RICHFIELD, WI DCI Cheese Company is reintroducing Liederkranz (pronounced LEE-duhr-krahntz), an American-made, surface-ripened snack cheese with a distinctly strong aroma and unique, full-bodied flavor. After a 25-year hiatus, the cheese is returning to the market and will be available for purchase in specialty stores in the Midwest starting in mid-March 2010.
Liederkranz is an American replication of Germanys Limburger cheese, made subtly different by the use of a distinct bacterial culture for ripening. The cow’s milk cheese has the same texture and unique aroma, but features a distinctively robust and buttery flavor. The small, rectangular cheese has a moist, edible, golden yellow crust with a pale ivory interior and a heavy, honey-like consistency. It is particularly well complemented by dark bread and dark beer and can be used as an appetizer, on salads or sandwiches, or with fruits. As it matures, the crust turns golden brown and the cheese a deeper color. Both flavor and aroma become much stronger.
The mildly pungent cheese was created in the late 1800s by Emil Frey, an apprentice cheesemaker at the Monroe Cheese Company in Monroe, NY. The owner, Adolphe Tode, who also ran a successful New York delicatessen, had received many requests from German immigrants for Bismarck Schlosskse, a traditional soft, smelly cheese, which often spoiled in transit. Tode challenged his companys cheesemakers to duplicate the popular German cheese, and after years of experimentation, Frey stumbled upon a spreadable, Limburger-style product.
The first samples were taken to the famous New York City singing society, the Liederkranz Club, whose members were patrons of Todes deli. When they pronounced it wonderful, the cheese was named Liederkranz in their honor. Translated from German, the name means “wreath of song”.
Source: DCI Cheese Company