News reports of a protracted fire in a tunnel involving Norway's beloved brunost (brown cheese) spread beyond the county of Nordland this week. In rather understated style, Kjell Bjorn Vinje of the public roads administration said: "I didn't know that brown cheese burns so well."
You don't have to be a biochemist to know that fat and sugar are quite combustible, and any Norwegian cook will tell you that with its low melting point and high fat content brown cheese is easy to use in dishes, but it seems unlikely that anyone in the police department or at the local brown cheese production facility would have a contingency plan for a scenario in which 27 tonnes of the stuff catches fire in a tunnel.
It has, however, brought some attention to a little-known oddity in the cheese world. It's fair to say brunost hasn't a huge fanbase outside Norway (and the photo caption on yesterday's news story illustrates just how well known it appears to be).
To read the rest of the story, please go to: The Guardian