Both brown and white cheeses were made, as well as gum from the milk. After the cow had calved, cottage cheese was made from the raw milk. Here are recipes for cheeses and gums from North Troms.
Brown cheese (Kåfjord)
5 litres of UHT milk
1 tablespoon rennet
1 cup of cultured milk
1 packet of cream
½ litre of UHT milk
Warm the milk and add the rennet. Let the mixture stand until it thickens. Cook the mixture until it thickens further and becomes dry. Knead slightly and place in a bowl once it has cooled (first put plastic in the bowl). Leave the mixture until the next day. Cook for about 5 to 6 hours.
White cheese (Uløybukt)
Fresh milk and rennet are boiled until it starts to crack. Then strain off the mash. The white cheese is dried on a rack for about 3 weeks. The remaining mash is used to make nut cheese. Made in the same way as white cheese. We don't know how much was used or whether it was something that was made when the sheep ”lost” the lambs.
Coffee cheese / white cheese (Kåfjord)
6-8 litres of milk
1 tablespoon rennet
Simmer the milk. Add the rennet. When the mass hardens after about half an hour, remove it in a cloth. Squeeze out the rennet and place it in a press. Coffee cheese must be pressed for a while after drying.
The coffee cheese was cut into small pieces, which were added to the coffee.
Else Helene Solberg from Kåfjorddalen makes coffee cheese
"People used to do a lot of hard labour back in the day. If it was hard work, you knew you'd get coffee cheese. Coffee cheese was powerful. If they got cheese in their coffee, they could work for a long time again.
Else Helene Solberg, Kåfjorddalen
Gum 1 (Sandvågen)
Approx. 5-6 litres of cow's milk. Add a tablespoon of rennet. Let it stand until it thickens. Whisk well and bring to the boil. Remove any solids and leave the rest to cook. Cut the solids into chunks and stir in. Cook until the mixture turns brown and is suitably thick. Stir occasionally, especially at the end. After cooking, stir the yolk until it is cold. It is important that it is simmered over a low heat, otherwise it will be harsh in flavour. The colour is also best when cooked slowly. Garnish with a little sugar and cinnamon.
Gomme 2 (Kåfjord)
3 litres of UHT milk
½ litre kefir
½ dl syrup
some raisins
2 tablespoons semolina
Cook for about 4 hours.
Gomme 3 (Kåfjord)
7 litres of milk
1 tablespoon rennet
1 cup of rice pudding
raisins
a little flour
Heat the milk until lukewarm. Add the rennet. Leave the mixture to stand and rennet until it becomes thick. Remove the whey and whisk in the mixture. Start to boil, but not too fast. Add the rice pudding, raisins and brown sugar.
Tips
With the help of a small splash of cream, the palate softens slightly and becomes less dry.
When the cows calved, they boiled the colostrum. It became cottage cheese. They thought it was delicious. They also made cheese. In the winter, they used cheese in their coffee when they had no milk.
From the book About the Sea Sami by Anders Larsen
Kjeleost / calf dance (Kåfjord)
1 litre of colostrum
7-8 dl whole milk
Take milk from the first milkings after the cow has calved. Mix it all together and cook it on the stove, or bake it in a water bath or in a baking dish in the oven. Bake at 180 degrees until it has a nice crust and thickens. Serve with cold milk and sugar.
Sources and relevant links
Booklet Mat og tradisjoner i Nord-Troms, 1997
About the Sea Sami by Anders Larsen, National Library of Norway
