Milbenkäse ("

mite Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods) of two large orders, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari. However, most recent genetic analyses do not recover the two as eac ...

cheese"), called Mellnkase in the local dialect and often known as Spinnenkäse ("spider cheese"), is a German speciality

cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range 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 prod ...

. It is made by flavouring balls of

quark A quark () is a type of elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nucleus, atomic nuclei ...

(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 In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

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

rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...

flour and

cheese mite Cheese mites are mites (for instance '' Tyrophagus casei'' or other species) 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 An enzyme () is a protein that acts as a biological catalyst by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different mol ...

in the digestive juices excreted by the mites causes the cheese to ripen. Milbenkäse tastes similar to

Harzer Harzer cheese is a German sour milk cheese made from low fat curd cheese, which originates in the Harz mountain region south of Braunschweig. Harzer is often small and round, in which case it is called ''Handkäse'' or '' Taler'', or cylindric ...

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 (; , ) 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 First a Slavic pagan settlem ...

and

Altenburg Altenburg () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located south of Leipzig, west of Dresden and east of Erfurt. It is the capital of the Altenburger Land district and part of a polycentric old-industrial textile and metal production region betw ...

districts of the Saxony-Anhalt /

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

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

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...

. 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 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, 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 A quark () is a type of elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nucleus, atomic nuclei ...

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 Fermentation is a type of anaerobic metabolism which harnesses the redox potential of the reactants to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and organic end products. Organic molecules, such as glucose or other sugars, are catabolized and reduce ...

; 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 union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

regulations allow the sale of foodstuffs containing living animals if they are "prepared for placing on the market for human consumption".: Article 2(b) 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-function see Sigma additivity * Additive category, a preadditive category with fin ...

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 Food safety (or food hygiene) is used as a scientific method/discipline describing handling, food processing, preparation, and food storage, storage of food in ways that prevent foodborne illness. The occurrence of two or more cases of a simi ...

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 hazard, biological, chemical hazard, chemical, and physical hazards in production processes that can cause the finished ...

compliance of the product is enforced.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Milbenkase German cheeses Mites as food Cuisine of Saxony-Anhalt Thuringian cuisine

Production

Legality

See also

References

External links