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Cheese from Germany, chiefly Schleswig-Holstein

Tilsiter (German, incl. Holsteiner Tilsiter PGI)

Cow milk, raw or pasteurised, is soured with a mesophilic starter and set with rennet. In the method of one European patent for Tilsiter the milk is set at about 30–32 °C, the curd is cut to pea size, washed with hot water and warmed to 36–37 °C, filled loosely into moulds so the typical slits form, and brined for about a day. In the traditional process the rind is smeared every 2–3 days with Brevibacterium linens, and the cheese ripens at least five weeks.

Fully documentedCheese36 daysGerman standard variety (Käseverordnung, Annex 1); Holsteiner Tilsiter PGI (EU), Reg. (EU) No 1266/2013Family: Uncooked or semi-cooked pressed cheese family (tomme, Saint-Nectaire, Reblochon, Morbier, Raclette)

Recipe

Tilsiter (German, incl. Holsteiner Tilsiter PGI), a photo from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
No fixed amounts recordedThe sources give no batch recipe for traditional Tilsiter. The patent's own foil-ripened method adds a mesophilic starter at about 10^5 to 10^7 cells per ml of cheese milk, optionally calcium chloride and nitrate, and rennet of strength 1:15 000; those figures belong to that method. Standard Tilsiter weighs 1.5–20 kg; Holsteiner Tilsiter loaves weigh 3.5–5.0 kg.
Cow milk, raw or pasteurised[holst-sd]
Mesophilic starter (in the patent's example Streptococcus lactis, S. cremoris, S. lactis subsp. diacetylactis and Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. cremoris)[ep0384553]
Liquid rennet (strength 1:15 000) or powdered rennet[ep0384553]
Brine of about 20 °Bé[ep0384553]
Smear of Brevibacterium linens with whey and skimmed milk or brine[holst-sd]
Caraway, the only spice allowed in Holsteiner Tilsiter (optional)[holst-sd]
Startermesophilic lactic starter; red smear culture on the rind

Total time across the recorded steps: 36 days

Start
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shapes, not to countStreptococcus lactisL. mesenteroidesBrevibacterium linens30–32 °C

What changes: Starter and rennet go into the cheese milk and it sets

Step 1 of 6
Add starter and rennet
Time
35–40 min
Reported
Temperature
30–32 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Streptococcus lactis
L. mesenteroides
Brevibacterium linens
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

Cow milk, raw or pasteurised, is soured with a mesophilic starter and set with rennet. In the method of one European patent for Tilsiter the milk is set at about 30–32 °C, the curd is cut to pea size, washed with hot water and warmed to 36–37 °C, filled loosely into moulds so the typical slits form, and brined for about a day. In the traditional process the rind is smeared every 2–3 days with Brevibacterium linens, and the cheese ripens at least five weeks. Made in 6 steps over 36 days. The longest step, smear and ripen, takes at least 35 days (European Commission 2012). Mesophilic lactic starter and Brevibacterium linens smear on the rind during ripening do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 35 daysSet[holst-sd][kasev]Smear and ripen
Temperature30–32 °CReported[ep0384553]Add starter and rennet
AciditypH 5.1–5.3Reported[ep0384553]Brine

What makes this one different

Its slit openings come from filling the washed curd loosely into moulds, and its aroma from a red smear of Brevibacterium linens applied every few days; Holsteiner Tilsiter may only be spiced with caraway.

Fat levels
Holsteiner Tilsiter has 30 % to 60 % fat in dry matter
Standard variety
German standard Tilsiter weighs 1.5–20 kg, is at least 5 weeks old and may contain pepper or caraway; minimum dry matter 49–61 % by fat level

Related ferments

Variants

  • Holsteiner Tilsiter PGIMade and ripened at least five weeks in Schleswig-Holstein, wheel or loaf shaped, 3.5–5.0 kg, with 30 to 60 % fat in dry matter.
  • Rindless foil-ripened TilsiterRipened in film without smearing, using special cultures; described in patent EP 0 384 553.

Safety

May be made from raw milk; standard Tilsiter must be at least 5 weeks old when sold.

History and sources

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

The Holsteiner Tilsiter application says the recipe was first described in 1840 by Mrs Westpfahl of Tilsit in East Prussia and reached Schleswig-Holstein around 1900, where it became the most popular cheese.

  1. [holst-sd] European Commission 2012, publication of an application, single document 'Holsteiner Tilsiter', EC No DE-PGI-0005-0807-26.04.2010, OJ C 288, 25.9.2012spec
  2. [kasev] Käseverordnung (German Cheese Ordinance), Annex 1 (to § 7), standard varieties, entry 'Tilsiter' (consolidated text, umwelt-online mirror)gov
  3. [ep0384553] Schmidt H., Philipp S., European patent EP 0 384 553 B1, 'Verfahren zur Herstellung von Tilsiter und Käse nach Tilsiterart', published 14.07.1993 (claims a smear-free, foil-ripened method; conventional smear ripening is only its background, and the make figures used here are from the patent's own method)other
  4. [cogan2014] Cogan T.M., Goerges S., Gelsomino R. et al. 2014, Biodiversity of the surface microbial consortia from Limburger, Reblochon, Livarot, Tilsit, and Gubbeen cheeses, Microbiology Spectrum 2:CM-0010-2012, doi:10.1128/microbiolspec.CM-0010-2012 (abstract)paper