated, cut, and stirred before the cheese is molded and aged. Strong in flavour, its taste is described as somewhat like Parmesan cheese but with more bitter notes. It is a salty, strong tasting cheese, with a slightly granular texture and a vaguely sour taste element. It is light yellow in colour and has a fat content of 31%. Some Swedish people consider it the king of cheese and demand for it has often outstripped the limited supply. This cheese must be aged for at least 12 months, but 14 months is more common.

Recipe

Cheese Pie - Authentic Swedish recipe

1.2 cups Wheat Flour
125 grams Butter 0.3 pounds
1 tbs Water

Filling:

3 Eggs
1.2 cups Crème Fraîche
250 grams Vasterbotten Cheese
1 Onion
1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp White Pepper

1. Mix cold butter in small pieces with the flour. Add water and work together the dough. Let rest for about 30 minutes in your refrigerator.

2. Add the dough to a pie form, prebake for about 10 minutes at 200 celsius or 392 fahrenheit until lightly colored.

3. Peel and finely chop the onion, whisk the eggs until foamy and mix with the crème fraîche. Add to this the grated cheese, chopped onion, salt and pepper. Fill the pie-crust with the cheese-mixture and bake golden brown for about 25 minutes at 225 celsius or 437 fahrenheit.

Vasterbotten cheese is not easy to get hold of and your best bet will probably be a specialist cheese shop or even an online store. You certainly won't find this cheese in Tescos or Sainsburys! If your lucky enough to go to Sweden then try your hardest to try this cheese, it has a wonderful taste and really is a change to the normal cheddar!

Summary: Super Swedingly Good!