Tennengauer Almkäse

 
Record Number: 60
 
 
 
 
 
Disclosure Date
First mention of cheese production in the region of Tennengau around 400 B.C. when the Celts settled down in the region and randomly produced a primal-cheese.
For about 120 years, Tennengauer cheese dairies have been producing cheese in a traditional way.
 
Title
Tennengauer Almkäse
(Tennengauer Alp cheese)
 
  
Abstract or claim
Cheeses produced from traditional hay-milk obtained from dairy cows of the region.
Hay-milk is the term used for milk which is obtained from cows that are fed green fodder in summer and hay in winter. Silage fodder is banned.
Hay-milk has taste components which are directly related to the local diversity of alpine plants and herbs.
 
The cheese derives its characteristic taste both from the quality of hay-milk and the traditional knowledge of artisan cheese making.Due to the extensive dairy-cow keeping the regional production of Tennengauer Almkäse contributes to the sustainable preservation of the alpine and mountainous landscape and the floral biodiversity of its meadows and pastures.
 
Name of product, Product class
Cheese, milk products
 
Name of region
Tennengau, Salzburg, Austria
 
Field of search
Food and Agriculture
 
Name of information provider
Dorfkäserei (Village cheese dairy) Pötzelsberger
 
Name of applicant for title
---
 
Holder of knowledge or associated resources
95 hay-milk producers, 3 cheese dairies and numerous small alpine dairies in the Tennengau region
 
Grantee(s), holder(s),
assignee(s) or owner(s) of title, if any
---
 
Descriptors
- History:
Since primeval times dairy cows have been fed with hay in the Austrian mountain areas and, to date, this method of production is in use in the region of Tennengau.
 
The production of cheese has a long tradition in the Tennengau region. Processing of a prototype of cheese can be traced back to about 400 B.C. when Celts came to the Alps and settled in today’s Tennengau. It can be assumed that hunters filled their daily ration of milk into sheep stomachs. The milk turned into clots caused by shaking when transported, the increase in temperature by sunlight, and rests of rennet in the sheep stomachs.
 
Cheeses in the present-day form have been produced in Tennengauer cheese dairies for about 120 years.
 
- Region:
The Tennengau region is a part of the Austrian Federal Province of Salzburg, Austria, and is congruent with the administrative district of Hallein.
 
The Tennengau borders the region of Flachgau in the north, Bavaria (Germany) in the west, the Salzkammergut (Upper Austria) in the east, and the Salzburg region of Pongau in the south. The Tennengau is dominated by mountains, valleys and alpine pastures.
 
Climatic conditions:
The region of Tennengau shows sub-alpine climatic conditions. Short and rather cool summers and long cool winters are typical of the region. The annual average temperature is 6 ^o C. The annual average precipitation is about 1500 mm; rainfalls are distributed evenly. Winds are typically from the west and the north and, in the case of foehn winds, from south/southeast.
 
Flora:
The alpine pastures of the Tennengau are located at altitudes between 1,000 and 1,700 m.
The mountain flora is the result of soil and climatic conditions and is characterized by a rich diversity of alpine plants including blue alpine daisy (Aster alpinus), alpine toadflax (Linaria alpine), gentian, globeflower (Trollius sp.), iris varieties, angelica, purple-loosestrife etc.
The specific diversity of alpine grasses and herbs in the green fodder and the hay produced therefrom provide the basis for the unique taste of Tennengauer Almkäse.
 
The vegetation cover is stabilized by the grazing of cattle and, at the same time, the soil water storage is improved.
 
In addition to the flora of alpine pastures, the flora of meadows with scattered trees (extensive grassland-orchard management system) is important in the Tennengau region for obtaining green fodder and hay.
 
- Hay-milk:
In the Tennengau region milk is produced in line with the provisions of the Austrian “Heumilch-Regulativ” (Austrian Hay-milk Regulation).
 
Hay-milk is raw milk which is obtained from cows that are fed green forage in summer and hay in winter. Silage fodder is banned.
The local diversity of alpine plants and herbs is directly related to the quality of hay-milk.
 
