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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Germany, the border area of Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt

Altenburger Ziegenkäse PDOAltenburger Ziegenkäse

Altenburger Ziegenkäse is a small soft cheese with a white mould rind, made from cow milk with at least 15 % goat milk and often flavoured with caraway. The two milks are pasteurised separately, set with mesophilic starter, white mould and rennet at 32–33 °C, and the curd is moulded, dry-salted and ripened for 8–10 days while a white mould coat grows. It may be sold from 14 days old. Made in 6 steps over 22 days – 24 days. The longest step, cool, wrap and keep to 14 days, takes at least 14 days (Käseverordnung (KäseV) 2025). Mesophilic lactic starter cultures and Penicillium candidum (white mould), added to the milk and to the surface do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 14 daysSet[kasev-1b]Cool, wrap and keep to 14 days
Temperature32–33 °CSet[alt-annex1996]Mix the milks and add cultures and rennet

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe registration gives the method and limits, not amounts. Each cheese is a 250 g cylinder or a half cylinder.
Cow milk, partly skimmed · From the production area; pasteurised separately[alt-annex1996]
at least 15 % of the cheese milkGoat milk · From the production area; pasteurised separately[alt-app1996][kasev-1b]
Mesophilic starter cultures[alt-annex1996]
White mould (Penicillium candidum) · Added to the milk and again as surface cultures[alt-annex1996]
Rennet[alt-annex1996]
Caraway · Optional, mixed into the curd[alt-app1996][alt-annex1996]
Boiled (evaporated) salt · For dry salting[alt-annex1996]
Startermesophilic starter cultures with Penicillium candidum

Total time across the recorded steps: 22 days – 24 days

Start
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What changes: Cow milk and goat milk are pasteurised separately and cooled

Step 1 of 6
Pasteurise the two milks
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Moulds
Penicillium candidum

Cow milk and goat milk are pasteurised separately, cooled and pre-ripened. The cow milk is partly skimmed. The registration gives no pasteurising temperature.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

It is a Camembert-type white mould cheese, but the milk is cow milk with at least 15 % goat milk, and caraway is often mixed into the curd. The rules ask for only 30 % fat in dry matter, so it is leaner than many white mould cheeses.

Milk
Cow milk with at least 15 % goat milk, both pasteurised
Ripening
White mould ripening for 8–10 days; minimum age 14 days
Size
Cylinder of 250 g at making, or a half cylinder
Composition
Fat in dry matter at least 30 %; dry matter at least 38 %

Related ferments

Variants

  • With carawayCaraway mixed into the curd before moulding.

Safety

The registration says the cow milk and the goat milk are pasteurised separately before cheesemaking.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

A document from 1898 already names Altenburger Ziegenkäse as a traditional cheese of the Altenburger Land. It was first made from raw milk on farms; a little goat milk went in because goat milk was mostly drunk. Goats were the poor family's cow in the area. It was registered as a PDO in 1997.

  1. [alt-app1996] Bundesministerium der Justiz, Antrag auf Eintragung nach Verordnung (EWG) Nr. 2081/92, 'Altenburger Ziegenkäse' g.U., EC No G/DE/461/26.01.94 (summary sheet, eAmbrosia attachment 71290)spec
  2. [alt-annex1996] Bundesministerium der Justiz 1996, Antrag auf Eintragung 'Altenburger Ziegenkäse' with annex 'Erläuterungen zu Altenburger Ziegenkäse' (history, area and traditional method; eAmbrosia attachment 59463)spec
  3. [kasev-1b] Käseverordnung (KäseV), Anlage 1b, geographical designations, row 'Altenburger Ziegenkäse' (consolidated text, last amended 24.11.2025)gov