Oltermanni (Finnish for ''

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

'') is a brand of Finnish

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

somewhat similar to the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

cheese Havarti. It is often eaten on

rye bread Rye bread is a type of bread made with various proportions of flour from rye grain. It can be light or dark in color, depending on the type of flour used and the addition of coloring agents, and is typically denser than bread made from wheat f ...

, or with other dishes (e.g. karelian pasties). Oltermanni is manufactured by

Valio Valio Ltd ( fi, Valio Oy) is a Finnish manufacturer of dairy products and one of the largest companies in Finland. Valio's products include cheese, powdered ingredients, butter, yogurt and milk. It is Finland's largest milk processor, producing 8 ...

. The

is less salty than others. Oltermanni cheese is a product developed by the Isokyrö cooperative dairy (Kyrönmaa Dairy Cooperative since 1984). A small cylindrical Oltermanni wrapped in a yellow bag was given to each Valio milk producer in 1980 as a gift to celebrate Valio's 75th anniversary. Cheese for general sale was launched in 1981. A researcher who wrote a doctoral thesis at the Oltermann Institute proposed the name Oltermanni. In 1997, Oltermanni began to produce lighter version of the cheese with a fat content of 17% by weight. The product family expanded in 2008 with a 9% low-fat version. In addition, Valio produces a cheese-like product containing vegetable fat, Valio Oltermanni rapeseed. Oltermanni Cheese with a 33% fat content is sold in Finland under the name Oltermanni Täyteläinen. As a result of the tighter border controls due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the international sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian war and the Russian counter-sanctions, Oltermanni became unavailable in Russia, which led to a black market for the cheese in Russia. The cheese was being sold at fourfold prices compared to Finnish ones. As a response to this, border supermarkets implemented buying limits on Oltermanni, allowing only per household. Russian import limits being , this led to cheese smuggling by lorry drivers.

References

{{cheese-stub Finnish cheeses

See also

References