Our business
Just like wine…Instead of making our own cheese, Wernersson Ost specialises in maturing and adding flavour to the cheese. This means we can handle a wide range of cheeses from all over the world. But our cheese is seldom delivered ready to eat. Just like wine, cheese reaches its peak after a careful maturing process.
The maturing processWe store the cheese under special conditions so that it matures and comes into its own. Every cheese has its own unique requirements, and maturing times vary from a couple of months to a year or more. The actual maturing process is an art that requires great care and precision. Storage space, temperature, monitoring and handling – all the conditions must be right. What’s more, many cheeses have to be turned and waxed according to a set schedule to ensure optimum development.
The cheese masterWe make rounds of the warehouse and check our cheeses every day. An experienced and skilled cheese master can tell whether a cheese is maturing as planned just by looking at it. Among other things, the cheese master examines the cheese’s surface and shape. Cheeses are also examined with a cheese drill. A wedge of cheese about 10 cm long is extracted from the cheese to asses its flavour, smell, consistency and texture.
Bringing the flavours to lifeA lot happens during the maturing process. Besides the factors already mentioned, the process is affected by the cheese’s microflora, salt content, water content and pH value. The protein and fat are broken down, and the cheese acquires a darker colour and intenser flavour. Its consistency is partly determined by its fat content. A high fat content produces a soft, smooth cheese. A lower fat content makes the cheese more brittle. This means that it’s an art to mature cheese with a low fat content while maintaining its consistency so that it doesn’t break or crumble when sliced.
Further refinementSome cheeses are given a specific taste by flavouring them, for instance with spices and herbs. Such flavourings may include cumin, or more exotic flavours ranging from olives to nettles! At Wernersson Ost, we add our own flavourings to selected cheeses. We might inject the cheese with alcohol such as whisky, port or cognac. Only tiny quantities are injected, but they make a huge difference to the cheese’s flavour.