Nøkkelost () is a
Norwegian name for kuminost (), a
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 ...
flavoured with
cumin
Cumin (, ; ; ''Cuminum cyminum'') is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native to the Irano-Turanian Region. Its seeds – each one contained within a fruit, which is dried – are used in the cuisines of many cultures in both whole ...
and
clove
Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands, or Moluccas, in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring, or Aroma compound, fragrance in fin ...
s. It is semi-hard, yellow, and made from
cow
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are called co ...
's
milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...
, in the shape of wheels or blocks, with a maturation period of three months.
Nøkkelost cheese is similar to the Dutch cheese,
Nagelkaas, which is itself an unprotected name variant of
kanterkaas. There are differing theories on the origin of the Norwegian name. The most likely is that it is a
false cognate
False cognates are pairs of words that seem to be cognates because of similar sounds or spelling and meaning, but have different etymologies; they can be within the same language or from different languages, even within the same family. For exampl ...
in Norwegian of the Dutch ''Nagelkaas'', which translates to "nail cheese", owing to the nail-like shape of the cloves. Another theory is that as a factory-made variation of the Dutch
Leyden cheese, which has its origins in the 17th century, the Norwegian ''nøkkel'' (meaning "key") is a reference to
Leiden
Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...
's coat of arms.
There was a version of Nøkkelost manufactured and marketed in the US throughout the 1960s.
Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods Group, Inc. was an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate (company), conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. on October 1, 2012, and was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz on July ...
first called it "Caraway" then later used "Kuminost Spiced Cheese" on the label.
[Steve Ehlers, Jeanette Hurt (2008]
''Complete Idiot's Guide to Cheeses of the World''
(Penguin)
See also
*
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 ...
*
List of Norwegian cheeses
References
External links
Description at Cheese.com
Encyclopedia of Cheese at igourmet.com
Norwegian cheeses
Cow's-milk cheeses
{{norway-cuisine-stub