July 28, 2025 • 32 mins
This mild cow-milk cheese has a texture like gouda and holes like Emmental – because that’s exactly how it was designed. Anney and Lauren melt over the science and history of Jarlsberg cheese.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Hello, and welcome to save your production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
I'm Annie Reese and I'm Lauren vogel Bum and today
we have an episode for you about Yarlsburg cheese.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Yes, and it is a fun one in a lot
of ways.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Oh yeah, yeah, I mean, cheese episodes are always pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Yeah. So was there a particular reasons was on your mind, Lauren?
Or was it just a cheese? It was just a cheese.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
It was a cheese. It was cheese o'clock and we
had not done this one yet, and here we are.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Here we are, and we are going to do our best.
But there's going to be some fun with pronunciation in here.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
I am not proficient in Norwegian, so yeah, nope. Side
note though, two side notes. Actually, First of all, we
did a couple of guest spots over on stuff to
blow your mind over the past couple of weeks, both
about weird food storage happenings and the science behind them.
(01:06):
So we've got some surprise combustion happening in things like
tempuraflakes and then yeah, like exploding watermelons and cans and
accidental creation of galvanic lasagna batteries. So yeah, yeah, it's fun.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
It is fun, and we did mention some of your
you listeners and some of your stories in there, so
go check it out.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Yeah yeah, Also, Atlanta area folks, come on out next
Wednesday if you would like to see us on a
food podcasting panel at the PRX Podcast Creator Summit. That's
happening at the Plywood in the West End. It's seven
to nine pm on Wednesday, July thirtieth. Yeah. Yeah, we're
(02:01):
doing a panel called Feeding the Culture, telling Atlanta's food
stories along with a couple other fabulous human people. It's free,
it's open to the public, so coming out if you're interested.
They've got a bunch of other podcast related content as
well Wednesday to Friday. And yeah, after our panel, there's
also a little reception at Monday Night Brewing, which is free.
(02:23):
You can have some snacks and drinks and chat with
us if you would like to. We're only slightly terrified,
so yeah, we'd love to see you.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Yeah, we're terrified. You're in control here, you have the
power here, and there's going to be some strong food opinions,
I believe, so oh.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Yes, yeah, we're I'm preparing myself.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Yeah, we're going to poke some hornets nests over here. Oh,
but okay for Nowrlsburg. Yes, ye can see our past
cheese episodes, of which we've done plenty in this case,
perhaps specifically Guda and im and.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Tall Brunost Brunost. I don't remember how to say it.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Wow, yeah, and I didn't look it up. A good start,
we're off too, Yes, all right, I guess that brings
us to our question.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
It brings me to a number of questions. But sure,
let's start with this one. Okay, Yarlsburg, what is well?
Yarlsburg is a brand of Ferm cheeses made from cow
milk with a buttery golden color and characteristically large holes
or eyes throughout. The flavor is nutty and slightly sweet
(03:40):
and milky with just a little bit of funk, and
the texture is like toothsome like a little buttery and
a little bit springy. It melts like a dream into
this like pliable, pullable mass. It's made in mediumish wheels,
but often comes packaged in wedges or slices, and it
comes in a low fat and extra aged versions too.
It can be eaten as a snack or part of
(04:01):
like a cheese plate situation, but it's perhaps more often
used in hot dishes because it melts so well, like
grilled sandwiches, pasta bakes, dips. It's just really pleasant and
like easy and pretty, like a cartoon wedge of cheese.
