Allgäuer Sennalpkäse

Appearance & taste

The cheese is cylindrical. A wheel weighs 5 to 35 kg, measures 30 to 70 cm in diameter and is up to 15 cm high. The rind is dried on and orange-yellowish to brown. The ivory-coloured to yellowish paste ranges from firm enough to slice to supple and typically has a few holes about the size of a pea.

Wheels of 5 to 15 kg may be cut and sold as young Allgäuer Sennalpkäse after three months of ripening. It tastes mild and nutty, has a delicately fragrant aroma and is soft on the tongue. The ripened cheese from wheels over 15 kg tastes savoury and of nut kernels, possibly also slightly smoky. As it ripens further it becomes sharp to strong, and the paste becomes firmer and more intense in aroma, smell and colour. Both stages contain at least 45 % fat in dry matter.

The label may also say “Bergkäse” if the rules for the term “mountain product” are met.

Production

The milk comes from cows of the Brown Swiss breed or its crosses. The cheese is made only during the grazing season from May to October on the alps; the animals graze there for at least 80 days and are not driven home or to pastures in the valley every day. Besides pasture grass, hay is allowed, for example when snow sets in. Supplementary feed such as cereals may make up at most 30 % of the daily ration; silage and haylage are prohibited. At least 60 % of the feed comes from the area.

Only the raw milk of the respective alp is processed; the evening milk is usually skimmed. It is curdled with natural rennet and lactic acid bacteria; rennet from genetically modified micro-organisms is prohibited. Apart from salt and, where applicable, red smear cultures, nothing is added. The milk is traditionally warmed in a copper vat and, after renneting, heated to at least 52 °C, which allows the cheese to keep for a long time. Cutting the curd, pressing out the whey, usually with a wooden lid, and moulding are done by hand. The cheese then lies in brine for up to three days. It often ripens over the winter in natural cellars; the cheesemaker decides when the wheels are turned, washed or brushed. All production up to ripening takes place in the area; according to the specification there is no industrial production.

Origin & history

The area lies on the southern edge of the administrative region of Swabia in the alpine mountain zone above 800 m. Depending on altitude, the mean annual temperature is 4 to 6 °C, and 1,000 to 2,400 mm of rain falls each year. Pastures make up over 70 % of the agricultural land in the Allgäu, in other regions of Bavaria often less than 10 %. Steep slopes and natural meadows up to over 2,000 m often allow only alpine farming. The mountain pastures are richer in herbs than the valleys; according to the specification the milk therefore contains substances such as carotenoids and terpenes, which contribute to the yellowish colour and the aroma of the cheese. In Bavaria, Brown Swiss cattle are traditionally kept mainly in the Allgäu; their protein-rich milk is well suited to cheesemaking.

Even in Roman times cheese served to preserve milk, especially as it cannot be carried down from the alps every day. Old documents record “Süß- bzw. Fettsennen”, the basis of the method, as early as the Thirty Years’ War. Around 1820, cheesemakers mainly from Appenzell brought the making of large, full-fat round cheeses that kept longer to the Allgäu. The knowledge has often been passed down in families for generations, and a large part of the cheese is sold directly on site.