🧀 Butterkäse

Butterkäse is a German semi-firm sliceable cheese ('halbfester Schnittkäse') listed among the standard cheese varieties in Annex 4 of the German Milk Products Quality Ordinance (MilchPQV). Its name means "butter cheese", but it contains no butter. It is a mild, young cheese. ¹²

According to Wisconsin Cheese, a US dairy industry site, the Italian cheese Bel Paese appeared in 1906 and its name was trademarked, so other dairies made their own versions. The Staatliche Molkerei Weihenstephan produced a German one in 1928 and sold it as Butterkäse. It was also nicknamed Damenkäse, "ladies' cheese". ²

It is made from milk, cultures, rennet and salt. The milk is heated before the rennet is added, which leaves a moister, milder cheese. The curds are cooked and separated, salted and shaped, and the cheese is aged for about a month. Light pressing leaves the small holes. ² The ordinance sets no minimum ripening age. ¹

Annex 4 gives three fat classes: full-fat (minimum 48 % in dry matter), cream (50 %) and double cream (55 %). A cheese weighs from 250 g to 20 kg. The rind is a supple skin of yellow-brown to reddish colour and may be absent. The cut surface is yellowish, may have holes, is semi-firm to sliceable and evenly ripened. The taste is mild and slightly sour. ¹

Butterkäse or Gouda, Havarti? The name tells you little, so compare by process. Butterkäse is a German standard variety, not a protected name: the milk is heated before the rennet goes in, which leaves a moister, milder cheese, and it is aged for only about a month. Light pressing leaves small holes, and the taste is mild and slightly sour. The ordinance sets no minimum ripening age, and the fat class on the label gives the minimum fat in dry matter, not in the whole cheese.

Look for the name “Butterkäse” and a fat class on the label: full-fat, cream or double cream, each giving a minimum of fat in dry matter. It is a German standard variety under the MilchPQV, so there is no EU PDO symbol to look for. A whole cheese weighs from 250 g to 20 kg, so you may meet it as sliced packs or as a piece cut at the cheese counter. The cut surface is yellowish and may have holes.

Why it matters to you. Check the fat class on the label: it tells you the minimum fat in dry matter, not in the whole cheese. Its mild taste suits sandwiches and quick dishes. ¹²