Sweet, caramelized whey cheese with a distinctive brown color and fudge-like flavor, sliced thin and served on bread or waffles.
Nutrition & Info
Allergen Warnings
Equipment Needed
Presentation Guide
Vessel: wooden cutting board
Accompaniments: bread, Norwegian waffles
Instructions
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1
Slice brunost very thinly using a cheese slicer (ostehevel). The slices should be almost translucent.
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2
Butter bread or toast lightly.
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3
Layer thin slices of brunost on the bread. Serve open-faced.
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4
Alternatively, serve on warm Norwegian waffles with a dollop of sour cream and jam.
Did You Know?
Norwegians consume about 10,000 tonnes of brunost annually. A truck carrying brunost once caused a tunnel fire that burned for five days due to the sugar content.
Chef's Notes
Equipment Tips
- cheese slicer (ostehevel)
Accompaniments
bread, Norwegian waffles
The Story Behind Brunost
Brunost is perhaps Norway's most iconic food product, a sweet caramelized cheese made by slowly boiling whey until the sugars caramelize and the mixture solidifies. The result is a dense, fudge-like cheese with a sweet-savory flavor unlike anything else in world cuisine.
The modern version was developed in the 1860s by Anne Hov in the Gudbrandsdalen valley, who added cream to the traditional whey cheese, creating the richer version known as Gudbrandsdalsost that became nationally popular.
Brunost is considered so essential to Norwegian identity that it sparked a national crisis in 2013 when production shortages led to rationing. The cheese slicer used to cut it, the ostehevel, was invented in Norway specifically for this purpose.
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