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Havarti Cheese – One of the Best Cheeses from Denmark
Havarti cheese
Ask any cheese lover and he (or she) will tell you how Havarti cheese is one of the best cheeses from Denmark. This is a semi-firm, creamy cheese developed in and named after a farm. Havarti’s mild flavor is similar to the Gouda or Tilsit and it comes with a lot of irregularities and small holes.
Bite onto a cube of Havarti cheese and you will be surprised at the distinctive flavor that packs a subtle punch. You can find this variety of cheese as plain blocks and flavored with cumin, caraway, dill and other spices.
The credit for creating Havarti goes to the wife of a Danish farmer. She developed this cheese at the turn of the twentieth century after exploring the cheese making art, traveling to many parts of the world. Havarti cheese was a result of her experimentations with different cheese making methods.
Just like most cheeses, Havarti making process also starts with curdling of milk by introducing rennet to it. Curds are drained by pressing into cheese molds and the cheese is then aged. Subtle flavor of this cheese comes from the fact that it is washed rind.
Bite into the flexible Havarti cheese and you will also notice a buttery, creamy flavor. Color of this cheese can be anywhere between pale to creamy yellow. You can find a lot of holes on the cube. It is imperative to allow the cheese to age if you want to enjoy its delightfully subtle and acidic flavor.
Havarti pairs excellently with wine and is often served with crackers and fruits. Many use this cheese as a replacement for strong cheeses like Emmental and Gouda in recipes that require mild cheese. You can find Havarti predominantly used on salads, on sandwiches and in fondue. If you are slim and fit and can afford to bite into the full cream, melt-in-the-mouth cheese, you can choose the enriched Havarti cheese version. If you are on a strict diet, you can enjoy the low fat version of this cheese.
If you are planning on using enriched Havarti in any of your recipes, do so sparingly after ensuring that the dish has the capacity to handle the heavy flavor. Havarti cheese is indeed one of the best cheeses from Denmark. It is commonly found in many parts of the world today. Havarti’s low fat version is especially popular as it retains the very flavor, texture and essence of the enriched version. On the cheese and wine platters, you can find the herbed Havarti. If you wish for a pleasant tasting experience, you can pair your wines with enriched Havarti cheese.
I am familiar with Havarti as a fairly young cheese at 60 to 90 days or so but am considering trying to hold a few ours back for a while to see what we get from an older Havarti. Do you have any experience with older Havarti? I’ve never hear of or seen one myself and am curious what to expect. There isn’t much diversity at the cheese counters in our area, so I was wondering if someone out there might have an interesting tidbit on this.
Sorry for taking so long to reply. Quite frankly, we have never attempted to age our Havarti, and it doesn’t last long enough in the cooler to try! However, it does sound like a great idea. Aging often “sharpens” the taste of a cheese. With a full cream cheese like Havarti, it would probably taste incredible! Just make sure you age it at around 45 degrees, to make sure all of the bacteria in the process is “good” bacteria. And let us know how it turns out! Thanks for reading.
I was buying “Danish Havarti’ at Whole Foods, in Greenwich Ct. For a number of years.
Suddenly thay do not have this available eny longer. Why?
Where do I go locally to get the Real, Danish Havarti. not something called the same,
but made in the U.S. I have been fooled twice, and will not fall for this trick again.
What I got was like Rubber! Please advice. Love the REAL Danish Havarti.
Thank you
There are many possible reasons why Whole Foods would have stopped carrying real Danish Havarti. Prolonged high gas prices have been really detrimental to imports. They may not have been able to order large enough quantities for it to be profitable for them. In any case, you definitely need to find another place to buy it. We can’t allow you to be deprived! Sorry, I’m not too familiar with Greenwich, CT. But I was able to find one place that specializes in imported cheeses called Alpen Pantry http://www.alpenpantry.com/ . I can also highly recommend one store called Murrays Cheese http://www.murrayscheese.com/ in NYC if you spend any time there, but I only see the variety of Havarti with Dill on their website. If all else fails, we can ship it to you in two business days. You can find it on our website at https://cheesehouse.com/havarti-cheese.aspx . I hope this was helpful. Thanks for reading!
Bless the wife of the Danish farmer. This is by far my favorite cheese–I snack on it with red wine at night (my guilty pleasure)!
Try some of Dofino’s Havarti – carried in every state in the US. In CT, we’re at: A&P, Big Y, Price Chopper, Shoprite, Stop’n’Shop, and Supervalu. Hope you enjoy!