Norwegian Raclette with the cover name Jærost

Norway has become a cheese nation that can boast a gold medal winner in the World Cheese Awards. For the first time, Norway will host the world championship in cheese, and I have started my hunt for cheeseries around the country. At Hans Voll by Jæren, I got to taste the country's only Norwegian-produced raclette. - I thought it was wise to call it Jærost, says Hans Voll. - People at Jæren weren't that used to raclette when I started out. Not everyone wanted to taste it. He smiles warmly and generously cuts his award-winning cheese into real pieces. He himself became fascinated by the processed cheese when he saw the film Heidi as a young boy. The scene where the grandfather cut cheese and roasted it on the fire made an impression. Regular visitor He grew up with cheese and dairy products. His mother was known as Smør-Petra and he himself often stopped by the dairy and secured a piece of cheese on his way to and from school. After thirty years as a dairy farmer and it was time to hand over the farm to his son, he decided to start production in the old dairy on the farm. The year was 2001 and he was the first in the country to get approval from the Norwegian Food Safety Authority to make unpasteurised cheese on the farm. Cheese is trendy There has been a drastic change in people's relationship with cheese in just the last five years, he emphasises. - Before, people hardly dared to taste the cheese. Today, they ask and dig about everything from production to serving tips. I notice a colossal difference. Cheese has become a trend, - moreover, people travel a lot more. Loyal to the product He shows the way into the ripening room, the cabinet where the cheeses are lined up. These will go to the World Cup, he says and good-naturedly pats a wheel of cheese with the inscription October 2017. They will have a year of ripening. - Are there any new types of cheese in the works? - No, I'll stick to Jærosten, - it's good enough, he assures, knowing full well that it has already harvested several golds. Text and photo: Trude Henrichsen