Photo: BMLFUW/Rit...
Gailtaler Almkäse g.U.
Record number: 1
Disclosure date
Production is first mentioned in the rent roll of the Count of Görz for the years 1375 to 1381.
Photo: BMLFUW/A...
Gailtaler Almkäse g.U.
(Gailtaler alp cheese PDO)
Abstract or claim
Traditionally produced hard cheese made from Alpine milk from the Gailtal valley region, the vegetation of which is characterised by a high proportion of herbs and leguminous plants. The knowledge of the skills associated with cheese making, which is passed down from generation to generation, ensures the survival of the particular quality of Gailtaler Almkäse PDO.
Gailtaler Almkäse PDO is produced in line with its specification as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) pursuant to EU Regulation ECJ 123/97, Official Journal No. L 22/19/97.
Name of product, product class
Cheese, milk products
Name of region
Gailtal, Carinthia, Austria
Field of search
Food and Agriculture
Name(s) of information provider
Gemeinschaft der Gailtaler Almsennereien
(association of Alpine cheese dairies of the Gailtal)
Names of applicant for title
Gemeinschaft der Gailtaler Almsennereien (association of Alpine cheese dairies of the Gailtal)
Member companies, ‘Gemeinschaft der Gailtaler Almsennereien’
Holder of knowledge or associated resources
Gemeinschaft der Gailtaler Almsennereien (association of Alpine cheese dairies of the Gailtal)
Lackner Hermann
9631 Jenig 1/ Carinthia
Grantee(s), holder(s), assignee(s) or owner(s) of title, if any
Gemeinschaft der Gailtaler Almsennereien (association of Alpine cheese dairies of the Gailtal)
Lackner Hermann
9631 Jenig 1/ Carinthia
Descriptors
- History:
Production is first mentioned in the rent roll of the Count of Görz for the years 1375 to 1381.
A detailed description of Alpine grazing in the Gailtal around the middle of the last century is contained in a report dated 1876, with a precise geographical classification of Alpine pastures and including geological, meteorological and botanical factors providing valuable clues as to why production of mountain cheese developed as well as it did in the Gailtal region.
Thanks to the distinct characteristics of the natural environment, the breeding of cattle and horses on pasture land has always played an important role in the Gailtal region. Although conditions on the valley floor tended not to favour such production due to the high proportion of marshy meadows (described locally as ’sour’), the natural environment up in the Alpine pastures, which do lend themselves to grazing, mean that rearing cattle and dairy farming has always been possible.
While herds were driven up to the mountain pastures for the summer season, the valley meadows could be mown to provide winter feed, meaning local sources of food could be employed to full advantage.
While there was a switch to production of fatty cheese, known at the time as the ‘Swiss method’, at the end of the seventeenth century in the west of Austria, until the mid-nineteenth century the majority of the cheese in the Gailtal region was still being produced according to the ‘Friulian method’, that is half-fat and unpressed, and sold as fresh cheese.
Due to the fact that fatty cheese had a longer shelf-life, was easier to transport and had a more full-bodied flavour, however, its production gradually replaced other methods.
During the First World War, the Alpine cheese dairies of the Gailtal were badly damaged by events along the front in the Plöckenpass region, and many had to be completely rebuilt.
However, the state-supported reconstruction work that followed provided an opportunity to make improvements in production conditions and introduce the very latest methods of mountain cheese production. Greater emphasis also began to be placed on the training of dairy staff at the time, which led to a sharp increase in the quality of Gailtaler Almkäse PDO during this period.
The mountain dairies that were built at this time continue to shape the Alpine cultural landscape in the Gailtal region to this day.
In 1949, the ‘Gemeinschaft der Almkäsereien Kärntens’ (Kötschach) (‘Community of Carinthian Alpine Cheese Dairies’) was established, later to be renamed the ‘Gemeinschaft der Gailtaler Alpsennereien’ (‘Community of Gailtal Alpine Cheese Dairies’). In April 1996, the organisation was transferred to the ‘Society of the Community of Gailtal Alpine Cheese Dairies’.