It's like it's like if adult you got to eat
(04:21):
that cartoon wedge of cheese, and it's just as nostalgic,
or maybe like retroactively nostalgic, as you would think.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
That sounds really nice, that sounds lovely. I'm just trying
to remember if I've ever had it.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
I must have, but it's another one that I kind
of grew up with, and so I do. I do
personally have nostalgia for it, but I'm like, oh, yeah,
I need to go seek some this out.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
I tried to find it and the only things I
could find near me were very expensive.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Oh but you.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
Know, maybe I was splurred.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Cheese splurges nice sometimes, my goodness, yeah, uh huh, yeah,
treats are nice. But okay, yes, so I said at
the top. There a brand of cheese, not a type
of cheese, and Yarlsberg is in fact a brand owned
by the Tina co Op, which is Norway's kind of
monopolistic dairy co op but yes, cheese. Cheese. In general,
(05:18):
cheese is a way of preserving milk, and to do
this you want to get a bunch of the water out.
In the case of Yarlsburg, you start with cow milk
that's semi skimmed, pasteurized, and microfiltered. You add two ingredients
that will help curdle the milk into fats and stuff
your curds and water and stuff your way. First, there's rennet,
(05:39):
which is an enzyme that was originally isolated from the
stomachs of young cows, where it curdles milk to help
them digest that milk. The rennets used in Yarlsberg, though,
are either derived from plants or factory produced bacteria colonies,
as lots of rennets are these days. The second ingredient
is lactic acid bacteria, which eat the sugars in milk,
(06:01):
and poop acids Bacteria. Poop acids will curdle the milk
by changing its electrical charge and making the fats and
stuff clump together. So yeah, some cheese will get tart
and tangy from those lactic acids, But Yarlsberg is a
little bit sweeter, partially because you then add another bacterial
(06:24):
culture propiani Bacterium a schermannii sure, which eats lactic acid
and poops a couple different acids with like milder and
funkier flavors, plus carbon dioxide gas. We'll come back to
that one in just a minute, but okay, So you
get your curds in your way. You drain the way
(06:45):
from the curds until you've got a sort of wiggly,
firm mass, and then cut those curds into pieces and
press them into cheese molds where they will drain even
more under a little bit of pressure. Once it's dried
out enough that it's kind of formed up into a wheel,
you dip that in salt water, then move it into
a maturing room to sit for like eight to ten weeks.
(07:05):
During that time, those propionic acid bacteria will get to
work eating the lactic acid and pooping carbon dioxide gas.
These bubbles of gas expand within the body of the cheese,
forming its eyes, which are typically like one to two
centimeters in diameter. That's like up to a little less
than an inch. Temperatures have to be really carefully regulated
(07:27):
during aging because those bacteria could overproduce gases and like
actually crack the wheels open if you let them get
too warm and excited. The cheese makers will also move
and flip the wheels to make sure that they ripen evenly. Furthermore,
I am given to understand that they know when each
particular wheel is ready by tapping on it. They're looking
(07:49):
for like a particular sound and feel. Yeah, yeah, of
the most Yerlsberg is sold after that like twoish months
of development, but there's also a special reserve that's matured
for twelve months. It develops like a firmer texture and
a sort of richer taste. The company also has a
(08:11):
couple of cheese banks around Norway, like small ones, think
like a walking closet instead of like a vaulted layer.
But yeah, they keep some three year and five year
wheels in those cheese banks. So those finished wheels are
fifteen inches across and four inches high, weighing in at
twenty two pounds in metric. That's about forty x ten
(08:34):
centimeters and ten kilos right around there. Y'allsberg is available
in both original and light versions, though the light won't
melt as well because you know, less fat here you are?
