[HN Gopher] Kaffeost
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       Kaffeost
        
       Author : i_don_t_know
       Score  : 48 points
       Date   : 2023-04-27 10:17 UTC (1 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.atlasobscura.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.atlasobscura.com)
        
       | lbotos wrote:
       | I wonder where the root of this is. Puerto Ricans do this as well
       | "Cafe con queso"
        
         | malkia wrote:
         | Wow! Gotta visit a place in LA that sells these -
         | https://www.google.com/search?q=caf%C3%A9+con+queso+los+ange...
         | 
         | Thanks!!!
        
       | teddyh wrote:
       | I was pleasantly surprised that this _wasn't_ some new startup
       | using some Swedish word as their name.
        
       | decross wrote:
       | In Brazil it is common. The root is maybe that fat makes caffeine
       | to spike less and last longer.
        
         | michaelleland wrote:
         | I've heard that it has similar effects to Bulletproof coffee in
         | that way.
        
       | hervature wrote:
       | This very much reminded me of the cheese in coffee (actually any
       | hot beverage) culture in Colombia [1]. The same basic premise
       | that the cheese softens but does not melt. Imparts a little extra
       | flavor to the coffee but the best part for me is the cheese
       | absorbs the liquid resulting in an awesome tasting cheese with
       | unique texture. The first time I was introduced to this I thought
       | the locals were trying to trick a silly foreigner into putting
       | cheese into their coffee. Another favorite of mine in Colombia in
       | putting achiras (like small cheesy bread sticks) in coffee [2].
       | 
       | [1] - https://www.roastycoffee.com/cheese-in-coffee/
       | 
       | [2] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achira_(biscuit)
        
       | dalys wrote:
       | I am a Swede but never heard of this at all and haven't seen it.
       | Seems like something that is happening far up in the north? Maybe
       | something new for the hipster coffee shops to try.
        
         | michaelleland wrote:
         | I'm an American, but I lived a year in Kiruna (up north, mining
         | town, part of Lapland) and it was a common thing among my
         | friends from there. Common enough that I brought the tradition
         | back to the US and enjoyed a cup of coffee-cheesed coffee just
         | yesterday.
        
           | klabb3 wrote:
           | Wow. How was your experience there? Even as a native Swede,
           | that'd be quite a cultural challenge, as well as harsh to
           | deal with the total darkness during the winter.
        
         | adunk wrote:
         | As a fellow Swede: having grown up in northern Sweden, I have
         | both heard of this, and have personally witnessed cheese
         | especially made for this practice in regular stores, but I have
         | never tried it myself.
        
         | mikae1 wrote:
         | Swede here. Yes, I've heard of it and have witnessed it, but
         | I'd say it's _extremely_ uncommon (bordering "unheard of")
         | among people under the age of 80. In Sweden it 's practiced
         | mainly in the north.
         | 
         | Highlighting some ancient ritual and making it sound like it's
         | a part of everyday life is typical for this kind of journalism.
        
         | ccakes wrote:
         | I spent some time in northern Sweden, have seen and tried this.
         | It seems pretty common for people who take coffee to work, on
         | hikes, camping etc. I've never seen it in a cafe.
         | 
         | To me it's just an much easier to transport milk alternative.
        
         | Svip wrote:
         | As a Dane, I feel like if it's coffee with cheese, shouldn't it
         | be ostekaffe? Kaffeost suggests it's a cheese with coffee
         | flavour. Though, I have never heard of this either.
        
           | poniko wrote:
           | Coffee with cheese would be ostkaffe .. cheese that you
           | specifically put in coffee will be kaffeost.
           | 
           | Had it a few month ago in Kiruna .. just not that exciting.
        
           | botten wrote:
           | It's the cheese that is called kaffeost, not the combination
           | of the cheese with coffee.
        
         | vnorilo wrote:
         | I am a Finn and also never seen or heard anyone do this.
         | "Leipajuusto" with jam is common though.
        
           | knlje wrote:
           | Last 1 minute of this video is the first time I heard about
           | this practice: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eB3svho-sF0
        
           | botten wrote:
           | And much tastier.
        
         | bivargen wrote:
         | I grew up in Norrbotten (north of the gulf of botnia,
         | northernmost part of Sweden). This was (and still is a thing).
         | Anyway, my mother is from the province of Halsingland (in the
         | middle part of Sweden), there one eats "ostkaka" (cheese cake),
         | which is almost the same thing, but heated in the oven and
         | eaten with jam. I therefore suspect these to be "relic-dishes"
         | and that this type of dairy product was once more widely
         | spread.
         | 
         | And for those who have neither heard or eaten kaffeost, the
         | most similar thing I can think of is Halloumi, though unsalted
         | and made from predominantly cow's milk.
        
         | mtlmtlmtlmtl wrote:
         | Same here from Norway. Though it says the cheese used is often
         | made from reindeer's milk, so I figure it might be a Sami
         | thing?
        
           | rconti wrote:
           | They did specifically mention the Sami in the article
           | 
           | | Though it may be an unlikely pairing to some palates, among
           | the Sami people of Lapland and other regions around northern
           | Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Russia, sharing a mug of
           | kaffeost is a welcome and welcoming ritual.
        
