Weißlacker

Appearance & taste

Weißlacker has the shape of a cube with edges of 11 to 13 cm and weighs about 1 to 2 kg; packed as a smaller piece it weighs 0.5 kg. It does not form a proper rind. The surface is white to yellow and covered with a thin, lacquer-like smear that, according to the specification, no other cheese has. Inside, the cheese is whitish pale, waxy but not sticky, with irregular holes; it ripens evenly throughout the whole mass.

The taste is very piquant and slightly sharp, with a hearty note that comes from deliberate fat breakdown. Typical is the high salt content of about 5 %. The fat content is usually 45 % in dry matter but can also be 40 or 50 %.

Production

The milk comes from cows kept in the area. At least 70 % of their feed comes from the area; an essential basis is fresh or conserved green fodder from the region’s pastures and meadows. The cheese is made only from pasteurised cow’s milk, salt, special cultures and rennet.

Decisive are special cold-loving lactic acid bacteria which, according to the specification, have been cultivated for centuries and are used only in the area. At the end of ripening they form the lacquer-like smear, which develops after 12 to 15 months at 6 to 8 °C. Because of this long storage, making the cheese places special demands on the cheesemaker’s skill. Production and processing of the milk, cheesemaking, storage and ripening take place in the area.

Origin & history

The area covers the Bavarian administrative region of Swabia with the Allgäu and the Baden-Württemberg districts of Ravensburg and Bodenseekreis. According to the specification, the cows’ feed is shaped by a typically alpine flora.

Weißlacker was first made in 1874 in Wertach in the Allgäu. In 1876 its inventors received a royal patent, which according to the specification made it the first patented cheese in the world. The knowledge of tending the cultures and making the cheese was developed in the Allgäu and passed on from cheesemaker to cheesemaker; according to the specification, it has never crossed the borders of the area.