Milbenkäse ("

mite Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods). Mites span two large orders of arachnids, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari, but genetic analysis does not show clear e ...

cheese"), called Mellnkase in the local dialect and often known as Spinnenkäse ("spider cheese"), is a German speciality cheese. It is made by flavouring balls of quark (a type of soft cheese) with

caraway Caraway, also known as meridian fennel and Persian cumin (''Carum carvi''), is a biennial plant in the family Apiaceae, native to western Asia, Europe, and North Africa. Etymology The etymology of "caraway" is unclear. Caraway has been ...

and

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

, allowing them to dry, and then leaving them in a wooden box containing rye flour and

cheese mite Cheese mites (for instance '' Tyrophagus casei'' or other species) are mites that are used to produce such cheeses as ', Cantal and Mimolette. The action of the living mites on the surface of these cheeses contributes to the flavor and gives them ...

s for about three months. An

enzyme Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products ...

in the digestive juices excreted by the mites causes the cheese to ripen. Milbenkäse tastes similar to Harzer cheese, but with a bitter note (increasing with age) and a zesty aftertaste. Mites clinging to the cheese rind are consumed along with the cheese. Historically, the cheese was produced in the

Zeitz Zeitz ( hsb, Žič) is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river White Elster, in the triangle of the federal states Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Saxony. History Zeitz was first recorded u ...

and Altenburg districts of the Saxony-Anhalt /

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

border region; today it is produced exclusively in the village of Würchwitz, in the state of

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it th ...

. The traditional method of making Milbenkäse, which dates back to the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, was nearly lost by 1970, with only the elderly Liesbeth Brauer knowing the technique. Local science teacher Helmut Pöschel was taught the proper way to make it and together with his associate, Christian Schmelzer, succeeded in revitalizing the tradition. A Cheese Mite Memorial was later erected at Würchwitz to celebrate the renaissance of Milbenkäse production.

Production

Quark flavoured with salt and caraway is shaped into small balls, cylinders or wheels, and dried. It is then placed in a wooden box containing rye flour and inhabited by '' Tyrophagus casei'' mites for at least three months. The digestive juices of the mites diffuse into the cheese and cause fermentation; the flour is added because the mites would otherwise simply eat the whole cheese instead of just nibbling away at the crust as is desired. After one month, the cheese rind turns yellow; after three months, reddish brown. Some producers allow the cheese to ripen for up to one year, until it has turned black.

Legality

Milbenkäse falls into a legal grey area:

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

regulations allow the sale of foodstuffs containing living animals if they are "prepared for placing on the market for human consumption".Article 2(b) at eur-lex.europa.eu
/ref> On the other hand, cheese mites or their digestive juices are not explicitly permitted as

additive Additive may refer to: Mathematics * Additive function, a function in number theory * Additive map, a function that preserves the addition operation * Additive set-functionn see Sigma additivity * Additive category, a preadditive category with f ...

s for cheese according to the relevant German food ordinances (''Zusatzstoff-Zulassungsverordnung'' and ''Käseverordnung''). Milbenkäse is produced under a permit by the local food safety office, and

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points Hazard analysis and critical control points, or HACCP (), is a systematic preventive approach to food safety from biological, chemical, and physical hazards in production processes that can cause the finished product to be unsafe and designs mea ...

compliance of the product is enforced.

References

External links

German language site about mite cheese

German language article on mite cheese
{{DEFAULTSORT:Milbenkase German cheeses Mites as food Cuisine of Saxony-Anhalt Thuringian cuisine

Production

Legality

See also

References

External links