Hay-milk is characterized by but very few Clostridia spores. The presence of clostridial spores is undesirable in cheese processing as their outgrowth in raw milk may cause butyric acid fermentation and thus late-blowing defects in cheese. Moreover, clostridial spores are especially harmful to infants and toddlers. Clostridia can multiply in silage fodder but are unable to grow in dry hay.
 
Austrian hay-milk contains very few Clostridia spores (less than 200 /litre milk). Thus hay-milk can directly be used for cheese processing without preservatives and additives. For this reason, hay-milk has gained a peculiar reputation as special milk for the processing of hard cheeses.
 
In contrast, standard raw milk obtained from cows fed with silage fodder has to be treated in order to remove or suppress clostridia spores, as they are able to survive pasteurization. This is done by a special centrifugation or with preservatives (nitrate or lysozyme).
 
The use of hay-milk for cheese processing accommodates consumer demands for food products close to nature. Furthermore, the high calcium content (100 g hay-milk cheese cover the RDA (recommended daily allowance for adults) and the high levels of the nutritionally and physiologically important conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) and omega-3 fatty acids are to be highlighted.
 
Austrian “Heumilch-Regulativ” (Hay-milk Regulation):
The Austrian Hay-milk Regulation lays down the production requirements for hay-milk.
Banned are:
- production, storage of silage or silage balls on the dairy farm, feeding of silage fodder
- production or feeding with moist hay or fermenting hay
- feeding with residues from breweries, distilleries, cideries of the food industry
  (e.g. draff or wet chips)
- soaked feedingstuffs
- feedingstuffs of animal origin (milk, whey, meat-and-bone meal)
- feeding of kitchen, garden and fruit waste, potatoes and urea
- feedingstuffs with added antibiotics, chemotherapeutic substances or hormones
 
Feedingstuffs allowed for milk cows are:
- Green rape, green rye and fodder beet as supplementary feed up to 25% of the dry matter portion
  required by dairy cattle.
- Wheat, barley, oats, triticale and maize as provender. Up to max. 25% of the provender in terms
  of weight can be field beans, field peas and extracted shreds.
- Up to 1 hectare of green maize as stock in cases of seasonal green fodder shortage.
Exemption: Registered feedingstuffs in dry condition: non-molassed dry shreds.
 
Fertilization provisions:
The spreading of sewage sludge or its products and of compost from municipal solid waste is banned on all agriculturally used areas of the milk supplier.
Between fertilization and the use for fodder production a waiting period of three weeks is to be adhered.
 
Application of chemical substances:
The area-wide application of pesticides on the forage areas of the milk supplier is prohibited.
 
The application of registered sprays against flies (diptera) in dairy barns is allowed only when cows are not present.
 
Substances for udder disinfection have to be applied in a manner which excludes any contamination of the milk.
 
Milk delivering bans:
It is not permitted to deliver milk within the first ten days after calving and during the mandatory waiting period of medicinal products.
 
- Tennengauer Almkäse (Tennengauer alp cheese):
The term Tennengauer Almkäse is used in the context of the Austrian Regions of Delight for hard cheeses and semi-hard cheeses.
 
Tennengauer Almkäse is produced from hay milk (silage free milk) obtained from cows of the cattle breeds Pinzgauer and Spotted Cattle in the region of Tennengau.
 
About 95 dairy farmers provide three alpine dairies with hay-milk. Additionally, small local alpine cabins produce cheese.
 
During summer the cows graze the plants and herbs on the mountain slopes and pastures. During winter the cows are fed with hay and corn produced on-farm. 
 

Photo: BMLFUW/Rita Newman

Method of production:
Today a range of hay-milk cheeses are produced in the region. This includes both hard cheese and semi-hard cheeses.
The production method differs depending on the cheese variety; often cheeses are produced in accordance with the organic scheme. A specific feature is the ripening of cheese in natural rocky cellars.
 
