Such a thing as Viking Cheese?
In just one dairy in Norway, there continues a long tradition.
The village of Vik, a small town on the Sognefjord, is home to expert cheesemakers who continue to produce a cheese believed to date back by over 1000 years!
Named Gamalost - it simply means ‘old cheese’ and is almost certainly one of the world’s most unusual cheeses and among Europe’s oldest; not just eaten but consumed for its healing properties and apparently its ability to boost the sexual prowess of men, a talent which earned gamalost a reputation for being the “Viking Viagra.”
Once more popular, there is now just one commercial gamalost dairy surviving. The decline in consumption is not hard to understand given its pungent smell and reputation for tasting like old socks! The younger generations are for sure choosing cheese that actually tastes like cheese.
Gamalost was once a staple of the Norwegian diet, in large part because it could be stored for long periods of time without refrigeration. But because of the difficult production process, the tradition of making it now lives on only at the TINE dairy in Vik, which produces about 150 to 200 tons of Gamalost per year and has also developed a spreadable version.
Traditionally, after the milk had been soured, the curds were heated in copper cauldrons, and then transferred to wooden moulds lined with jute or linen. After a few days the cheese was wrapped in dried marsh grass in preparation for aging. Every other day during the maturation process, the cheese had to be rubbed by hand to faciliate the absorption of the necessary bacteria.
These days, modern dairy production methods have reduced the aging process from an entire summer to 12 to 14 days. Still, the principles of making Gamalost remain the same, with much of the work done by hand to obtain the best quality and aroma.
Gamalost fra Vik (Gamalost from the town of Vik) has earned the EU’s labeled Protected Designated Origin label in recognition of its role in Norway’s traditional food heritage, and at the 2018 World Cheese Awards competition held in Bergen, it was awarded with a bronze medal.
The name gamalost actually refers to the aging process needed to mature skimmed cow’s milk curds into cheese, which (so legends suggest), traditionally required wrapping them in dried marsh grass or hay and placing them in a cloth-lined wooden box under the bed of a dairymaid who, for months, regularly rubbed the cheese to evenly spread the bacteria.
But “old cheese” could just as easily refer to gamalost’s pedigree, a heritage likely more than a thousand years old. Since Olav Johan-Olsen claimed that he’d identified a reference to gamalost in Njal’s Saga, an Icelandic Viking chronicle written around 1280 AD, it’s been widely accepted as proof of the cheese’s Viking origins.
Each June during the Gamalostfestivalen the community holds a four day celebration of gamalost and its role in Vik’s past and present. During the Gamalostfestivalen, the cheese is prepared using a traditional, open-air method and sharing it with the crowd.
Gamalost, it seems, is actually a serious superfood, rich in peptides and Vitamin K2, high in protein (50%), yet low in fat (just 1%). The secret is in the Mucor mucedo mold which is added to the skimmed-milk cheese after being cooked in acid whey. At the Gamalost fra Vik dairy, they’re coming up with new ways to feature the ancient cheese while playing off of 21st century health consciousness and modern culinary trends in recipes such as oven-dried gamalost chips, salad croutons, and sprinkles for fresh fruit or ice cream.
Gamalost is traditionally eaten on buttered bread or salted crackers and topped with sour cream and cranberry jelly or syrup. Some Norwegians actually marinade it in port, sherry or brandy. This old cheese is a story in itself, so much more than just a taste. It is made up of centuries of tradition, innovation and survival - definitely something to experience.
