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.

Gamalost (also Gammelost, Gammalost), which translates as “old cheese”, is a pungent traditional Norwegian cheese, which was once a staple of the Norwegian diet. Like many traditional Norwegian foods, such as flat bread, dry salted meats and stockfish, Gamalost could be stored for long periods without refrigeration.

To make Gamalost, lactic starter is added to skimmed cow’s milk, causing it to sour. After several days of souring, the milk is slowly heated, before the curds are separated and pressed into forms. After removal from the forms, mold is introduced onto the surface of the cheese, rubbed on by hand in the traditional method. The cheese is then allowed to cure for four to five weeks.

Gamalost production is very labor intensive, particularly if traditional methods are used, and it is not made in sufficient quantity for mass export. As such, it is rare to find the cheese outside Norway.
[edit]Taste and texture

Gamalost is a brownish-yellow cheese with irregular blue veins. It has a sharply pronounced flavor and aroma, like Camembert, Roquefort, or Danish Blue. It is a firm often granular cheese.

Jarlsberg is a mild cow’s-milk cheese with large irregular holes or what are commonly referred to as “eyes”, originating from Jarlsberg, Norway.

Jarlsberg has a yellow-wax rind and a semi-firm yellow interior. The flavor is mild, buttery, nutty and slightly sweet. It is an all-purpose cheese, good both for cooking and for eating as a snack. It has a characteristic smooth, shiny-yellow body, and a creamy supple texture. Jarlsberg Special Reserve is produced in Norway in limited quantities. It is aged a minimum of one year and is distinguished by medium to large holes.

The history of this cheese can be traced back to the middle 1850s. Anders Larsen Bakke (1815–1899), was a farmer and entrepreneur and a pioneer in Norway’s dairy industry. He produced cheese in the Våle village in what was then the county of Jarlsberg and Larviks Amt (now Vestfold), 80 km south of Oslo. The cheese shares similarities with Emmenthal, introduced to Vestfold by Swiss cheese makers during the 1830s. The cheese (and Bakke’s accomplishments) was first noted in the annual county report of Jarlsberg and Larviks Amt 1855.

The Jarlsberg cheese that we know today is a result of a long period of research and development which was carried out by researchers at the Dairy Institute at the Agricultural University of Norway. The cheese making process was developed by Ola Martin Ystgaard, professor of the Agricultural University of Norway. Starting in 1956, Ystgaard and some of his students eventually came up with the recipe that is used today. Commercial production of cheese began in the 1960s.

The largest producer of Jarlsberg today is the TINE BA factory in Elnesvågen in western Norway.[citation needed] TINE is one of the twelve agricultural cooperatives in Norway and the largest Norwegian dairy product cooperative. The corporation domestically offers the entire spectrum of dairy products. In addition to Jarlsberg, TINE’s internationally known products include Snøfrisk goat cheese, Ridder cheese, and Ski-Queen (geitost). Jarlsberg accounts for 60% of TINE’s total export.

Jarlsberg is also produced in the United States on license at Alpine Cheese in Ohio, and by Dairygold in Ireland. In the United States alone it is sold in over 30,000 supermarkets and a ton of the cheese is eaten per hour