Denmark’s Dairy Queen…
/Hello Fellow Cheese Enthusiasts!
In July 1903 you could read an obituary of Hanne Nielsen from Havarthigård. Here she was called "the supreme Representative of Home-Dairy Operations." Photo: © Historisk Arkiv for Rudersdal Kommune
A few weeks ago my friend Barry Zuroff called me to talk about Danish Havarti Cheese. He called because he had recently received word that Danish Havarti Cheese had been awarded PGI status (Protected Geographical Indication) and wanted to know more, so this Cheese Traveler decided to dig in and give you the full story about this Danish classic cheese.
This is a story that I am passionate about sharing as well!...When I worked at my very first cheese counter, Havarti was relatively a “new” cheese to my area. We sampled it all of the time and our customers feverishly purchased it. We could easily go through 100 pounds in just one weekend.
I had heard early on that Havarti was first started by a Danish woman named Hanne Nielsen, but did not know much more than that, so I decided to research it and share my findings with you...
A search through the newspaper archives turned up this story from the Mower County Transcript newspaper in Lansing, Minnesota, dated 10 September 1902; Page 2.
DENMARK’S DAIRY QUEEN
The Woman Who Has Made Danish Butter Famous In Europe.
The high standard attained by Danish butter is partly due to the energetic work of one woman, Frau Hanne Nielsen. Her name is familiar to all people of Scandinavian countries and to those in any way interested in dairy work throughout all Europe, says M. Mostensen in the Creamery Journal.
Hanne Nielsen’s farm is located about eight miles north of Copenhagen. She makes butter and cheese for the royal families of Denmark and Russia. This has gained for her a great reputation, but it is mainly by her work as a teacher that she has exerted the greatest influence in the butter making industry of her country.
Frau Nielsen was born Sept. 11, 1829, on a farm near the place where she now resides. When nineteen years of age she was married to Hans Nielsen. He bought his home, Havarthigaard, and there they have resided ever since. Mr. Nielsen was a very industrious man and up-to-date farmer. They had been milking several cows and selling their product. Dissatisfied with the profits of their dairy herd, Mrs. Nielsen offered her husband a bigger price for his milk and made it into butter and cheese. Though successful from the very start, when her plans were immature and her methods somewhat amateurish, she was dissatisfied with results. She realized that is was necessary for her to educate herself in that particular line before she would be really successful. She was not satisfied with being able to make butter and cheese as good as that produced by other farmers’ wives in the neighborhood. In addition to extensive and deep reading on dairy subjects Mrs. Nielsen visited Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, France and other countries in search of knowledge, and for years she has been the acknowledged dairy queen of Denmark. Up to the present time about 1,000 Danish butter makers have studied under Mrs. Nielsen. It is worthy of note that she has partly trained all of the present state dairy instructors in Denmark.
The photo above (S-012376) shows the dairy students at Havarthigård around 1875. Hanne Nielsen on the far right with a granddaughter. The butter churn that Hanne stands with can be found at Rudersdal Museum’s, permanent exhibition in Søllerød. Photo: © Historisk Arkiv for Rudersdal Kommune
This really only shared part of the story, as her farm, Havarthigaard was about to lend its name to the now famous cheese, HAVARTI! Hanne and her husband Hans called the farm Havarthigaard, referring to Hans' family's home, which was on the edge of Hvidovrekanten. "Hawerthi" is the old medieval name for town of Hvidovre.
Hans was a brick maker, so while he worked to remodel the old farmhouse (including adding a basement for dairy operations), Hanne did a lot to improve her skills in cheese production and started taking in students. They lived on the 1st floor of the farmhouse and worked in the basement.
Hanne Nielsen became Denmark's leading farm dairyman and became known both at home and abroad, just as she received several awards for her products. This led to her becoming “Royal Court Supplier of Dairy Products” and was allowed to call one of her cheeses "Christian IX Ost ” (Ost is Danish for cheese) named for King Christian IX of Denmark (ruled 1863-1906).
Havarti cheese is really one cheese that is found in two different forms: Havarti cheese 30+ is made from whole, pasteurized milk. This cheese has a Fat in Dry Matter (FDM) of 45%.
Cream Havarti image courtesy of Tony’s
The second is Cream Havarti (also known as Flødehavarti in Danish), while it is also made from whole, pasteurized milk, cream has been added to raise the FDM to 60% (think of this like Brie, Double Creme Brie 60% FDM, and Triple Creme Brie at 75% FDM). Both of these cheeses have a mild taste, that can have a slightly sour finish on the tongue. They are considered a semi-hard cheese that is Ivory in color with an ”open eye” structure inside (which means that is has small little air pockets inside). This is done by lightly sprinkling the cheese curds into the mould, with very light pressing. These cheeses are considered ”rindless”, as they do not have a tough outer shell to protect them...Instead, they are sealed in plastic and aged. These cheeses are typically aged 90 days, and due to their mild flavor, cheese makers commonly add flavorings such as Herbs & Spices, Dill, Jalapeno, and Caraway Seeds. They even make a Havarti Tilsit version (washed rind on the outside so that it is more aromatic – named after the town of Tilsit, now known as Sovetsk, Russia).
Producers have started to age Havarti 12 months for Aged Havarti, and 24 months for a Vintage. When aging in this fashion, it tends to become slightly crumbly and small tyrosine crystals begin to form inside the cheese, which is an added treat!
Hanne Neilsen passed away just nine months after this newspaper article appeared. She died on June 15, 1903. She is buried in Søllerød cemetery.
Havarti was first produced in Denmark in 1921, when G. Morgenthaler from Switzerland taught two dairymen at two dairies, Ruds Vedby and Hallebygaard on Zealand, how to produce a totally new pumped-curd cheese. This was a great success, and production of the new cheeses spread from these two dairies to many other dairies throughout Denmark.
‘Havarti’ is a very old Danish word dating back to Viking times. It is derived from the word avarti, denoting a lush, flowery riverbank. The name ‘Havarti’ maintains a link with Hanne Nielsen, in recognition of the work she did in the field of cheese-making on the Havartigården farm at Holte, near Copenhagen, in the second half of the 19th century. From 1866 to 1890, she made cheese-making at Havartigården famous throughout Denmark, and she became a supplier to the Royal Danish Court. Naming this cheese “Havarti” pays homage towards her work.
Today, Hanne’s Havarthigaarden still exists and remains as a cultural center, art show place and event center so that it can be enjoyed by all.
Havarti Cheese has taken such a long time to protect due to the fact that other countries now produce a cheese called Havarti. Denmark worked tirelessly to get this protection through the European Union. January 6, 2021 represents the 70th anniversary of the Stresa Convention took place and Danish cheese names like Havarti and Samsø were first protected.
Hanne’s travels through Europe gave her a greater understanding of different cheese types, as well as their production….and now I hope you have a greater appreciation for Hanne, and the now famous Havarti cheese which was pays tribute to her amazing work in the dairy industry.
Until next week,
Trevor
My sincere thanks to Morten Meinert Jensen, Archivist for the Ruderdsal Kommune Museum for sharing these images and helping bring a face to this story…Tak min ven!!
