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Brunost (Norwegian), mesost (Swedish), mysuostur (Icelandic) or myseost (Danish) is a brown Scandinavian whey cheese. The Norwegian name brunost means ‘brown cheese’. In North America it is referred to and sold as gjetost, which is an older spelling of geitost that is no longer frequently used elsewhere.

he two most popular varieties in Norway are Gudbrandsdalsost, which means ‘cheese from the Gudbrandsdal’, from the Gudbrands valley (made from 24 % goat’s milk and cow’s milk), and the more traditional version geitost, which simply means ‘goat cheese’, and which is wholly or in part made from goat’s milk. There are also regional varieties, which vary both in colour and taste, depending on how much caramel they contain.

Geitost has a strong, sweet, yet somewhat sharp flavor with notes of caramel and goat’s milk, while Gudbrandsdalsost is similar but more mellow in taste. The two varieties are often used as an open sandwich topping, on bread, malt loaf, or together with lefse, a traditional soft Norwegian flatbread. Brunost and lefse are used in some areas as a side dish to lutefisk, a traditional dish made from stockfish.

Geitost is also used in game sauces, often together with juniper berries. It lends such sauces a more subtle, caramel taste.