Alpenmilch introduces new cheese category

Austria’s €100 million turnover, Salzburg-based Alpenmilch dairy was one of the first to introduce separate marketing of products processed from organically managed herds, or from “hay milk” produced on farms that guarantee no silage is fed to the cows, with only fresh grass and sun-dried hay as forage. Now, Alpenmilch managing director Christian Leeb introduces yet another category: “alm milk”, from cows that spend summer on the high mountain pastures.

He explains  that special collections from the Pongau, Lungau and Pinzgau  pastures way above the Alpine treeline are from now on reserved for the dairy’s  new Premium Almkönig  slicing cheese. Prepacked in 200g portions this has a mild, nutty flavour.  The grazing season lasts for less than four months up in Europe’s highest pastures, so Almkönig really is a limited production cheese.