In 1949, there were still 39 Alpine cheese dairies operating in the Gailtal. As a result of structural change in agriculture and the intensification of the use of grassland areas in valley locations, however, Alpine grazing, and with it Alpine cheese dairies, increasingly lost ground from the sixties onwards. Cheese continued to be produced at around twenty Alpine cheese dairies, but by the 1970s the number of active Alpine cheese dairies had fallen to just seven.
The rethinking of agriculture in the direction of extensive, more ecologically-oriented and quality-conscious forms of the industry, along with the state support this organic renaissance has brought with it, have meant Alpine grazing has been revitalised in recent years and experienced a boom.
In the past, Gailtaler Almkäse PDO was mainly referred to as ‘Almkäse’ (‘pasture cheese’), ‘Alpkäse’ (‘Alpine cheese’) or ‘Fettkäse aus dem Gailtal’ (‘fatty cheese from Gailtal’). There is evidence of the collective terms ‘Gailtaler Almkäse’ (‘Gailtal mountain cheese’) and ‘Gailtaler Alpkäse’ (Gailtal Alpine cheese) having been in continuous use since the 1950s. ‘Gailtaler Almkäse’ has since emerged as the most widely-used term, particularly during the last three decades.
- Region:
The Gailtal region, which takes its name from the River Gail, is an inner-Alpine valley running from East Tyrol to Carinthia.
The region’s eastern borders are clearly defined by natural features and the continual working of the Alpine cheese dairies. These borders include all the mountain pastures of the exposed northern and southern flanks of the Gailtal valley.
The region’s western border, meanwhile, not including the pastures in the Lesachtal region, has its roots in history rather than geography: before the turn of the twentieth century, the Alpine cheese dairies were exclusively maintained by Italian livestock farmers and cheese makers, and only a handful continued to operate after the Habsburg Monarchy collapsed.
The production area consists of the mountain sides north and south of the Upper Gailtal. The area is delineated by the boundaries of the municipalities of Kötschach-Mauthen, Dellach, Kirchbach, Hermagor, Gitschtal, Weibensee, St. Stefan im Gailtal, Feistritz an der Gail and Hohenthurn and the mountain ranges of the eastern, central and in part western Carnic Alps, the Reibkofel range and central Gailtal Alps.
The Gailtal is distinguished by broad, flat valley floors and frequently craggy mountain slopes.
Climate:
The Gailtal is a region with special climatic conditions (an illyric climate).
The Gailtal is distinguished by orographic precipitations that form south of the Carnic Alps, and a second maximum precipitation in the autumn. These weather conditions are distinguished by warm, very humid air masses, frequently accompanied by humid and warm southern winds.
The Carnic Alps are also distinguished by their high levels of snowfall and long periods of snow cover along the northern slopes. As a result, the layers of vegetation are protected from frost and consequently the risk of dehydration by winter winds.
The area is marked out by balanced temperature and air humidity conditions, a low level of fog formation in winter, and the presence of clearing winds from the south.
In spring and autumn, the Gailtal region, with Villach, registers sunshine duration of over 50 %.
The high level of rainfall and extensive duration of sunshine in the Gailtal have a particularly favourable effect on farming in the mountain pastures. The pastures are also located at lower altitudes than is the case in the Central Alps, as a result of which the favourable climate also produces a longer period of vegetation. This has a positive influence on growth conditions in the Alpine pastures.
Soil conditions and flora:
Geologically speaking, the Carnic region is a particularly diverse area with a wide range of different layers dating back to a range of different phases in the Earth’s evolution. The extent to which Early Palaeozoic rock masses occur mixed with younger layers of stone along Austria’s southern border is unique.
The geological conditions have a direct effect on the soil formation. Lightly crumbling stone layers which favour soil formation and geological layers with only shallow soils have led to different soil formations. For this reason, there is also a wide diversity of soil types, including rendzinas, rankers, Alpine pseudogleys and pseudogleyed brown soils.
The region is distinguished by a wide variety of soil types and sharply differentiated local conditions for vegetation, which has proven especially beneficial for Alpine grazing. Within very small areas, most Alpine pastures feature limestone locations with wide biodiversity, pastures with little or no limestone which are more lush but have less biodiversity, and countless combinations of the two forms.
