Kaasbar Amsterdam, heaven for cheese lovers.

Finally, a place that I have been looking for. Stylish, great variety of local artisan cheese, good cheese-wine pairing recommendations ( thankfully not forced) and great service.

I love that finally a place could come over the idea of farm cheese presented on farms next cows, barns and the lovely land. Don’t get me wrong, I love farms and animals, but bringing a great variety of cheese, knowledge about cheese and the chance to choose really unique, tasty and rich cheese and enjoying them with great wines is something extremely important to create the demand for good cheese. As long as people are only given the chance to buy packaged, sliced cheese in supermarkets we cannot really expect them to have a better understanding of cheese or have the craving to try something new, something lot more of quality, lot more exciting.

That’s why I would highly recommend the Kaasbar in Amsterdam. If you are in town you got to try it.!

Here are some hints from the experience and the cheese I tried so far, although I am probably going to be back soon to try the whole variety.

What I tried ( from left to right) :

1.Brabants Blauw with medjool date & grasshopper (from Bastiansen)

2. Boeren Mulder Vergeten Kaas with red pesto & zucchini spaghetti (from Mulder)

3. Reade Jutter with onion chutney & red beetroot, seeds and pips ( from De Terschellinger)

4. Le petit Doruvael Truffel with lemon curd & red pepper fried spring rolls ( from Boerderij Doruvael)

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The Finnish cheese platter – or something platter made of something cheese :)

Finnish cheese platter

At first I wanted to make separate posts about the different types of Finnish cheeses but I just decided recently that it is better to write my personal experiences and some history of the different types and make a small cheesplatter along with personal recommendation on how it would be the best to eat these lovely and smooth delicacies.

So here you can find all the cheese I tasted in Finland so far and let me share my opinion on all these. You can argue, you can share what you think of the following.

Please do not hesitate 🙂

#1 Oltermani

Oltermanni is a brand of Finnish cheese that is similar to the Danish cheese called Havarti. It is often eaten on rye bread, or with other meals (e.g. the Finnish rice pie: Karjalanpiirakka). Oltermanni is manufactured by the company Valio. It is a rindless, semi-soft rich cheese with a high fat content usually made of fresh cow’s milk. It has a fresh aroma and I would say that is has almost similar taste as a young Ementaler but it is less ’agressive’.

Taking into consideration that is has high fat content I would suggest having it with a glass of Pinot Noir or a Glass of brown ale from Brewdog  such as #MashTag2015  or Guinness.

#2 Aura cheese

Aura is a type of blue cheese alsoproduced by the Finnish dairy company Valio. Aura is made of cow’s milk and takes its name from the Aura River, which runs through the city of Turku. The cheese is available in two varieties. The regular variety is aged for six weeks, whereas the stronger ‘Aura Gold’ variety is aged for 12 weeks.

Aura has a really strong almost Gorgonzola character therefore it takes the leading role either in a meal or on a cheesplatter. It can be sprinkled on a salad or put on rye bread with a little bit of butter accompanied by grapes or pear. I would also recommend having a glass of Riesling as the sweetness of the wine clings to the fat in the cheese and makes it a perfect taste sensation.

 

#3 Leipajusto a.k.a  Breadcheese

It is my personal favourite from the ones I met in Finland so far. It is soft and fresh almost cottage-cheese like usually made of cow’s milk, but since I am on a goat farm we used goat’s milk and compared to the original cow one, I preferred the goat milk version. The procedure of making is a bit extraordinary as the fresh goat cheese has to be baked in an oven for 20-30 minutes on 250 celsius degrees ( I personally needed 45 minutes), but it actually worth waiting, especially if you have some fresh berries in the garden or any kind of non-sugary jams in the cupboard. It is especially delicious with apple or pear jam along with a cup of sparkling white wine or an ice-cold Merlot or a glass of stout beer.

#4 Fresh goat cheese ( made in the morning)

Well, this is the easiest case since it is a very light, soft and smooth cheese that caneasily be spread on fresh rye bread either by itself or along with lingonberry or other sour type of berry jams, also this can be a perfect match with plum jam also. And to make the indulgence more extatic you should be tasting it with a glass of Sauvign on Blanc.

So take your time and try out either only one of these or the whole variety but I promise you won’t regret any of the moments spent with these lovelies.

Have nice cheese moment 😉