Cheese Database

Handkäse vs Harzer

Handkäse

Facts

Texture
Soft
Rind
Natural rind
Country
Germany

Handkäse is a small sour-milk cheese from Germany. The name means hand cheese, because makers shaped the little rounds or bars by hand. It starts from sour skim-milk curd, so the paste is lean, tangy, and free of a rich cream taste. A young piece is mild and fairly firm. A ripe piece smells much stronger, with a yellow surface and a soft, sharp center.

Harzer

Facts

Milk
Cow
Texture
Semi-soft
Type
Washed rind
Rind
Washed rind
Country
Germany

Harzer is a German sour-milk cheese made from cow's milk, specifically from a lean curd. It is small, pale at the start, and stronger as the surface ripens. Many pieces are short rolls dotted with caraway, and others are little rounds. The smell grows loud with age, while the young cheese is milder. It is a lean cheese sold in ordinary shops, not a rare farm specialty.