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Cheese from Germany — the Allgäu

Allgäuer Weißlacker PDOWeißlacker

Pasteurised Allgäu cow milk is set with rennet at 28–32 °C, cut to walnut-sized curd and dipped out after 2–3 hours. The cubes are brined for 2 days, smeared and salted again and again for 6–8 weeks, then ripened 12–15 months in a cold store until a runny, white, lacquer-like smear covers them.

Fully documentedCheese13 months – 17 monthsPDO (EU; application of 2012, entered in the register by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/301 of 13 February 2015)Family: Washed-rind (smear-ripened) cheese family (Munster and Époisses as templates)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification gives no doses. Each cheese is a cube with 11–13 cm sides weighing about 1–2 kg.
Pasteurised cow milk from the Allgäu areaAt least 70 % of the cows' feed must come from the production area[weiss-oj2014]
Rennet[weiss-dpma2011][weiss-oj2014]
Specific cultures (psychrophilic lactic acid bacteria kept in the region)[weiss-oj2014]
Salt, as a 20–22 % brine and sprinkled on during smearing[weiss-dpma2011]
Starterspecific psychrophilic lactic acid bacteria cultures used only in the region

Total time across the recorded steps: 13 months – 17 months

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
shapes, not to countLactic acid bacteria28–32 °C

What changes: Rennet goes into the pasteurised milk, cooled to about 30 °C, and it sets

Step 1 of 6
Pasteurise, cool and set with rennet
Time
1–1.5 h
Set
Temperature
28–32 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria
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

Pasteurised Allgäu cow milk is set with rennet at 28–32 °C, cut to walnut-sized curd and dipped out after 2–3 hours. The cubes are brined for 2 days, smeared and salted again and again for 6–8 weeks, then ripened 12–15 months in a cold store until a runny, white, lacquer-like smear covers them. Made in 6 steps over 13 months – 17 months. The longest step, ripen in the cold store, takes 12–15 months (Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt 2011) and runs at 6–8 °C (Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt 2011). Salt is 20–22 % (Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt 2011). Psychrophilic lactic acid bacteria cultures kept in the region; at the end of ripening they form the white, varnish-like smear does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step12–15 monthsSet[weiss-dpma2011][weiss-oj2014]Ripen in the cold store
Temperature6–8 °CSet[weiss-dpma2011][weiss-oj2014]Ripen in the cold store
Salt20–22 %Set[weiss-dpma2011]Brine for two days

What makes this one different

Weißlacker is made like a smear cheese but ripens far longer, 12–15 months in a cold store, and carries about 5 % salt. Its smear stays white and runny like lacquer, and no real rind forms. It began as a way to make a brick cheese keep longer by salting it harder.

Milk
Pasteurised cow milk from the Allgäu area
Ripening
12–15 months in a cold store, after 6–8 weeks of smearing
Salt
About 5 % salt; fat usually 45 % of dry matter (40 or 50 % also allowed); dry matter 45–49 %
Size
A cube with 11–13 cm sides, about 1–2 kg, or 0.5 kg pieces when packed smaller

Related ferments

Safety

Made only from pasteurised milk.

History and sources

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

The Kramer brothers, Josef and Anton, first made Weißlacker in Wertach in the Oberallgäu in 1874, to make a brick cheese keep longer by raising its salt for Munich buyers who wanted a sharper cheese. In 1876 they won a royal patent for 15 years, which the application calls the world's first patented cheese. It was once made flat and called Weißschmierer; the cube shape came later.

  1. [weiss-dpma2011] Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt, Markenblatt Heft 17 of 29 April 2011, Teil 7a-aa, application for the protected designation of origin 'Weißlacker / Allgäuer Weißlacker' (file 31 2009 000 001.7), specification summary (copy published by Gemeinschaftsmarketing Baden-Württemberg)spec
  2. [weiss-reg2015] Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/301 of 13 February 2015 entering a name in the register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications (Weißlacker/Allgäuer Weißlacker (PDO)), Official Journal L 55, 26.2.2015, p. 1spec
  3. [weiss-oj2014] Publication of an application, single document 'Weißlacker'/'Allgäuer Weißlacker', DE-PDO-0005-0986, Official Journal of the European Union C 364, 15 October 2014, p. 43 (2014/C 364/06), Publications Office copyspec