The wide variety of food supply offered by the highly biodiverse mountain pastures, with their high proportions of herbs and leguminous plants, provides the ideal conditions for producing high-quality milk which is particularly well-suited to use in cheese dairies compared to milk from the valleys.
The Alpine pastures are more carefully cultivated and kept free of scrub vegetation. The vegetation cover is stabilised by the farming of cattle in the pastures, which also improves the capacity for water storage.
- Gailtaler Almkäse PDO:
Photo: BMLFUW/Rita Newman
The milk used to make Gailtaler Almkäse PDO is obtained solely from Alpine pastures in the Gailtal which comply with the specification. The use of milk from the valleys is strictly prohibited. The only additives allowed when making the cheese are rennet and lactic acid cultures.
The production method is based on the ‘Gailtaler Almprotokoll’ (‘Gailtal Alpine Pasture Protocol’) to ensure lasting quality. This lays down guidelines for Alpine farming, animal husbandry, the process of milking, ripening of milk and cheese production.
The cheese is produced in the 14 pastures of the Community of Gailtal Alpine Cheese Dairies subject to ancient, traditional and strict guidelines.
Codex Alimentarius Austriacus, Edition III, Chap. В 32, Section 3, ‘Milk and Milk Products, Hard Cheese Section’.
Production guidelines according to the Gailtal Alpine Pasture Protocol:
- Owners of Alpine pastures are obliged to ensure that areas of pasture threatened by
scrub vegetation are kept free by means of regular clearance in line with the numbers
of animals, particularly milking cattle, herded up to graze at altitude.
- Owners of Alpine pastures are obliged to ensure that the type, volume and time of
fertilisation correspond with sustainable Alpine grazing, and that the feed quality and
biodiversity of the Alpine grasslands is maintained. Only farmyard manure may be used
as a fertiliser. Also permitted are all commercial fertilisers that meet the requirements
of the guidelines of the ‘Programme for extensive agriculture protecting the natural
environment’.
- Owners of Alpine pastures are obliged to ensure that fertiliser storage sites are kept in
an orderly condition.
- Animal owners are obliged to ensure that the hoofs of animals meant for grazing in Alpine
pastures are correctly maintained six to eight weeks before being herded up to altitude.
- Animal owners are to guarantee that milking cows produce milk suitable for use in a
cheese dairy at least 60 days after being herded up to the Alpine pasture. Every possible
effort should be made to achieve a longer milking time if possible.
- Animal owners are obliged to advise the Alpine pasture users of the respective date of
receipt when handing over the milking cows.
- Animal owners are obliged to ensure the milking animal is inspected for the quality of its
milk and health of its udders two to four weeks before being herded up to altitude. They
are to provide the Alpine pasture owner or user with appropriate proof thereof.
The cheese makers are generally obliged to carry out simple quality assurance and
control of their own production in accordance with the Milk Hygiene Regulation (Federal
Gazette 897/93). They are also obliged to take hygiene requirements and regulations into
account with particular care when ripening milk, and to guarantee that milk is ripened
faultlessly. The following regulations apply when doing this:
- The milk ripening room must be easy to clean, easy to ventilate and free of mould.
- Suitable precautions must have been taken to prevent insects and rodents from entering
the milk ripening room.
- It must be ensured that the milk is taken into a clean area immediately after milking.
- It must be ensured that the period of time between the milking process and the placement
of the milk is as short as possible, and that the milk does not warm up to any extent
during this time.
- The cooling of the milk must be adjusted to the respective temperature conditions and
designed in such a way that formation of a raw milk flora suitable for a cheese dairy is
guaranteed.
- The wooden ripening vessels (‘Stotzen’) and any other containers used must be cleaned
daily with hot water (at temperatures of least 90 °C).
Cheese makers are also obliged to take hygiene requirements and regulations into account with particular care as regards cheese production.
Production process:
The milk must be processed in the Gailtal Alpine pastures.
The process of daily cheese production is as follows:
The milk obtained in the evening is put into round, wooden ripening vessels, known as ‘Stotzen’, and placed in a ripening room at a temperature of 12 - 17 °C to allow it to ripen. This triggers microbiological processes in the milk which are essential for successful cheese making. For the milk to ripen correctly, it is crucial that it be at the right temperature.
