Tiroler Almkäse / Trioler Alpkäse g.U *

Traditionally produced hard cheese from raw milk according to the specification as Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) pursuant to EC Regulation 2325/97 OJ. L 322/33/97. 

Record number: 2
 
 
 
Disclosure date
1544, a document in the Land Archives (Land Register 93/5 1544 Fo. 47 to 49) attests to the traditional production of cheese of good keeping-quality in the region. 
 

Photo: EU

Title
Tiroler Almkäse/Tiroler Alpkäse g.U.
(Tyrolean alp cheese PDO) 
 
 
 
 
 
Abstract or claim
Hard cheese from raw milk with lactic acid bacteria and calf rennet, traditionally produced during the 90 – 120 day growing period of alpine pastures.
The cheese owes its particular character and taste to the traditional hand production method and the milk’s particular flavour which is due to the alpine vegetation. 
Tiroler Almkäse/Tiroler Alpkäse is produced according to the specification as Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) pursuant to EC Regulation 2325/97 OJ. L 322/33/97.
 
Name of product, product class
cheese, milk-products
 
Name of  region
Tyrol, Austria
 
Field of search
Food and Agriculture
 
Name(s) of information provider
Verband der Tiroler Käserei- und Molkereifachleute
Brixner Straße, 1
6020 Innsbruck
 
Names of applicant for title 
Verband der Tiroler Käserei- und Molkereifachleute
Brixner Straße, 1
6020 Innsbruck
 
Holder of knowledge or associated resources
dairy farmers and alpine dairies in North and East Tyrol 
 
Grantee(s), holder(s), assignee(s) of title, if any 
Verband der Tiroler Käserei- und Molkereifachleute
Brixner Straße, 1
6020 Innsbruck 
 
Descriptors
A document in the Land Archives dating from 1544 (Land Register 93/5 1544 Fo. 47 to 49) attests to the traditional production of cheese of good keeping-quality in the region. In the second half of the 19^th  century, there were already numerous cheese-making dairies in Tyrol. 
In the past, in mountain regions of Tyrol, turning alpine milk into Almkäse/Alpkäse was the best way of preserving it.
 
Tiroler Alpkäse is produced in the form of a loaf (never a block) exclusively from raw cheesemaking-quality milk from cows grazed on alpine pastures with latic acid bacteria and calf rennet. The rind is firm, yellow to brownish in colour, without cracks and is sometimes covered with a thin dry smear. The cheese has a firm to soft texture with a uniform ivory to light yellow colour and a few well defined pea-sized to cherry-sized eyes. It is aromatic and piquant. The minimum fat content is 45% fat in dry matter, the ripening period 4½ to 6 months. The loaves weigh between 30 kg and 60 kg. 
Tiroler Almkäse is produced in the Austrian Federal Province Tyrol (North and East Tyrol) exclusively from milk from cows grazed on alpine pastures in the Land. In the Tyrol uplands to the west of Innsbruck, the cheese is traditionally known as Alpkäse, and in the Tyrol lowlands as Almkäse.
Pastures used for the production of Almkäse lie above the normal habitation altitudes, pastures up to an altitude of around 2500 m above sea-level being used. 
   
Method of production: Tiroler Almkäse/Alpkäse is produced exclusively during the 90 to 120 day growing period of alpine pastures.
Milk from the evening milking is placed in shallow containers ("Holzgebsen"= wooden milk pans) and then skimmed the next morning, normally by hand (in modern alpine cheese dairies, the fat content of the milk is adjusted using a contrifuge). The skimmed milk from the previous evening is then mixed with milk from the morning milking and poured into copper vats for processing into Alm-/Alpkäse.
For acidification or ripening of the cheese, the Federal Institute for Alpine Dairy Research (Bundesanstalt für alpenländische Milchwirtschaft in Rotholz, Tyrol) produces bacterial cultures which are often further cultured at the cheese dairy with precipitated whey (recuite).
The use of additives such as antioxidants, preservatives, emulsifiers, stabilisers, thickeners and gelling agents, colours, peroxides, nitrates or flavourings is not permitted.
The pre-ripened vat milk is heated to a temperature of 31-32°C and coagulated by the addition of rennet (only calf rennet is used, no rennet substitute or genetically engineered rennet is used). After initial cutting, the curd is left to thicken for a period (gradual separation of the whey) and then cut into pea sized grains using a cheese harp and, typically for Tiroler Alm/Alpkäse, scalded. This involves heating the curd-whey mixture to 50-54°C while stirring regularly and then leaving it to further coagulate for up to 45 minutes. When the desired consistency is achieved, the curd is removed using cloth and a system of rails and placed in cheese moulds. The curd is then pressed by means of heavy stones, hydraulically or using a system of levers (many cheese dairies still use old traditional presses made from wooden beams).
 
The following morning, the cheese is placed in a brine bath for up to two days. The cheese is then ripened, often in a natural cellar with wide temperature variations (10-18°C) and relative humidity of 90-95%, for around 4½ to 6 months. During ripening, the cheese is smeared with brine, to which initially, a red smear culture can be added (Brevibacterium linens), producing bacterial flora which makes a considerable contribution to developing flavour. This surface treatment is initially carried out every day, and then less and less frequently. There are also varieties of cheese with a dry smear.
 
The milk used for the production of Tiroler Alm-/Alpkäse imparts a particular flavour due to the alpine vegetation and the altitude of the production region (High-Alp production area) and to the fact that the cattle are exclusively grass-fed. This, together with the traditional hand production method, gives the cheese its particular character. Cheese production makes an essential contribution to maintaining mountain farming in Tyrol and is vital for the ecological variety and stability of alpine agricultural areas. 
 
The description of the specification for registration as PDO is to be found in the Austrian Patent Office (National application No:1299-GR/95). 
 
Key words
Food and Agriculture, Traditional Knowledge, Austria, Tyrol, region, cheese, alp cheese,  raw milk cheese, milk, Tiroler Almkäse, Tiroler Alpkäse
 
Bibliography /References
Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 Application for Registration: Art. 17, PDO. (National application No: 1299-GR/95)
Land Register 93/5 1544 Fo. 47 to 49 (Land Archives)
Winkler W. Winkler: Geschichte der österreichischen Land- und Forstwirtschaft 1848 bis 1898. 3. Band, Commissionsverlag Moritz Perless Wien 1899
Mair-Waldburg H. Handbuch der Käse. Volkswirtschaftlicher Verlag GmbH Kempten
Gitterle J.: Tiroler Almkäse- Produktionsbedingungen und Vermarktung. Teil 1- 3. 1997
http://www.formaggio.it/tiroleralmkaseE.htm 
http://www.almwirtschaft.com/images/stories/fotos/zeitungsarchiv/97/08_09_97_art6.pdf
  
Lanugage Code
German
 
Product of www.genuss-region.at  
no
 
Regional contact 
Verband der Tiroler Käserei- und Molkereifachleute
Brixner Straße, 1
6020 Innsbruck
 
Authors: Mag. Eva Sommer, Dr. Erhard Höbaus
 
* revised version in preparation
 

07.04.2011, Lebensministerium III/4