REPORTAGE

Ostriket - our tasteful kingdom

It's all about perspective. In a nutshell, cheese is nothing more than a biologically fermented, chemically stabilized and enzymatically altered milk concentrate. A challenging tounge twister perhaps, but not magic. But that's like considering love as a chemical process (or a possible chocolate intox). But that's hardly how we experience the world. That's why we put on our most shimmering cheeseboards and try to understand how an entire region can be encapsulated in two hectares of cheese.

La Mancha in Spain, Fribourg in Switzerland, Normandy in France, Emilia-Romagna in Italy and Burträsk all have the ability to summarize their regions in the form of cheese - so-called terroir cheeses. What a Manchego, Gruyère, Parmigiano Reggiano or Västerbottenost has in common is that these cheeses are only produced in their respective regions. They derive their character from the unique conditions of the place; geography, climate, soil, vegetation, traditions and microflora - all play a part in shaping the identity, flavor profile and expression of the cheese.

What makes Västerbottensost terroir-bound is precisely that elusive interaction between place and product. The cheese is only made in Burträsk, and according to the dairy's own statement, something about the milk, bacterial culture and microclimate there makes all the difference. Despite repeated attempts, they have not managed to recreate the taste anywhere else. Still, that's saying something. Add to that a long tradition of craftsmanship, a place-bound production process - and you have all the hallmarks of a terroir cheese, on a par with the most iconic French and Italian varieties.

Started as a failure

It all started in Burträsk in 1872, when skilled dairy professional Ulrika Eleonora Lindström, after training in Västergötland, returned home to ferment traditional Västgöta cheese. Legend has it that she was interrupted, which led to the curd being boiled and cooled a few extra turns. After tasting, it was clear that the failure was, in fact, a success. Why it was Burträsk and nowhere else has been the subject of wild speculation - a meteorite strike that hid minerals in the ground or cosmic lime from a comet?

Over time, the cheese grew from local legend to national icon. As early as 1905, Västerbottensosten entered the cultural limelight when it featured prominently on a shopping list signed by August Strindberg. Five years later, the now classic W-mark was registered as a guarantee of quality, and in 1935 the cheese was given its modern identity when the name was officially changed to Västerbottensost. It appears on export lists as well as on breakfast tables and Nobel dinners.

But above all, Ulrika's creation cemented Västerbotten as Sweden's most prominent cheese region. Something that over the years has given rise to several reputable farm dairies. One of those that is active today is Svedjan Ost, which has been run by Pär and Johanna Hellström since 2010.

- "We never had the ambition to make Västerbotten cheese," says Pär Hellström. But we have definitely been inspired by it. We are proud to be from here, where such a unique cheese is made, and it has given us the strength to try to create something of our own that can also carry the soul of the region but which comes from us - Pär and Johanna.

Not a given

Devoting themselves so wholeheartedly to cheese was not a given from the start. When the Hellström couple realized that their farm in Södra Svedjan was too small to secure their livelihood as traditional dairy farmers, they started looking for other ways. A study trip to France was an eye-opener - not just for the craft, but for what cheese can actually mean.

- It gave us a perspective that was both broader and deeper. Each region had a particular cheese - often just one - and the people there were masters of it. There was a pride, a cultural connection. We saw the parallel with Västerbotten cheese and realized that we also have something to build on.

Back home, they built their own dairy and started experimenting. But the path to a finished cheese is anything but straightforward. Each new variety takes shape in an interplay between raw material, bacterial culture, microclimate and, above all, time. The result is not known until a year later, a process that is, contradictorily, as scientific as it is intuitive. At the heart of it all is craft and desire. It's where the identity of the cheese is formed - not in the recipe, but in the people who make it.

- It starts with an idea, a desired expression. Then we start. Only after maturing do we know if we have succeeded. Then we may have to adjust, try again. It's not about which herbs the cows have grazed on or about romanticized stories, says Pär. "It's about us, our hands, our taste buds. What we want to create. That is the identity - the intention and the care.

A clear example of how far it can carry appeared in 2017. At a Christmas market in Umeå, a feverish Pär is standing there when the phone rings: "Turn on SVT". Their cheese was on the Nobel dinner menu. Not because some big PR machine was in motion, but because some of the chefs had secretly chosen their cheese for a potato dish.

- It was absolutely crazy. They had used our cheese before, tried it again and decided. We didn't find out until we saw it on TV. But they even put our name on the menu.

The next generation

Svedjan Ost doesn't make Västerbottensost, but they are adding something just as important; a next generation where the craftsmanship of northern Sweden is allowed to blossom into new, beautiful, flavorful, idiosyncratic cheeses - carefully crafted in a dairy built with their own hands, overlooking Lake Storkågeträsk. A place where the heritage of the place is not only preserved, but given new life in new hands.

- We want to make cheese that tastes good, that is beautiful to look at and that actually says something about who we are. We come from the place where Västerbottensosten is made, but we tell our own story.

Text: Jimmy Hovrén

Illustrations: Linnea Ingeborg Lundqvist

Photo: Tilda Olofsgård