My first task as Brunost ambassador was to see how the TINE brunost is produced. I therefore travelled to the dairy at the border between the two towns Lom and Sjåk. The dairy Manager Jens Hagen met me at the diary. He is a proper brunost enthusiast and told me everything I wanted to know about the production. He also took me around to see how brunost is made, all the way from start to finished product. This dairy produces the “Gudbransdalen brunost” (Ski Queen), which is my favourite. They also produce other types, such as the extra sweet “Caramore” that is now being exported to the US. On top of this, the dairy just sat a new record in making the world’s largest Brunost.

The dairy produce around 850 tons brunost annually. The ingredients are mixed together and boiled in big pots for almost two hours to make brunost. One pot take 350 kg of brunost mixture, which ends up as 300 kg brunost when it is done. It is this boiling process that makes the cheese brown.

Perhaps the best part of the whole experience at the dairy was that they let me try fresh made brunost. This brunost was still soft and warm and tasted amazing! I almost ate half a cheese by myself, just scooping it right out of the package. Another fun experience was to participate in a testing/tasting session. Several brunosts were lined up, checked, tasted and decided upon as appropriate for sale. I have always bought and finished one brunost at a time, and I had therefore never considered the slight differences in colour, texture and taste the same brand of brunost can have.

I want to thank the dairy for taking such good care of me while I visited. And with my newly acquired knowledge about brunost production, I’m ready to take on the job as a brunost ambassador!