The next morning, the ripened, skimmed milk is mixed with that morning’s fresh milk. The degree of acidity of the milk is measured using a pH meter and, if necessary, increased by adding pure yoghurt or whey culture.
Immediately afterwards, the milk is heated in the cheese kettle to the renneting temperature of about 32 °C. Pure, natural powdered rennet is added, depending on the quantity of milk, and stirred in, causing the milk to coagulate slowly.
After coagulation time of 30 to 45 minutes, a uniform coagulum is obtained and this is cut into small cubes using a cheese harp. The cheese curd is then broken into lentil-sized pieces using a stirrer. Cutting and fragmentation of the curd allows the whey to drain from the cut surfaces and be separated from the curd. The cheese curd floating in the whey is then heated to 50-52 °C (and at least 47 °C) and stirred at a constant heat for about 45 minutes. This process causes the small pieces of cheese curd to solidify.
Using a cheese cloth, the cheese curd is then lifted out of the kettle, and thus out of the whey, before being hooped and pressed. The cheese is turned several times a day and the pressure increased after each turn. Two days later, the cheese wheel is put into a tank of brine for two to three days to allow it to develop the natural rind of a hard cheese.
The vast majority of this processing is still done by hand to this day. Traditional wooden ripening vessels or ‘Stotzen’ are often used during the ripening of the milk.
Water quality:
Only clean drinking water may be used during any of the work processes involved in the cheese production. Proof of this water quality must be provided. It is the responsibility of the pasture owners and users to ensure any contamination of the drinking water is prevented.
Ripening:
Photo: BMLFUW/Rita Newman
The minimum ripening period for Gailtaler Almkäse PDO for commercial sale is seven weeks. Every possible effort should be made to achieve a longer ripening time.
A shorter ripening period of not less than five weeks is allowed for cheese intended for gastronomic use at Gailtal cheese dairies. If the Gailtaler Almkäse PDO is vacuum-packed, the minimum ripening period may not be less than 75 days.
To this day, the ripening of the milk and cheese depends primarily on temperatures outdoors over the summer months.
The restrictions of the area, controlled and specified production process, and the fact that only milk from the Alps is used in processing ensure the volume of cheese produced is limited and the quality maintained. This retains the credibility of the production of this quality cheese, while taking natural conditions into account.
Around 40,000 kg of Gailtaler Almkäse PDO a year are produced.
Flavour and appearance:
The cheese is in the shape of a cart wheel and weighs between 0.5 and 35 kg.
It has a dry, golden yellow, closed natural rind. The rind must bear the producer date or cheese number.
The body of the cheese is yellow in colour and smooth in consistency, largely free of cracks, with a small number of round, uniformly distributed eyes, and free of off-tastes.
The fat content of the dry mass is at least 45 %, the water content at least 40 %, and dry mass at least 60 %.
The production process of Gailtaler Almkäse PDO is laid down in the Gailtaler Alpine Pasture Protocol, and is not just restricted to production of Gailtaler Almkäse PDO in the narrower sense; it also covers working in and looking after the Alpine meadows, animal health and livestock farming, the process of milking the animals and ripening the milk.
Quality control and quality identification:
Production, quality and control guidelines laid down in the Gailtal Alpine Pasture Protocol must be observed. Cheese makers are generally obligated to carry out simple quality assurance and control of their own production in accordance with the Milk Hygiene Regulation (Federal Gazette 897/93).
Codex Alimentarius Austriacus, Edition III, Chap. В 32, Section 3, ‘Milk and Milk Products, Hard Cheese Section’.
Before the milking process, the cheese maker checks the health of each individual animal, and the milk quality is also to be controlled at regular intervals.
The cheese is identified by attaching casein plates and uniform labelling of the cheese bearing the words ‘Gailtaler Almkäse – geschützte Ursprungsbezeichnung’ (‘Gailtaler Almkäse – Protected Designation of Origin’). This means the production process of each individual cheese is traceable.
- Marketing:
Local gastronomic outlets and on-site marketing.
