Everything the Czech Republic gave to the cheese world
Humble beginnings
The first records of cheese on Czech territory date back to the year 993, specifically to the Břevnov Monastery. It is said to have served as dues in kind.
A sour past
The origins of cheese-making in the Czech Republic, but also in the whole of Central Europe, including the Alpine region, are described as curd cheese. Farmers originally processed milk, cream and butter, whereas from the remaining skimmed milk were made using acids (and acid curdling) to produce so-called sour cheeses or cottage cheese and fresh cheese.
The beginnings of cheesemaking in the Czech Republic, as well as the whole of Central Europe – including the Alpine region – are described as curd. Farmers would produce milk, cream and butter, and from the remaining skimmed milk, with the help of acids, so-called sour cheeses, or curd cheese and fresh cheeses were produced.
The people's hero
The longest tradition is attributed to curd cheeses – “tvarůžky” or “syrečky”. The basic raw ingredient is fat-free curd, which (according to the time-tested recipe) must be thoroughly crushed – ideally by foot – to get rid of the lumps. After that, it should be “slapped”, salted, possibly sprinkled with caraway and dried at a temperature of around 20 °C, ideally in an attic.
From Olomouc to the world
Curd in Olomouc tvarůžky – with a capital O and a protected geographical indication – is still trampled by foot today. However, the name of the cheese is not related to its origin, but to the trade. Curd cheeses were primarily sold in Olomouc, and at the same time exported from there (as from other places in Moravia and Bohemia) to neighbouring countries. In the north-east of Moravia, on the other hand, they accepted sheep brynza, parenice or oštěpky as their own, which began to be produced in Slovak salašes – humble, ranch-like dwellings.
Wallachian or potato
The term curd includes countless types of aromatic cheese. In Wallachia, curd was mixed with salt and eggs, shaped into cones, dried in the oven and then grated into dough or bun fillings. Dumplings made of salted curd and cumin were dried in a similar way, so that they would last through the whole winter.
In the vicinity of Prague, both beer curds were produced – thoroughly salted cottage cheese in the form of cakes was moistened with beer and left to mature in vats. Other times, mashed, half-cooked potatoes, cumin and salt were added to the curd, and the resulting mixture was left in a warm place for two to three days to ripen. Wooden boards or outdoor cages were used to dry the shaped curd – they could be hung, or placed in pots to ripen.
Cumin and more
The curd base for cheese curds used to be richly seasoned – with cumin and paprika, but also mint, nutmeg, sage and other herbs. Preserved recipes are also reminiscent of hop or lime curds with added chalk.
Bread mould
At the end of the 17th century, a recipe for blue cheese had already appeared - mouldy bread was crumbled and soaked in milk, and then mixed into the curd. So unlike today’s niva, blue cheese was created by acid precipitation. The French chose a slightly different mould method – first, they baked bread from wheat and rye flour, from strong sourdough starter and vinegar. The finished loaf was hung in a cellar at a temperature of around 12 °C for about a fortnight to develop mould. Over the next forty days, the bread was pounded into a blue powder – ready for the preparation of the legendary Roquefort.
One-of-a-kind
The remarkable Czech "mould" was introduced to the market by Čeněk Charousek in 1897. Nalžov cream cheese was similar to camembert, but it was distinguished by pink to red mould, which was naturally found on the premises of the Taaffe farms in the Nalžov mountains. Cheese production ended in 1932, but this delicacy from Šumava is still considered unique in the world.
Good things take time
The history of Czech cheesemaking developed in the folk kitchen, or rather farms and farmsteads, where housewives and farmers took care of milk processing. Later on, in the 18th century, domestic production became a craft, which was concentrated on Czech and Moravian estates. At that time, inspiration flowed in from abroad, especially from France, Holland and Switzerland. However, progress – and the invention of new types of cheese – was slowed by wars in the 15th and 17th centuries.
A Viennese success story
The heyday of cheesemaking came at the end of the 19th century. About 150 smaller cheese factories were operating in the Czech Republic at the time, which had gathered knowledge from, among others, the Swiss. In Jaroslavice, they even attempted Czech parmesan. In 1872, the Czechs took Olomouc curd cheeses, as well as Alpine, Limburg, mould and brick cheeses to an exhibition in Vienna. From then on, following the establishment of the Regional Dairy School in Kroměříž, the 20th century saw private dairy enterprises grow and industrial production flourish.
Václav Kněz
Every cheesemaker knows this name. Engineer Václav Kněz became famous as a technologist and author of publications about milk and cheese. In one of them, he even wrote the recipe for the ever-popular fried cheese, or smažák.
All in one place
Decree no. 397/2016 (amended no. 274/2019) should be of interest to dairy farmers and cooks alike. It contains precise definitions of dairy products, as not all cheese can be called fresh, curd or eidam.
Below the line: This article was inspired by a meeting of chefs from Lokál, at a lecture by Veronika Legarová and Lucie Kejdová Rysová from ČZU on the history of cheesemaking and the technology of Eidam-type cheese production, which took place at the UM restaurant. The invitation was also accepted by the Kojetíns from Farma Struhy, where cheese for frying is made for Lokál restaurants.
Source: presentation of ČZU, Old Bohemian Culinary Art by dr. Zíbrt Čenek (1927)
