Cheese professor Siv Skeie

Cheese professor Siv Skeie

She researches milk quality, dairy production and quality of dairy products. Siv Skeie is particularly interested in cheese ripening and the role of microorganisms during cheese ripening. She is also the country's only cheese professor...

- I have always been fond of cheese, she assures. - In addition, we have a dairy background in the family. Grandfather was a dairy manager in Vik i Sogn. When I was little we lived in an apartment at the dairy and from the bedroom window I could see into the cheese factory. It was always exciting to follow what happened during the making of old cheese.

A random choice

That she would end up as a cheese professor and teach, however, was not in the cards.

- My great interest was biology, but the only thing I knew that I not wanted, was to become a teacher. We have an awful lot of teachers in the family, she adds with a laugh.

Instead, he studied food science at Ås, before continuing his education as a trainee at Tine dairies in Værdal.

Important inspiration

-Here I worked with cheese production, she continues. - The manager of the cheese factory was a wonderfully inspiring man who lived and breathed for cheese. We became a good team.

I absorbed his practical knowledge and long experience, - and in return I could share the theory. We learned a lot from each other.

The hunt for good light cheese

- I really liked research, so when a PhD scholarship appeared at Ås, I applied back and got the position there.

At the same time, light cheese was launched on the Norwegian market.

This was not an immediate success, so I worked, among other things, to investigate: How to prevent the texture of stomach cheese from getting an eraser-like feel and what is needed to give the cheese more flavour?

The challenge lies in the fact that cottage cheese contains less fat, which is replaced by water and protein, she explains.

-The strange thing is that when the protein content is high, the breakdown happens more slowly, which in turn means that less taste develops.

Briefly explained: If you store cheese for five years, you will get a better taste - but this makes for poor economics.

What I worked on in my PhD never made it onto the market in Norway.

With Kraftkar on the wish list

Today, she is employed as a professor at NMBU where she teaches cheese making and cheese production. Here, she has worked with milk quality and rut formers and what significance this has for cheese quality.

- What is the fascination with cheese?

- It is finding out what is needed to achieve exactly that special taste. I have worked on various projects up through. Gradually, we have a relatively good knowledge of the direction in which the protein should be broken down based on different types of cheese.

- Do you have a favorite cheese yourself?

The answer comes in no time: - Vellagret Norvegia! Otherwise, I'm fond of blue cheese and could well have thought of doing research on, for example, Kraftkar.

Also, I think it's fun to go to the shelf with expired dates in the store and find well-aged cheeses there. It's pure treasure hunting.

Byline: Trude Henrichsen