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Makes sense? Makes sense? Well, what about the nutrition.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
You know, cheese is a nutrient dense food on purpose,
lots of proteins, fats, and micronutrients in there. Like watch
your portion sizes. The light version does have around forty
percent less fat, if that's the thing that you're concerned about. Also,
apparently the production process gets rid of like basically all
(09:13):
of the lactose and the cheese. So this is one
that might be okay for you if you're if you're
a lactose intolerant.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Interesting, all right, well we do have some numbers for you.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
Yeah, yeah, uh okay. So Norway has right around five
million inhabitants and they consume about nine million kilos of
yarlsberg a year. That's it.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
You know what's up.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
They know what's up. Nine million kilos is like nineteen
million pounds. Americans consume about twelve million kilos or twenty
six million pounds, though we do have like three hundred
and thirty five million more people here. So yeah, Norwegians
consume like one and a half more kilos of yarlsburg
per capita than we do. They know what's up up,
(10:00):
They know what's Yarlsberg makes up some eighty percent of
Norway's cheese exports I've read numbers slightly higher than that too,
so like yep, apparently you can find it in ninety
percent of American grocery stores. Tina has three cheese factories
(10:23):
that produce Yarlsburg in Norway, plus one each in the
US and Ireland. They all use the same equipment, but
have tweaked their processes to account for specifications in the
local milk supply. Tina also has a factory just for
their Yarlsberg bacterial culture where they can produce up to
I don't think it's usually running at capacity, but they
(10:45):
can produce up to two thousand milli liters per hour,
which sounds like I mean, millileaters aren't a whole bunch,
but that's like a trillion bacteria, which is enough to
make twenty thousand kilos of Yarlsberg.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
They are ready, they are prepared.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
That factory also does supply the entire world's Yarlsburg productions.
So yeah, and the Tina co Op consists of about
ten thousand farmers in Norway.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
It's a serious business, this cheese.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
It is, Oh, oh my goodness, it is. And we
do have quite a history for you and We are
going to get into that as soon as we get
back from a quick break for a word from our sponsors,
(11:42):
and we're back.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Thank you sponsors, Yes, thank you. Okay, so again see
the mental episode. But early mental, a precursor to Yarlsburg,
dates back to the thirteenth century in Switzerland.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Yes, it's what we in America typically call Swiss cheese
Guda from right around the same time from the Netherlands.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
Yes, and if you've listened to this show, you know
our usual cheese history spiel. It was an accident due
to a variety of environmental circumstances and oftentimes coupled with
a not at all verified story about lost love or
royalty or not wanting to waste ingredients. That's more probably true.
(12:24):
But this one is interesting because it was quite deliberate,
and in fact, I was talking to my friends about
this when I was starting to do my research, and
I was being very confident. I was like, I'm pretty
sure I know how the story goes down, because we've
done a lot of these cheese episodes. Nope, I'm wrong.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Yeah, not a single shepherd's daughter is involved.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
Weirdly, even I had to reevaluate some things all right.
So modern day Yarlsburg was developed in nineteen fifty six
as part of a long term research project by a
Norwegian team under the supervision a professor Ole Martin east
Guard at the Dairy Institute at the Agricultural University of Norway.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
Yes, and fun fact here, east is a Norwegian word
for cheese or like a dairy where you make cheese,
So this professor's name is essentially cheese land or like
cheese farm, depending on how you want to translate Guard.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
That's fantastic.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Yeah, best fact of the episode. Possibly, there's a lot
of good facts, but that's what that one's high quality.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
That's fun. That's fun. You can only hope.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
But someone inspired him to pursue this, this dream of cheese. Yeah, yeah,
And he was inspired by a thesis of a student
named per Sockshogs and he he wanted to recreate a
lost Norwegian cheese from the eighteen hundreds that they'd heard
tale about but had disappeared. So for about a decade
(13:58):
this team tinkered with the recipe, relying largely on a
combination of the traditional recipes for Guda and imental. Yeah.
They were working on the flavors and textures that they
could get from like temperatures and brine levels and cultures,
and right arrived at this process like stacking Gudha's lacked
acid bacteria and Emental's eye producing a propionic acid bacteria.
(14:22):
They wanted something with like more controlled eyes and a
less dry texture than Swiss, so right, like kind of
like the texture of Guda with the eyes of Swiss.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Yes, And once the recipe was perfected, the cheese was
ready for commercial production.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
Yeah. Just a year later after like debuting it in
nineteen fifty seven, the cheese was being produced at an
industrial scale and they called it a Gutuler after Gudha
and Ementaler because there's an earth that's added to the
end of emmental sometimes.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
Yes, yeah, that's all one, Yeah, optional earth. I love that.
