I finally get to try all goat milk gjetost from ski queen (packaged in the blue cube)

Cafe Society
1

I’ve loved me some gjetost goat/cow milk blend for well over a decade or so now, the stuff in the red cube. I adore that creamy/caramel/salty/sweet flavor and that tingly oral sensation you get as the thin slices melt in your mouth. It’s pretty regularly available at a few local grocery stores, and is a staple in the cheese drawer. It’s just so different and so good! Made from whey which is boiled down until caramelized then has cream stirred into it, it is more unusual than any other food labeled ‘cheese’ (except for maybe head cheese).

But for years I’ve been longing to try the version they make using goat whey/cream only. None of the local places carried it, not even the fancier cheese shops. Googling didn’t help, the places which listed it for mail order were always out of it. I thought I’d have to wait until I get to Norway.

Fortunately last month the Mrs. and I made a trip to Ottawa, Canada. And after a lovely day strolling around their National Gallery, we ambled a few blocks south and east to find an International Cheese store. And OMG the first thing of note I spotted was the BLUE CUBE!

I grabbed 3 cubes of that (along with 3 epoisses, some really old gouda, and a goat milk version of the epoisses) and we headed back to our lodging to have a feast. There, our eldest offspring, the former SDMB poster once known as elfbabe and her husband joined us for a few rounds of cheesealis exoticus and a great time was had.

That all goat gjetost has a flavor I’d describe as much more forward than the goat/cow blend, and we all agreed it was more enjoyable as such (we as a family enjoy our elder cheddars, and once all enjoyed a 30 year old specimen of that ilk together). Short work was made of that cube, while the other two cubes returned home with us. We also enjoyed the elder gouda, one of the epoisses, and some 15 year old cheddar I’d brought from home.

This weekend for Mother’s Day we’ll consume more goat gjetost, another epoisse, and most likely the goat version of an epoisse (which precise name escapes me but I’ll check the cheese drawer later to find out).

Any other gjetost fans out there?

2

Not had the cheese, but I’ve always been a fan of that market in Ottawa.

3

Never seen it at the local grocery stores, but I just asked Alexa to add it to our grocery list. My gf is going grocery shopping later today so I’m sure she’ll be asking me WTF later on.

ETA: a friend’s wife is from Norway, so I can ask her about it.

4

I’ll watch for it. Big fan of gjetost.

5

Oh, yeah. Never yet had the pleasure of the all-goat variety, but red-cube Ski Queen is a family tradition going back to my Norwegian grandmother’s generation.

Tasty and family nostalgia. Good combo for me.

6

Oh, wow. After reading this thread I went hunting for some gjetost, found the red box Ski Queen at Whole Foods, and have had my first taste of it.

AMAZING. I love the caramel flavor. It’s so very different from all the other cheeses I’ve ever had.

ETA: @Qadgop_the_Mercotan, do you have a Whole Foods near you? I can’t recall whether they had the blue cube there, too.

7

Glad you enjoyed it! Our nearest whole foods is over 45 minutes away, and I can get the red cube much closer than that. Both red and blue versions are delicious. But if you tell me your Whole Food store has the blue, I might travel the extra distance to restock.

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As I said, I can’t remember if I saw the blue cube. There were only a few red cubes at one end of a shelf, so obviously not a a big seller. I’ll try to remember to look next time I go there.

ETA: I suppose you could always call the store and inquire.

9

I enjoy my Ski Queen! I think of it more like cheesy caramel or dulce de lechę than cheese. (Though, technically, it is made slightly differently than cheese.) I had no idea there was a blue packaging version. I’ve only seen the red and assumed that was all there is. Now I’ve been sent on a hunt!

10

Interesting tip, thank you! I don’t know where this would be available locally, but for Canadians, here’s a cheese shop in southern Ontario and also with several locations in Alberta from which you can mail-order the blue cube gjetost, which I might do. I can think of a few upscale places that might carry it but it’s a nuisance of a drive to get there.

11

Here’s just another reminder to beware of Amazon third-party resellers. The blue-cube gjetost I linked above from a Canadian cheese retailer goes for $16.95 for a 250 gram package. The slightly lesser quality red-cube goes for $14.33.

I also looked on Amazon out of curiosity. They only have the lesser red-cube type. It’s $76.21 for the exact same product, exact same size package. This kind of ripoff should be criminal!

12

Oh, yes, I looked for it on Amazon here in the States and it was similarly way overpriced, but one listing was for only $8.69 for a red cube, from Whole Foods (with a $9.25 delivery fee, heh), which is why I drove the 20 or so minutes to my local Whole Foods to get it.

Also, some of the buyer reviews mentioned crappy packaging and damage in shipment.

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It’s a bit runnier than you might like…

14

I don’t care how blinking runny it is. Hand it over with all speed!

It’s interesting that a gjetost-style cheese has become quite popular in Korea

15

Me, I prefer the 50/50 cow/goat milk version (after all, that’s the original version), but I’ve stumbled over a few craft/small-scale producers who make a fantastic all-goat milk version. Anyhow, de gustibus and all that. Plain whole-wheat bread is the classical companion, but:

  • Try it on Swedish rye crispbread (knekkebröd)
  • Try it on still-hot, straight-from-the-oven homemade whole wheat buns. The stuff almost melts and goes into a higher unity with the butter that has already melted into the bun
  • Try it on Scandinavian waffles. They should be served with butter and gjetost, or with strawberry jam and perhaps a dollop of high-fat sour cream. Or, ultimately, cloudberries stirred with sugar
16

Thanks, I’m taking notes on that, Norse! I do love it on lefse.