Jarlsberg

Swiss cheese is a potentially dangerous food. I recall eating a slightly tainted portion a few years back. The resulting "distress" caused me to stay away from Swiss cheese for a decade. The memory is unforgivably seared into my digestive system. At those parties where there are little pieces of Swiss arranged on colored toothpicks, I tend to get queasy especially if its been sitting there for a while.

A leap of faith brought me to Jarlsberg. Jarlsberg is made in Norway and it has to be a top ten addictive food. Its just so good, I bought 2 chunks yesterday. Hopefully that's enough to last until at least Monday or Tuesday...

In 1830, the Swiss came to Norway’s Jarlsberg and Laurvig County (known as Vestfold County today) to teach the Norwegians to make cheese. These foreign master cheese makers were famous for making cheese with holes. There was active production in Norway until 1832. The cheese disappeared but the tale of its delicious taste was still in memory.

In 1956, the academic community at the Agricultural University of Norway at Ås undertook the task of reviving the cheese recipe from 1830. Professor Ole Martin Ystgaard and his team developed during his research a semi-hard, medium-fat cheese with holes, successfully combining the cheese-making traditions with modern technologies. The new cheese was named Jarlsberg after the county, where the earlier version had been made at the beginning of the 19th century. A new cheese category was established.

All you ever wanted to know about it here -> Say Cheese.

Jarlsberg and Pistachios

400 gr Jarlsberg
200 gr pistachio nuts
50 gr honey
Cut the Jarlsberg into long thick sticks. Chop the pistachios finely. Dip the Jarlsberg in melted honey. Roll the Jarlsberg sticks in chopped pistachios until the are draped. Cut into canapé size wedges.