I also love this. At first it was sold as
a research cheese or extra cheese until the Norwegian Ministry
of Agriculture gave the go ahead for the use of
the term Yarlsberg. So the name comes from Yarlsburg Manor,
(15:21):
located in Vestfold, Norway, or perhaps count Videl Yarlsberg, its owner.
Yarl means earl in Norwegian, and there was a historical
reason that they chose it. The area was well known
for its dairy in cheeses in the eighteen hundreds, and
it's thought to be the home of Norway's first dairy
(15:41):
circa eighteen fifteen. The cheese they produced didn't resemble modern
day Yarlsburg, however, but they weren't making something similar to
Swiss imental by eighteen twenty five.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Yeah, that was when Norway's first agricultural college was founded.
The college was producing menttal until it closed its dairy
in eighteen thirty two. A few different dairies, as some
run by co ops, popped up in the area in
the eighteen sixties, and a bunch of those hired Swiss
cheesemakers to help them figure things out. So they were
(16:15):
making Swiss style cheeses, but the co ops weren't doing
great at managing logistics like marketing and transportation.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
Yes, and this meant that the quality could vary significantly,
and eventually cheese production in this area pretty much shut
down by nineteen oh four. But because of this history,
Yarlsburg Manner granted permission for use of the name for
this cheese. Norway's largest dairy co op, Tina, took over
production of Yarlsburg soon after it was developed to make
(16:44):
the cheese. They transported milk from the co Ops dairies
to Tina's cheese plant.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
And they had gotten their start. Okay, so again, co
Ops had been running dairies in Norway for a long time,
but really got their start in the nineteen twenties to
help Norway's dairies export their products, though they were operating
under different names until they launched the Tina brand in
(17:09):
the nineteen seventies. Anyway, they were exporting Yarlsberg to the UK,
the US, Canada, and Australia by nineteen sixty two, plus
a couple places in Europe like Germany and Sweden right
around the same time.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Tina first registered the patent for Yarlsberg in nineteen seventy two,
and ownership of the secret behind the cheese was transferred
from the dairy Institute to them in nineteen ninety four.
Over the years, they have released several different varieties, lower fat,
aged and rhymeless. For example, when American demand surpassed Tina's
(17:44):
production capabilities and export quotas in the nineteen nineties, they
contracted with an Ohio cheese factory called Alpine cheese to
aid in production. So Tina ships the Ohio Dairy frozen
cultures in order to make Yarlsburg. But yes, due to
milk differences between cows from Norway versus cows from the US,
(18:06):
it allegedly took out Pine about a year and a
half to nailed down the process of making Yarlsberg so
that it matched Yarlsburg from Norway.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
Yeah. Yeah, they were working on it for a minute.
I think they officially opened in two thousand and one,
and we're producing some five five hundred metric tons of
Yarlsberg a year within about a decade.
Speaker 1 (18:28):
Yes. Meanwhile, contract production of Yarlsberg with Ireland got going
in two thousand and one. Yep.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
They opened in two thousand and four and started producing
about three thousand metric tons of cheese. Wow, uh huh yep.
Yarlsberg got name dropped in American media like The Sopranos
in nineteen ninety nine and The Devil Wears Prada in
two thousand and six, in both cases as like a
kind of pricey and like fancy or fussy sort of cheese.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
M and I found this, I love this In a
twenty thirteen article for The Guardian, Felicity Cloak tried to
get to the bottom of where the holes or eyes
and Arlsburg came from, because she thought there might be
a marketing gimmick targeted towards Americans who associated Holy Cheese
(19:20):
with cartoons. The recipe is top secret, but as far
as she could tell after learning about similar cheeses, they
are formed by those pro pionic acid bacteria, which also
gives the cheese some of those signature nutty flavors. She
left it kind of feeling like, well, that makes sense,
but I could sense she wanted us, she wanted more,
she wanted a conspiracy or something. But it was funny,
(19:44):
and you know that is potentially probably not the whole reason,
but it is potentially part of the reason where they
were like these holes people.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
People like them, Yeah, people like them, They're pretty sure.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
When Norway's government eliminated agricultural export subsidies that impacted Yarlsberg
in twenty fifteen, Tina moved all of the production for
Yarlsburg exports outside the country, largely to a factory in Ireland.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Yeah, there were a couple other like trade agreement laws involved.
