Nieheimer Käse is a low-fat sour milk cheese from Nieheim in Westphalia. It is a local specialty prepared since the beginning of the 19th century according to a traditional recipe. The cheese is prepared from dried curd of sour, skimmed cow's milk. The milk must not be from Nieheim. The dry curd is milled and ripened in ripening vessels for 3 to 5 days; which gives him a yellowish color. When ripening, bacterial cultures are not added. Then add some cooking salt and possibly caraway seeds, mix the mass evenly and form rolls of 4 to 4.5 cm diameter cut into cylindrical pieces with a width of 2 to 2.5 cm. The cheeses can be packed in hops.
The consistency of Nieheimer Käse varies; sometimes the cheese can be cut, sometimes it is even drier and can be grated. This depends on the ripening time: the longer the ripening, the lower the moisture content. The cheese has a spicy taste with a more or less pronounced curve.
Nieheimer Käse has been a protected geographical indication (PGI) in the European Union since 2010.
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