Vasterbotten Cheese

The cheese was first made at Burtrask dairy in 1872, and the story attached is that a dairymaid was distracted, interrupted the stirring repeatedly and produced something unintended. It has been made in the same village ever since and only there: attempts to reproduce it at other dairies from the same recipe and the same milk have not given the same result, and the reason has never been fully explained, which the producer leaves as part of the mystique. It is hard, granular, matured at least fourteen months, sharp and slightly bitter with crystalline texture. Vasterbottenpaj, a savoury tart made with it, is standard at Swedish crayfish parties in August.

The main sights

• Made only at Burtrask - since 1872, nowhere else.
• Matured at least fourteen months - hard, granular, sharp.
• An unexplained local factor - reproduction elsewhere has failed.
• Vasterbottenpaj - the tart eaten at crayfish parties.

When to go

Year round; August is when it appears on every table. A shop visit.

Things to know

The dairy is a working plant with limited visitor access. Burtrask is a small village with little else. The cheese is expensive. The taste is sharp and not universally liked.

Nearby

Skelleftea is north-east; the Bothnian coast is beyond.