Tina's Norwegian branch was bumping up against their export limits
in general and their import limits in the US in particular.
So yeah, So they started work on a revamped factory
in Ireland in twenty sixteen, looking to increase production capacity
(20:34):
from that three thousand metric tons a year to like
fourteen thousand metric tons. And I need to emphasize that
this was a major situation for Tina, Like they were
already producing about seventy five percent of their Yarlsburg meant
for non Norwegian markets outside of Norway, but at their scale,
(20:58):
like what they were producing in nor our Way for
export was a lot like ten five hundred metric tons
of Yarlsberg a year for export, So it meant redirecting
some like ninety million leaders of Norwegian milk that had
previously been earmarked for y'allsburg production for export.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
Wow, people really get their mindes put their minds to
it when cheese is involved.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
Yeah yeah yeah. Also trade agreevance can muck things up
in really interesting.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
Ways, interesting and confusing ways. Well, speaking of in twenty sixteen,
another Norwegian dairy company started producing what they labeled a
Yarlsberg type cheese and Tina sued them and the court
sided with Tina, but the other companies. They had an
interesting argument, which was, well, you're saying it was made
(21:55):
back in the eighteen hundreds, right, these types of cheese,
And the judge was like, now, allion effort. They took
it off their packaging.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
Yeah yeah, I'm I feel like they could use like
gutlure if they wanted to. Yea, but yeah, y'arlsburg is copyrighted,
so here we go.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
Yep, it's all trademarked. It's always interesting on their website
because it writes reserved after everything.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Yeah, yeah, I think it's an R. I think it's
the rights reserved sign. But anyway, yeah, no, there's a
lot of rights reserved signs on that website. Heck yes,
but yeah no. They it worked, their their their production
and marketing worked, and since the cheese's invention in the
nineteen fifties, some eight hundred thousand tons have been produced.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
That's wild.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
Yeah, science cheesem yeah, of which we do have multiple types.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
But this is a real sick seth story. I have
to say for it is mm hm, Well until next time,
another cheese episode. I think that's what we have to
say about your Alsberg for now.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
I believe it is. Uh. We would love to hear
from y'all though, if you have any if you have
been to Norway and want to share those experiences, if
you're from Norway, heck, if if you have a favorite
melty cheese purpose recipe situation, Yeah yeah, let us know.
(23:33):
But we do already have some listener mail for you,
and we are going to get into that as soon
as we get back from one more quick break for
a word from our sponsors, and we're back.
Speaker 1 (23:49):
Thank you, sponsor, Yes, thank you, and we're back with
It's Tom and Jerry Madness. Oh okay, yeah, yeah, oh okay.
(24:10):
Jade wrote, I just listened to your May Night a
Cherascaria episode and had to write in but not about Cherrascaria.
A few years ago, my husband and I made a
cake for our friend's birthday. The cake depicted the scene
and Revenge of the Sith where Anakin and Obi Wan
fight on Moustafhar. He had the birth birthday party in
(24:30):
her backyard and when it was time for a cake,
my husband and another friend walked outside with flight sabers
and I followed them with the cake. Obviously, we were
playing Battle of the Heroes on someone's phone. We were
all kids slash teens when the prequilogy came out, and
have continued to love Star Wars into our mid late thirties,
(24:51):
so the cake and its presentation were a big hit.
