Review of Jarlsberg® Cheese

It all began in the 1820s when Swiss master cheese-makers visited Norway’s Jarlsberg and Laurvig (now known as Vestfold) Counties. They taught the locals the art of making Swiss cheese. The locally produced Swiss cheese disappeared over time. In 1956, a group of students and scientists at the Agricultural University of Norway explored these cheese legends and combine them with modern cheese making technology. Under the leadership of Professor Ole martin Ystgaard, they created a cheese with fine, round holes. The cheese was named Jarlsberg.

Jarlsberg Original is a mild, semi-soft, part skim cheese made from cow’s milk. It has a mild, sweet, and nutty taste and large round holes. We tried it with the The Perfect Cheeseburger recipe on Jarlsberg’s website. I split the recipe to make slider versions so everyone could have their own little burger. The initial aromas are of smoky bacon, sweet vinegar from the pickles, and chipotle from the mayo. The burger had a broiled flavor with smoky, salty flavor from the bacon. Unfortunately, the ingredients buried the most important part of this burger which was the cheese. But the textures contrasted nicely with each other from the creamy, slightly spicy chipotle mayo to the crisp lettuce to the slight crunch of the toasted bun. Rating: 4.6/5

• Suggested recipe changes: The burger mixture has too much salt – 2 tablespoons in the recipe. We reduced it to 1.5 teaspoons in the mix and then seasoned patties before grilling. Also, if the cheese were doubled (two slices for a full size burger and half a slice for a slider), it would shine through much better.

For more information:

Jarlsberg Cheese

Find Jarlsberg cheese at Stater Bros. and Costco in Southern California.