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Cheese from Sweden

Hushållsost

Hushållsost is a small Swedish 'household' cylinder of semi-hard cow cheese. Pasteurised milk is set with rennet at 30–32 °C, and the curd is heated to 35–40 °C, then moulded, salted and coated in paraffin. It is normally ready after about two months and has small irregular eyes and a mild, slightly lactic taste.

Fully documentedCheese2 monthsCodex standard C-22 (1969); EU TSG from 2004 (UK register from 2020), unreserved, expired 4 January 2023Family: Washed-curd cheese family (Gouda as template)

Recipe

Hushållsost, a photo from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Grönmossan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Amounts from a sourceThe standard fixes the allowed additions and their maximum doses, not a batch size. A cheese weighs 1–2 kg.
Cow milk, pasteurised[codex-c22]
Cultures of harmless lactic acid bacteria[codex-c22]
Rennet or other suitable coagulating enzymes[codex-c22]
Salt (sodium chloride)[codex-c22]
Calcium chloride (optional)At most 200 mg/kg of milk[codex-c22]
Sodium or potassium nitrate (optional)At most 50 mg/kg of cheese[codex-c22]
Annatto and beta-carotene, alone or mixed (optional)At most 600 mg/kg of cheese[codex-c22]
Water; caraway and clove for the spiced variant (optional)[codex-c22]
Starterlactic acid bacteria cultures

Total time across the recorded steps: 2 months

Start
Drag the bar or press Play

What changes: The cow milk is pasteurised

Step 1 of 6
Pasteurise the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The standard requires pasteurised milk.

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

Hushållsost is a small Swedish 'household' cylinder of semi-hard cow cheese. Pasteurised milk is set with rennet at 30–32 °C, and the curd is heated to 35–40 °C, then moulded, salted and coated in paraffin. It is normally ready after about two months and has small irregular eyes and a mild, slightly lactic taste. Made in 6 steps over 2 months. The longest step, ripen, takes 2 months (El Salvador 1969).

Key numbers
Main step2 monthsSet[codex-c22]Ripen
Temperature30–32 °CSet[codex-c22]Add cultures and rennet

What makes this one different

A small cylinder cheese with irregular eyes from pin-head to rice-grain size, set at 30–32 °C and ready after about two months. Its name lost protection in 2023 because it was an unreserved TSG.

Rind
Hard, tough, dry (paraffin); straw-yellow to yellow
Size
Cylinder 10–17 cm across and 5–15 cm high, usually 1–2 kg
Fat classes
At least 45, 50 or 55% fat in dry matter, with at most 46, 44 or 41% moisture

Related ferments

Variants

  • Hushållsost 50% and 55%Richer classes with at least 50 or 55% fat in dry matter, labelled with the figure.
  • Hushållsost with spicesCaraway and clove added; labelled 'with spices'.

Safety

The standard requires pasteurised milk.

History and sources

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

The Codex Alimentarius set a standard for Hushållsost in 1969 (C-22). The EU registered it as an unreserved TSG on 10 February 2004; under the 2012 rules that protection ran only until 4 January 2023. The Swedish Food Agency likewise records that Hushållsost was once registered as a TSG and that the protection ended on 4 January 2023.

Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [codex-c22] El Salvador, CONACYT, Norma Salvadoreña Recomendada NSR 67.00.214:99 'Queso Hushållsost', an adoption of Codex Stan C-22-1969 (Acuerdo No. 667, 31 August 2000), via FAOLEXspec
  2. [uk-register] GOV.UK, Defra, protected food names register 'Hushållsost' (TSG, cancelled; last updated 31 January 2023)gov
  3. [livsmedelsverket-gts] Livsmedelsverket (Swedish Food Agency), Garanterad traditionell specialitet (page on guaranteed traditional specialities in Sweden)gov