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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Denmark

Danbo PGIDanbo

Pasteurised cow milk is soured with starter and set with rennet, then the curd is cut, stirred, warmed with added water and pressed under whey. The square loaves are salted and given a smear of Brevibacterium linens and related bacteria that ripens them from the outside in. Made in 6 steps over 14 days – 28 days. The longest step, smear and ripen, takes 14–28 days (Fødevarestyrelsen 2025) and runs at 7–21 °C (Fødevarestyrelsen 2025). Lactic starter and Smear bacteria Brevibacterium linens, Corynebacterium casei, Microbacterium gubbeenense do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step14–28 daysSet[danbo-spec-2025]Smear and ripen
Temperature7–21 °CSet[danbo-spec-2025]Smear and ripen
Fully documentedCheese14 days – 28 daysPGI (EU, registered 2017); Codex standard since 1966Family: Washed-curd cheese family (Gouda as template)More washed-curd cheesesMore from Denmark

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification lists the steps and composition but no amounts. Danbo is a flat square or rectangular loaf.
Cow milk · Fat-standardised and pasteurised[danbo-spec-2025]
Starter (syrevækker) and rennet[danbo-spec-2025]
Water · Large amounts are added during warming, which gives the soft, supple texture[danbo-spec-2025]
Salt[danbo-spec-2025]
Smear cultures · Brevibacterium linens, Corynebacterium casei and/or Microbacterium gubbeenense[danbo-spec-2025]
Caraway (optional) · Must be named on the label next to the name[danbo-spec-2025]
Starter: mesophilic starter; smear cultures on the rind

Total time across the recorded steps: 14 days – 28 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
shapes, not to countBrevibacterium linensCorynebacterium casei

What changes: Starter goes into pasteurised cow milk and it pre-ripens

Step 1 of 6
Standardise, pasteurise and add starter
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Brevibacterium linens
Corynebacterium casei
Yeasts
Staphylococcus equorum

Output: ripened cheese milk.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

starter begins to acidify; the milk pre-ripens before renneting

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

Danbo is washed-curd like Gouda, but its rind is smear-ripened with Brevibacterium linens and related bacteria (the "Danish method"), and it is square, not round.

Milk
Pasteurised cow milk
Ripening
2–4 weeks at 7–21 °C for the typical flavour and texture; older Danbo is stronger
Composition
Maximum water 56 % at 30–45 % fat in dry matter, 50 % at 45–50 % fat in dry matter

Related ferments

Variants

  • Danbo with carawayCaraway added to the curd; must be stated on the label.
  • Mild to sharpSold in many brands from mild to sharp (kras); flavour grows stronger with age.

Safety

Made from pasteurised milk.

History and sources

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

Rasmus Nielsen, manager of Kirkeby dairy on Funen from 1889, studied cheesemaking in East Prussia and the Netherlands in 1897 and then made a square, smear-ripened cheese. It got the name Danbo in 1952 under the Stresa Convention; in 1970 it was 27.5 % of Danish cheese output.

  1. [danbo-spec-2025] Fødevarestyrelsen 2025, Produktspecifikation for Danbo (PGI), version of 11 September 2025spec
  2. [zhao2025] Zhao S., Tadesse B.T., Gu L., Solem C. 2025, Draft genome sequence of Brevibacterium linens MA5, an isolate from Danbo cheese that carries the bacteriocin gene cluster, Microbiology Resource Announcements 14 (abstract)paper