Håøya - an oasis in the Oslofjord
Sedentary life in the Oslofjord
Did you know that there is a seat operation a short boat trip from Rådhuskaia in Oslo? A separate island where the goats are milked by hand and cheese is made in the elite class? Goat farmer Helge Haugen on Høåya has built his own dairy barn and makes cheese according to the same methods as a hundred years ago. The result is artisanal cheese in a special class.
Håøya is like a hidden oasis in the Oslofjord with Oscarsborg as its nearest neighbour. There is no electricity on the island and for many years the vegetation has been allowed to grow wild. For a time, deer and ticks ruled the uninhabited area. Since 2011, however, Helge Haugen's cashmere goats have made a real grazing effort to reclaim the unique cultural landscape.
Three years later, Håøya Naturverksted's adventurous history begins.
Norway's best chevre
Yngve Strøm Tingstad, trained chef and passionate cheese geek, Lise Brungård, university-educated dairy technologist with a master's in food science and specialty in white goat cheese, and goat farmer Helge Haugen. This trio had the ambition to make Norway's best chevre when they took over the island in the summer of 2014.
- Madness of an idea, says Helge. - For me, Chevre is the "Rolls-Royce" among cheeses and demanding to produce. The fact that we also had neither water nor electricity connected made the madness even greater. Among other things, it gave us some solid rounds with the Norwegian Food Safety Authority and 17-hour working days seven days a week. Despite wood burning, facilities and craft methods as 150 years back in time: Soon handmade chevre from Håøya Naturverksted appeared on the menu of star restaurant Stadtholdergaarden.
On nature's terms
The test project lasted one summer. Since then, Håøya Verksted has been run by Helge and his family plus volunteer bid owners and bidders from home and abroad. He is responsible for the goats and the cheese farm, his wife Johannica, as master of cinnamon buns and bread baked on whey in a more than a hundred-year-old black oven. All heating and sterilization takes place with the help of wood burning.
The workshop is based on a lifestyle with a strong closeness to nature and its premises mixed with a gigantic portion of idealism. Here, quality, genuine craftsmanship and animal welfare have the highest priority.
Autodidact
-What kind of relationship do you have with cheese?
- I didn't know much either about cheese or cheese making before I met Lise and Inge, he assures. - It mostly went in Norvegia and Jarlsberg, but I like challenges. Starting out with hand milking and making cheese on fresh, untreated milk without access to aggregates and clean water was like an extreme sport in practice.
But people managed it before and we can do it now. There is no economy in this. We have to cut the wood, split it and stack it and let it dry for three months before it can be used as fuel. There is something to think about for those who think NOK 40 for a cup of tea is a lot.
We don't get rich with money. It's hard physical work and long, intense days, but there's something in my genes that says yes, please.
A mission
We also have a great desire to contribute to getting Håøya back to the paradise it once was.
The goats have already done a great cleaning job and our goal is to create experiences that make people want to go ashore. The cafe with freshly baked pastries and cheese and cured meat boards is a draw, but it is not enough. There are many places to eat elsewhere. People come to experience the unique cultural landscape and to see the goats being milked. The milk barn is built as a theater stage so that the children can follow the process. Today, many people hardly know where the milk comes from.
Grilled cheese in corona time
He is getting ready to lure in the goats. It's time for milking. The herd comes trotting from all sides and is soon ready for the few bouts up to the milk barn. Five liters of milk gives an average of ten grilled cheeses and approx. 100 grams of ricotta.
- Due to restrictions around the corona, we have had to switch to grilled cheese, which is the housewife version of Cypriot halloumi, he explains. - Unlike Chevre, it is easy to cheese and has double heat treatment as part of the process. It is a mild and good cheese that goes well with most things.
In demand among chefs
- Anyone who doesn't like this can't be happy in life, proclaims food writer, cheese nerd and chef Henrik J. Henriksen, who visited during the sailing holiday. - Chevren from Håøya is completely unique, but I've never tasted better halloumi either.
Then you will have to look for a long time for better quality milk and a shorter route from milking to the cheese vat, he emphasizes. - It's just so fantastically cool that there is a cheese factory in the middle of the Oslofjord that makes world-class cheese! There are more foodies than me who have to visit Helge to secure cheese and cured meats from Håøya Naturverksted, says Henriksen.
Text and photo: Trude Henrichsen
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