           | BurningFrog wrote:
           | I've heard the Sami like salt in the coffee, but the cheese
           | thing is new to me.
        
             | INTPenis wrote:
             | My brother's wife is no Sami, just a regular fin, and she,
             | and her mother and sisters, actually use salt in coffee. To
             | me as a regular Swede it's sort of insane.
        
               | 4ntti wrote:
               | That sounds odd. I'm a Finn and I can tell you that it's
               | definitely not common here.
        
             | bivargen wrote:
             | Apropos salt in coffee, the way I heard it when growing up
             | was that coffee brewed (or rather boiled) on meltwater
             | didn't quite taste right, add some salt and presto! Having
             | tried that myself I can easily believe that, meltwater
             | doesn't taste the same as well-water. For the record, I
             | tried myself, and yes, when boiling instead of brewing some
             | salt will work, in brewed coffee though, not!
        
       | Cerpicio wrote:
       | Interesting. I wonder if other types of cheese would work in a
       | cup of coffee, since I doubt I can easily get my hands on this
       | kind. Maybe Butterkase, it's soft, mild, and buttery.
       | 
       | I was half expecting to read about coffee-flavored cheese.
       | 
       | I tried chocolate cheese once. We were thinking, chocolate =
       | good, cheese = good. Chocolate Cheese = EVEN BETTER!
       | 
       | We were wrong. It was terrible.
        
         | michaelleland wrote:
         | I've experimented in the US since "real" kaffeost is hard to
         | get ahold of, and I've found Wisconsin cheese curds to work the
         | best.
        
           | shagie wrote:
           | If you're in proximity to Wisconsin,
           | https://carrvalleycheese.com has various bread cheeses (
           | https://carrvalleycheese.com/product-category/bread-cheese/ )
           | can be found in the specialty cheese section of many grocery
           | stores.
           | 
           | For coffee, you'd likely want the one without other things in
           | it ( https://carrvalleycheese.com/product/bread-cheese/ )
           | 
           | > In Finland there is a cheese called Juustoleipa. This
           | translates into cheese bread. We make ours different but
           | better with oven baking it until it has a browned crusty top.
           | Pop it in your oven or microwave until it glistens. Serve it
           | with your favorite dip as a delicious snack. Good as is!
           | 
           | Note the pairings recommended:
           | 
           | > Honey, jam, syrup, coffee
           | 
           | It looks like you can order it from there too.
        
         | 4ntti wrote:
         | Halloumi has a similar squeaky texture so you could try that.
         | The taste is not the same, though.
        
         | dmonitor wrote:
         | I've heard dark chocolate and parmesan make a nice pairing.
        
         | schwartzworld wrote:
         | Chocolate and Cheese is also the name of one of the greatest
         | rock albums of all time.
        
           | lagniappe wrote:
           | I know the reference, but I can't put my finger on it ;)
        
       | vintermann wrote:
       | I've seen many claim that the tradition came to northern Norway
       | with Finnish immigrants. It seems likely, but really hard to say
       | for sure who first did this thing around here.
        
       | daneel_w wrote:
       | In Sweden it's only a thing far up north.
        
       | orestis wrote:
       | Never heard of this before, but I have fond memories of my
       | grandmother sipping Greek coffee with a piece of Cretan gruyere.
        
         | malkia wrote:
         | I'm from Bulgaria, and I would've thought I would know about
         | this (one of my grandmothers is from Greece), but would check.
         | 
         | I was actually looking for more different ways to flavor my
         | coffee - not just heavy cream, or butter, but something else.
         | 
         | So might try both yours, and what the article suggested!
        
       | Magnetite wrote:
       | Glad to see a cherished local delicacy featured on HN! Growing up
       | in northern Sweden, I learned to enjoy it even before I started
       | drinking coffee. While it is a rather mild cheese on its own,
       | when immersed in coffee it softens up and absorbs some of the
       | liquid, giving it a texture somewhere between Camembert and
       | Tiramisu. It pairs well with the traditional Swedish way of
       | preparing coffee, which is coarsely ground coffee seeping
       | immersed in boiling water. Similar to a french press, the
       | unfiltered particles in the coffee give it a more rounded taste,
       | as do the fat the kaffeost disperses into the coffee. As far as I
       | understand from traveling the area and talking to friends, it is
       | more common to eat it like this in the northern parts of Finland
       | and Sweden, whereas further south (but still in the "northern
       | parts") it is enjoyed on its own together with cloudberries.
       | 
       | The article seems a little bit confused regarding locations,
       | though. It mainly uses the Swedish name kaffeost and claims it to
       | be a Scandinavian delicacy (i.e. excluding Finland), but it gives
       | several names for the cheese in Finnish without mentioning
       | Finland. My understanding is that it is mainly a Finnish thing
       | centered around northern Finland and Tornedalia [1], at least
       | originally.
       | 
       | [1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me%C3%A4nmaa
        
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       (page generated 2023-04-28 23:01 UTC)