Cheese Database

Bergenost vs Jarlsberg cheese

Bergenost

Facts

Milk
Cow
Texture
Semi-soft
Rind
Waxed or sealed
Country
United States
Place
New York

Bergenost is a semi-soft cow's milk cheese from New York, in the United States. Extra cream makes the paste rich, in the manner of a butter cheese, and the pieces are finished in bright green wax. The name and the cultures point toward Norwegian dairy practice, but the cheese itself is American. The interior is pale, smooth, and mild, with only a light sour note under the cream. It is not a brown whey cheese, and it does not carry the large round eyes of a Swiss-style wheel.

Jarlsberg cheese, field guide plate
Jarlsberg cheese, photographed

Jarlsberg cheese

Facts

Milk
Cow
Texture
Semi-hard
Type
Pressed
Rind
Waxed or sealed
Country
Norway

Jarlsberg cheese is a semi-hard cheese from Norway. It is made from cow's milk and belongs to the alpine family of pressed cheeses with round eyes. The paste is pale yellow, smooth, and flexible, with a mild nutty taste and a sweet finish. A yellow wax coat usually covers the rind. Wheels and pre-cut blocks are both common in shops at home and abroad.