Saukerkas

Medium·25 min active + 1 hour 5 min resting

Liechtenstein's traditional sour-curd cheese — skimmed sour milk gently set and drained into a low-fat, tangy fresh curd, seasoned with salt and caraway and eaten spread on ribel or dark bread.

Saukerkas (Sauerkäse) is the sour-milk curd cheese of Liechtenstein, a low-fat farmhouse cheese with a sharp, ripened tang. Classically eaten with ribel, it is the kind of frugal Alpine dairy that turns leftover milk into something keepable.

Spread saukerkas on warm ribel and it is soft, fresh, and bracingly tangy, the caraway giving a warm aromatic note. Bite: lean and milky, sharp with lactic sourness, the salt and caraway lifting it — the opposite of a rich Alpine cheese, made to use up sour skimmed milk. Humble and frugal, it is the farmhouse partner to the maize porridge.

Gently heating sour (already-acidified) milk curdles it without rennet — the lactic acid does the setting. Draining removes whey to firm the low-fat curd; salt and caraway season and preserve it. The result is a tangy, lean spreadable cheese, a thrifty use of skimmed milk left after the cream is taken.

Variations

With more caraway. With chives and pepper. Aged a few days for sharper flavor. Whipped with a little cream. With paprika. Eaten with onion on bread.

On the Palate

Where Saukerkas sits in the Liechtensteiner flavor cloud

Ingredients

Serves 6

How it's made

7 steps · 25 min active + 1 hour 5 min waiting

1
10 min
Warm 2 L skimmed sour milk gently to about 50°C (do not boil).
Watch out
Keep it warm, never boiling — you want the milk to gently break into soft curds; a boil turns them grainy and tough.
2
20 min
Hold the temperature until the milk separates into curds and whey, 20 min.
Watch out
Hold it until you see clear yellowish whey separate from soft white curds — that's the split you're waiting for.
3
4 min
Ladle the curds into a cheesecloth-lined sieve.
4
45 min
Drain 45 min until firm but still moist.
Watch out
Drain till the curd holds together but still looks moist; squeeze out too much and the cheese goes dry and crumbly.
5
4 min
Tip the curd into a bowl and mash with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp caraway.
6
22 min
Press into a small mold and chill 20 min to firm.
7
2 min
Turn out and serve spread on ribel, dark bread, or boiled potatoes.