Havarti () or cream Havarti () is a semisoft Danish cow's milk cheese. It can be sliced, grilled, or melted.
History
Havarti was previously called "Danish Tilsiter" after the German cheese type tilsiter. Danish production began in 1921. In 1952, the cheese was named Havarti, after Havartigården near Holte, where the Danish cheese pioneer Hanne Nielsen worked in the 19th century. Among other cheeses, Nielsen created a Tilsit cheese with caraway for King Christian IX of Denmark. while the Dansk Biografisk Leksikon states that the current Havarti is not based on her cheesemaking.
The original Havarti cheese is different from flødehavarti ("cream Havarti"), which is made from flash pasteurized milk, so that the whey proteins that would otherwise be eliminated during production remain in the curd. This raises yields, but alters the taste and texture. Cream Havarti usually ripens very little, since the remaining whey proteins cause problems (off-taste, odd appearance) during prolonged ripening.
Description
Havarti is made, like most cheeses, by introducing rennet to milk to cause curdling. The curds are pressed into cheese molds which are drained, and then the cheese is aged.
Havarti was traditionally a smear-ripened cheese, but modern flødehavarti is not. Other major producers in the EU are Germany and Spain. There was vehement opposition and pressure from the United States against recognition; the EU was earlier compelled to postpone the planned PGI status for fear that it might be deemed too provocative amidst indications of political backlash from the US.
The Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN), an industry alliance based in Virginia, United States, representing exporting interests founded by the US Dairy Export Council to fight EU geographical indication guidelines expressed outrage over the 2019 EU decision to reserve the name for Denmark, claiming the PGI status is not "legitimate intellectual property protection, but instead for barely concealed protectionism for economic gain". The United States, Australia, New Zealand, Uruguay and Argentina have joined with the CCFN to overturn the decision. and that the EU is trying to "egregiously ... monopolise global trade" in this and many other traditional European products, and is disregarding "established international standards".