Skip to main content
Support

Browse by category

All categories
Home

Cheese from Austria, north-western Styria

Ennstaler Steirerkas PDO

Skimmed cow milk, raw or pasteurised, is left to sour with no rennet, helped by lactic cultures when needed. The sour milk is heated in the vat to 75–100 °C so curd and whey separate, and the curd is grated, salted and shaped into truncated cones of up to 4 kg. Mould grows over the surface as the cones ripen at least three weeks at 6–14 °C.

Fully documentedCheese21 daysPDO (EU), EU No PDO-AT-02588; registered 2021Family: Ripened acid-curd cheese family (Harzer, Olomoucké tvarůžky, Gamalost)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification gives no doses. Cones weigh up to 4 kg.
Skimmed cow milk from the Liezen district, raw or pasteurised[ens-sd]
Lactic acid bacteria cultures, if needed to start the souring[ens-sd]
Salt, usually the only seasoning[ens-sd]
Very small amounts of pepper, spices, herbs or berries (optional)[ens-sd]
Starternone required; lactic cultures may be added to stimulate souring, more in bad weather

Total time across the recorded steps: 21 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
shapes, not to countLactic acid bacteriaMouldsYeastsMilk proteinGel (curd)

What changes: Lactic bacteria sour the skimmed milk until it thickens

Step 1 of 4
Sour the skimmed milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria
Moulds
Yeasts

The milk curdles by acid alone, with no rennet; colour and preservatives are banned.

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

At a glance

Skimmed cow milk, raw or pasteurised, is left to sour with no rennet, helped by lactic cultures when needed. The sour milk is heated in the vat to 75–100 °C so curd and whey separate, and the curd is grated, salted and shaped into truncated cones of up to 4 kg. Mould grows over the surface as the cones ripen at least three weeks at 6–14 °C. Made in 4 steps over 21 days. The longest step, ripen under mould, takes at least 21 days (European Commission 2021) and runs at 6–14 °C (European Commission 2021). Lactic acid bacteria that sour the skimmed milk, sometimes added as cultures; no source names the species and Noble mould (green or white on the surface) and yeasts, which ripen the cheese over several weeks (Austrian ministry sheet); no source names the species do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 21 daysSet[ens-sd]Ripen under mould
Temperature6–14 °CSet[ens-sd]Ripen under mould

What makes this one different

An acid-curd cheese set with no rennet, heat-split at 75–100 °C and grated before shaping, so it is far drier and more crumbly than the sliceable cooked sour-milk cheese of the Murtal.

Composition
Moisture at most 46 %; dry weight 52–62 %; fat in dry matter 0–12 %
Shape
Truncated cone weighing up to 4 kg

Related ferments

Safety

The milk may be raw or pasteurised; the specification bans colouring and chemical preservatives.

History and sources

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

The Admont Urbar records a levy of 100 cheeses in 1434. A schoolmaster, Karl Reiterer, described its traditional making in 1886. The Gröbming cheese co-operative was founded on 15 August 1900 by 27 dairy farmers. On 18 January 1963 the dairywomen of the Sölk alpine pastures and the Gröbming cheesemaker met to work out a common production process, the first one defined. The specification says it was made on the alpine pastures for a long shelf life and has been made industrially only for a few decades; many steps are still done by hand.

  1. [ens-sd] European Commission 2021, publication of an application, single document 'Ennstaler Steirerkas', EU No PDO-AT-02588, OJ C 20, 19.1.2021spec
  2. [ens-eamb] European Commission, eAmbrosia register of geographical indications, entry 'Ennstaler Steirerkas' (PDO, Austria; application dated 28.1.2020, registration published in OJ L 162, 10.5.2021)gov
  3. [bmluk-ens] Bundesministerium für Land- und Forstwirtschaft, Klima- und Umweltschutz, Regionen und Wasserwirtschaft (Austria), Traditionelle Lebensmittel register, 'Ennstaler Steirerkas g.U.' (information supplied by Verein Ennstaler Steirerkas)gov