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Cheese from Germany, the Allgäu

Allgäuer Bergkäse PDOAllgäuer Bergkäse

Allgäuer Bergkäse is a rind-ripened hard cheese of 15–50 kg made from raw Allgäu milk that may not be warmed above 40 °C before renneting. It has a few pea-sized holes, at least 62 % dry matter, and ripens for 4 months.

Fully documentedCheese4 monthsPDO (EU, protected 24 January 1997)Family: Cooked hard alpine cheese family (Comté, Gruyère and Emmentaler as templates)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification fixes limits, not a recipe. Each round wheel weighs 15–50 kg at making.
Raw cow milk from the areaDelivered under the 1980 milk-supply rules for Emmentaler dairies; not warmed above 40 °C before renneting[aberg-app1996]
Natural rennet and a cultureAs the Allgäuer Käsestraße folder describes the region's dairies[kaesestrasse]
SaltThe Allgäuer Käsestraße folder says the region's dairies put the raw cheese in a salt bath; no amount of salt is given for the cheese itself[kaesestrasse]
StarterNatural rennet and a culture are added to the milk in copper kettles, as the Allgäuer Käsestraße folder describes the region's dairies.

Total time across the recorded steps: 4 months

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
up to 40 °C

What changes: Starting material: raw Allgäu milk, never heated above 40 °C

Step 1 of 7
Collect raw milk, never warmed above 40 °C
Time
Not documented
Temperature
up to 40 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Only raw milk from the area, delivered under the milk-supply rules for Emmentaler dairies of 12 August 1980, may be used.

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

Allgäuer Bergkäse is a rind-ripened hard cheese of 15–50 kg made from raw Allgäu milk that may not be warmed above 40 °C before renneting. It has a few pea-sized holes, at least 62 % dry matter, and ripens for 4 months. Made in 7 steps over 4 months. The longest step, ripen for four months, takes 4 months (Bundesministerium der Justiz 2081).

Key numbers
Main step4 monthsSet[aberg-app1996]Ripen for four months
Temperatureup to 40 °CSet[aberg-app1996]Collect raw milk, never warmed above 40 °C

What makes this one different

It shares its milk rules and area with Allgäuer Emmentaler, but the wheels are much smaller (15–50 kg against 60 kg or more), the holes are pea-sized, not 1–3 cm, and it ripens 4 months, not 3. Unlike Allgäuer Sennalpkäse, its rules do not tie it to summer alps.

Milk
Raw cow milk from the Allgäu, not heated above 40 °C before renneting
Ripening
4 months
Size
Rind-ripened round wheel of 15–50 kg at making
Holes
Pea-sized, few to sparse
Composition
At least full-fat grade (45–49 % fat); dry matter at least 62 %

Related ferments

Safety

This is a raw-milk cheese; the milk may not be heated above 40 °C before renneting. A 2025 study of Alpine raw-milk cheeses names high scalding temperatures, good starter cultures and clean milk as the hurdles that keep Staphylococcus aureus and its toxins down.

Hazards the sources name: Staphylococcus aureus and its enterotoxins, a known risk in Alpine raw-milk cheeses.

History and sources

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

The registration file says Swiss herdsmen who came to the Allgäu around 1820 brought new cheeses such as Emmentaler and also improved the mountain cheese already made there. The name was protected as a PDO on 24 January 1997 (Regulation (EC) No 123/97).

  1. [aberg-app1996] Bundesministerium der Justiz, Antrag auf Eintragung nach Verordnung (EWG) Nr. 2081/92, 'Allgäuer Bergkäse' g.U. (summary sheet, eAmbrosia attachment 60436)spec
  2. [eamb-berg] European Commission, eAmbrosia register of geographical indications, 'Allgäuer Bergkäse' PDO-DE-0460 (protected 24 January 1997, Official Journal L 22)gov
  3. [berger2025] Berger T.F.H. et al. 2025, Critical factors affecting the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus and staphylococcal enterotoxins in raw milk cheese in the Alpine region of Austria, Italy, and Switzerland, Foods 14:2176 (abstract)paper
  4. [kaesestrasse] Allgäuer Käsestraße (Allgäu tourism), Faltkarte Käsestraße, folder dated December 2015web