Cheese Database

Bergkäse vs Berner Alpkäse

Bergkäse

Facts

Milk
Cow
Texture
Hard
Type
Pressed
Rind
Natural rind
Country
Austria

Bergkäse is a hard cow's milk cheese from Austria, and the name means mountain cheese. It stands for several alpine wheels rather than one single recipe. Makers press the curd into large rounds with a firm paste and a natural rind. The taste is nutty and savory, and it grows a little sharper as the wheel ages. Small openings may show in the paste, but this is not a large-eyed Emmental style.

Berner Alpkäse

Facts

Milk
Cow
Texture
Hard
Type
Pressed
Rind
Washed rind
Country
Switzerland
Place
Bern

Berner Alpkäse is a hard cow's milk cheese from the Bernese Alps in Switzerland. Herders make it on high pastures while the cows eat summer grass and alpine herbs. The milk is raw, and the wheels have no eyes, unlike many other Swiss cheeses. A younger wheel is firm and full. The very dry form, called Berner Hobelkäse, is shaved into thin curls because a knife will not cut it cleanly.