Depending on the cheese variety, Tennengauer Almkäse has a specific matrix, form, size, and characteristic flavour.
 
Quality control:
Delivered raw milk is controlled by the Upper Austrian Milk Testing Association (Oberösterreichischer Milchprüfring) at Ried. The cheese is controlled by AGES (Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety), branch Salzburg.
Cheese dairies are subject to the HACCP concept.
Organic cheese is produced according to the provisions of the organic scheme laid down in national und EC legislation.
 
- Marketing:
Tennengauer Almkäse is marketed directly or by retailers.
 
Connection with the geographical area and Traditional Knowledge:
- Specific soil and climate conditions in the alpine region of Tennengau result in a richness of native
  alpine flora which enables extensive management of milk cows on alpine pastures.
- Strong link with the area: Milk cows are grazed on alpine plants and herbs and/or are fed with
  grass and hay produced on the holdings.
- The special, unique flavour and the spicy aroma of Tennengauer Almkäse 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 Tennengauer Almkäse is the result of Traditional Knowledge passed on from
  generation to generation: The Traditional Knowledge and expertise of dairy cow farmers (adapting
  the management of herds to environmental constraints, methods of keeping dairy cows in mountain
  areas, methods of hay making, methods of feeding with green fodder and hay, avoiding silage
  fodder) and of alpine dairies (production, ripening and storage of cheese).
 
- Utilization:
Tennengauer Almkäse is part of numerous traditional dishes of the regional cuisine.
 
- Protection:
-
 
Key Words
Food and agriculture, Traditional Knowledge, Austria, Salzburg, region, Tennengau, cheese, hay milk, alp cheese, hay-milk cheese, Tennengauer Almkäse, Tennengauer Alp cheese
 
Bibliography / References
- Almkäserei Schnitzhofalm (Postalm), the Schnitzhofer Family 
  http://www.bauernwelt.at/index.php?id=83
- Regionalverband Tennengau 
  http://www.tennengau.at/system/web/default.aspx?menuonr=219496599
- Dorfkäserei Pötzelsberger
  http://www.biokas.at/sites/sorten.htm
- Hallein (district)
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennengau 
- Klaus Dorsch
  Geologische Kartierung der Gosaumulden von Rigaus und Schorn; Tennengau/ Salzburger Land
  http://www.lrz-muenchen.de/~bayer/kartierung_klaus/Diplomkartierung.html
- Pilotprojekt– Grundlagen (Draft version of 19 January 2005 of the pilot project - basics)
  www.salzburg.gv.at/gh3_boden_projekt.pdf
- Regionale Schulungsunterlagen Bezirk Tennengau (Regional training documents, District of Tennengau)
  http://www.berg-naturwacht.at/downloads/reg_schulung.pdf
- Salzburg, das Land der Almen
  http://www.salzburg.gv.at/themen/lf/landwirtschaft-2/salzburg,_das_land_der_almen.htm
- So ein Käse!
  http://kulinarium.salzburgerland.com/media/Infoblatt_Kaesen.pdf
- Sonnleitn
  http://www.sonnleitn-abtenau.at/
- Tennengau
  http://aeiou.iicm.tugraz.at/aeiou.encyclop.t/t204035.htm
- Tennengau
  http://aeiou.iicm.tugraz.at/aeiou.encyclop.t/t204035.htm;internal&action=_setlanguage.action?LANGUAGE=en
- Tennengau
  http://www.salzburg.com/wiki/index.php/Tennengau
- Tennengauer Almkäse
  http://www.genuss-region.at/article/archive/14489

All internet references last accessed on 21 July 2008.
 
Language Code
German
 
Product of www.genuss-region.at
Yes
 
Regional contact
Dorfkäserei Pötzelsberger
5421 Adnet, Waidach 27
Phone: 0043 6245/83228
Fax: 0043 6245/83228-4
www.biokas.at
 
Authors: Mag. Eva Sommer, Dr. Erhard Höbaus
 

31.03.2011, Lebensministerium III/4