Tilsit cheese or Tilsiter cheese is a pale yellow semihard
smear-ripened cheese, created in the mid-19th century by Prussian-Swiss settlers, the Westphal family, from the
Emmental
The Emmental ( en, Emme Valley) is a valley in west-central Switzerland, forming part of the canton of Bern. It is a hilly landscape comprising the basins of the rivers Emme (river), Emme and Ilfis (river), Ilfis. The region is mostly devoted to ...
valley. The original buildings from the cheese plant still exist in
Sovetsk Sovetsk (russian: Сове́тск) is the name of several urban localities in Russia.
*Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Oblast, a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, formerly Tilsit
* Sovetsk, Kirov Oblast, a town in Sovetsky District of Kirov Oblast;
* Sovetsk, T ...
, Russia, formerly Tilsit, on the
Neman River (also known as the Memel), in the former German province of
East Prussia.
[
]
The same ingredients to make the cheese were not available as in their home country, and the cheese became colonized by different moulds, yeasts, and bacteria in the humid climate. The result was a cheese that was more intense and full-flavoured. The settlers named the cheese after
Tilsit
Sovetsk (russian: Сове́тск; german: Tilsit; Old Prussian: ''Tilzi''; lt, Tilžė; pl, Tylża) is a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the south bank of the Neman River which forms the border with Lithuania.
Geography
So ...
, the Prussian town where they had settled.
Tilsiter has a medium-firm texture with irregular holes or cracks. Commercially produced Tilsiter is made from pasteurized
cow
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...
's
milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modula ...
, ranges from 30 to 60%
milk fat
Butterfat or milkfat is the fatty portion of milk. Milk and cream are often sold according to the amount of butterfat they contain.
Composition
Butterfat is mainly composed of triglycerides. Each triglyceride contains three fatty acids. Butt ...
, and has a dark yellow rind. After the main part of its production, the cheese needs to rest for an additional 2 months. Often flavoured with
caraway seed
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
peppercorn
Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diamet ...
s, Tilsiter is a complement to hearty brown/rye breads and dark beers. It is a common table cheese, yet versatile. Tilsit can be eaten cubed in salads, melted in sauces, on potatoes, in
flans, or on burgers.
Using the reimported recipe, Tilsiter has been manufactured in Switzerland since 1893 and in Germany since 1920, where it is known as the protected brand ''Holsteiner Tilsiter''. Swiss Tilsiter is mainly produced in three varieties. A mild version (green label) is made from pasteurised milk, a more strongly flavoured one from fresh, unpasteurized milk (red label), and the yellow-labeled "Rahm-Tilsiter" is produced from pasteurized milk with added cream.
After World War II, when Tilsit and the rest of northern East Prussia became the Soviet
Kaliningrad Oblast
Kaliningrad Oblast (russian: Калинингра́дская о́бласть, translit=Kaliningradskaya oblast') is the westernmost federal subject of Russia. It is a semi-exclave situated on the Baltic Sea. The largest city and admin ...
district, Tilsiter-style cheeses were produced in Switzerland and Germany.
Tilsit cheese is now also made in Australia, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine, and is marketed in the USA.
See also
*
Culinary Heritage of Switzerland
The Culinary Heritage of Switzerland (german: Kulinarisches Erbe der Schweiz, french: Patrimoine culinaire suisse, it, Patrimonio culinario svizzero, rm, Patrimoni culinar svizzer) is a multilingual online encyclopedia of traditional Swiss cuis ...
*
Havarti
Havarti () or cream havarti ( da, flødehavarti) is a semisoft Danish cow's milk cheese. It can be sliced, grilled, or melted.
History
Havarti was previously called "Danish Tilsiter" after the German cheese type tilsiter. Danish productio ...
*
List of cheeses
This is a list of cheeses by place of origin. Cheese is a milk-based food that is produced in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms. Hundreds of types of cheese from various countries are produced. Their styles, textures and flavors dep ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
German cheeses
Swiss cheeses
Russian cheeses
Cow's-milk cheeses
East Prussian cuisine
Culinary Heritage of Switzerland
Smear-ripened cheeses