Photo: Alexander Radsby/Perfect Fools AB
As tasty as it is versatile This year Norway’s cheesiest ambassador celebrates 60 years. It is a jubilee that will be marked across the globe, no doubt with scrumptious grilled cheese sandwiches Down Under and deliciously cheesy puff pastry swirls across the pond. It has been over 50 years since Jarlsberg® started sharing its nutty full-bodied flavour with the rest of the world. By Stine Lise Wannebo | Photos: Isidor Åstrøm / Studio Isidor
There is one particular cheese that springs to mind when talking about fine round holes, and that is Jarlsberg. For 60 years, these famed holes, along with the yellow colour and distinct mature flavour, have spread to make the cheese an international celebrity. Exactly how these holes are made is one of Norway’s best guarded secrets, and so is the original Jarlsberg recipe. Countless family 62 | Issue 85 | February 2016
meals across the globe have been spent pondering the mysteries of those perfectly shaped holes. Yet no one has been able to replicate the success of Norway’s most treasured cheese.
A delicious adventure Jarlsberg was created at the Agricultural University of Norway in 1956. The purpose of the experiment, led by pro-
fessor Ole Martin Ystgaard, was to create an entirely new brand of cheese based on long-forgotten traditions and the latest in modern technology. Little did they know about the tasty adventure they had just embarked on. “The innovative spirit of Jarlsberg has lasted all these years,” Rikke Dobloug says proudly. She is Jarlsberg’s very own international brand manager and knows everything there is to know about the brand’s journey beyond the borders of Norway. “Jarlsberg was never just a sandwich topping,” she explains.
Hot or cold There are few cheeses that are as adaptable as Jarlsberg. In the course of