Connection with the geographical area and traditional knowledge:
- Specific soil and climate conditions in the Alpine region of Gailtal result in a richness
of native Alpine flora which enables extensive management of milking cows on Alpine
pastures.
- In harmony with the native soil: milking cows are grazed on Alpine plants and herbs.
- The special, unique flavour and spicy aroma of Gailtaler Almkäse PDO are directly related
to the local Alpine flora fed to the dairy cows.
- Traditional artisanal cheese production in small-scale cheese dairies.
- The production of Gailtaler Almkäse PDO is the result of traditional knowledge passed on
from generation to generation: the traditional knowledge and expertise of dairy cow
farmers (adjustment of the management of herds to environmental constraints, and
methods of keeping dairy cows in mountainous areas), and of the Alpine cheese dairies
(curdling, ripening and storage of cheese) and marketers.
- Utilisation:
Frigga (a traditionally produced omelette made from Gailtaler Speck and Gailtaler Almkäse).
- Protection:
The description of the specification for the registration as PDO is to be found in the Austrian Patent Office. (National application No: 1323-GR/95)
Key words
Food and agriculture, traditional knowledge, Austria, Carinthia, region, Gailtal, cheese, alpine cheese, milk, Gailtaler Almkäse g.U., Gailtaler alp cheese PDO
Bibliography /References
- Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92. Application for Registration: Art. 17, PDO.
(National application No: 1323-GR/95)
- Almwirtschaft Österreich
http://www.almwirtschaft.com/archiv/03/08_09_ 03_art2.pdf
- alm-at
http://www.almwirtschaft.com/archiv/97/01_02_97.pdf
- Das Klima des Exkursionsraumes
http://www.htw-dresden.de/~ws/alp2_exku/PDF/Klima.pdf
- EINZIGES DOKUMENT. Verordnung (EG) Nr. 510/2006 des Rates zum Schutz von
geografischen Angaben und Ursprungsbezeichnungen für Agrarerzeugnisse und Lebensmittel
- Frigga (Gericht)
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frigga_(Gericht)
- „GAILTALER ALMKÄSE“
http://www.formaggio.it/gailtaleralmkaseE.htm
- Gailtaler Almkäse g.U.
www.almkaese.at
- Gailtaler Almkäse. Spezifikation. Antrag des Vereines der Gemeinschaft der Gailtaler
Almsennereien zum Eintragungsverfahren nach Art. 17 (vereinfachtes Verfahren) der
Verordnung (EWG) Nr. 2081/92 des Rates vom 14. Juli 1992 zum Schutz von
geographischen Angaben und Ursprungs-bezeichnungen für Agrarerzeugnisse und
Lebensmittel. Verein der Gemeinschaft der Gailtaler Almsennereien, 1996
http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/quality/door/documentDisplay.html?chkDocument=1451_1_de
- Genuss Region Österreich
www.genuss-region.at
- Genussregion Neuhaus
http://root.riskommunal.net/riskommunal/navigation/default.asp?gnr=61&sprache=1&aspfile=http%3A//root.riskommunal.net/riskommunal/news.asp%3Fgnr%3D61%26sprache%3D1%26obj%3D219005888
- Geschichtliche Entwicklung
http://www.gailtaler-almkaese.at/
- H. Blechl. Der Gailtaler Almkäse auf neuen alten Wegen. In : Der Alm- und
Bergbauer 1-2/97
- M. Burgstaller. Gailtaler Speck- Käsestraße: Durchs Gailtal den Geschmack erforschen!
In: Der Alm- und Bergbauer 8-9/03 S. 7-8.
- Saison auf den Gailtaler Almen
http://genusslandkaernten.at/news/?state=01-0&id=48&PHPSESSID=cf9e42e7c4f4e86800acd384ced827a0
All internet references last accessed on 14 March 2011.
Language code
German
Product of www.genuss-region.at
Yes
Regional contact
Gemeinschaft der Gailtaler Almsennereien
(association of Alpine cheese dairies of the Gailtal)
Lackner Hermann
9631 Jenig 1/ Carinthia
Phone: 06645213505
E-mail: almkaese@aon.at
www.almkaese.at
Author: Mag. Eva Sommer
05.03.2012, Lebensministerium III/4