Making the cake was a labor of love and was
pretty silly at the time, but it's now a really
special man for me. My husband died almost eight months
ago the age of thirty seven, and I miss him
all the time. Thanks for bringing up a fun memory
of a happier, simpler time in my life. Since this
(25:12):
is ostensibly a food podcast, I'll tell you a little
more about the cake itself. We use my mom's chocolate
cake recipe for the cake. Her secret is using many
chocolate chips because they suspend in the batter and add
extra chocolate flavor and texture. We use peanut butter icing
and cookies and cream Swissmerang butter cream for the filling.
(25:32):
For decorating, we used red Swissmerang butter cream for the
lava and yellow highlights, and chocolate Swissmerang butter cream covered
with broken oreos for the rocky parts. It was one
of the most delicious cakes I've ever made, and I
wish I had a piece. Right now, I've attached some
photos of the cake, as well as photos of my
(25:54):
dog as a pet. Tex Duke is the Brindle one
and Bella is the Tricolor one in five and are
taking really good care of me. In my grief, I
also included a photo of my husband Jared and I
last fall with the rise of the Resistant Stormtroopers at
Disney World because it makes me smile. Oh well, sorry
for your lost Oh.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
I'm so sorry. Yeah, and this is a gorgeous cake cake.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
It is amagazing.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
It's it's multi leveled. So so you've got Anakin down
in the lava and and obi one up on the
precipice and yeah, I mean it's I've never I've never
seen oreos look so much like lava rocks. This is great.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
It they do. And okay, so there are these figurines
of Obi Wan and Anakin on the cake, right, But
there's also a little popsicle stick with a text bubble
for Obi Wan that says it's over Anakin, I have
the high ground. It's just perfect. This is that's the scene.
That's that.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
It's the scene.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
Me man, the scene, and I'm so this makes me
so happy. It looks so beautiful. I'm sure it sounds delicious.
It's very creative. And also, yes, you have to play
Battle of the Heroes when you're bringing it out.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
Yes, that question is obvious. That's I mean really, and
I mean a Battle of the Heroes is a great
is a great track, let's go.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
Oh yeah, if you need to get yourself motivated Battle
of the Heroes, you'll be ready to go.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
Say what you want about the prequilogy. But the music
was still banging. Oh John Williams was there.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
Did you know that the like happy celebration song and
a phantom menace is like the Infer's kind of creepy
theme but in like off key or something like the same.
It blew my learned this fact.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
Huh.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
Anyway, he was working on a whole different level.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
Oh yes, he was all the time. Yeah. Or yeah,
he's done. Sorry he's not done. Yeah, yeah, no, it's
past tense because the movies came out in anyway, there
we go. Also, the dogs are so sweet. Oh, just
those buddies little I love a little brindle baby. Oh
my gosh.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
Yeah, that's a great picture. They look like buds.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
I'm sure they get up to mischief, but yeah, they
look like buds. Justin wrote, I hope you're doing well
and get to enjoy lovely things, not just through research,
but in real life. This summer, I wanted to share
some of my soccer Torte Vienna coffeehouse experiences with you,
even though I'm sure I'll have no original thought whatsoever,
(28:39):
and plenty of other people will have written in with
similar stories. I'm German and have been lucky enough to
visit Vienna many times, even half living there for a while.
On my first visit as a teenager more than a
decade ago, my dad took me to Hotel Soccer, right
across from the Opera to enjoy a slice of their
iconic tort. As you said, it's an understated, humble piece
(29:00):
of cake and that's actually pretty Austrian, and I remember
enjoying it very much. However, the cafe itself is not
very enjoyable. Thanks to its popularity. There's often a waiting
line to get in. The tables are set very close
to each other, and the waiters start eyeing you to
get up and leave as soon as the last bite
has disappeared off the plate. And this is not Austrian
(29:21):
at all. Of course, the crowd mainly consists of tourists,
so you'll hear lots of different languages. Many cultures are
used to speaking at high volumes, and there's huge backpacks
and functional clothing everywhere. It's the same as with all
the popular spots. Everyone wants to experience the authentic thing,
and we kind of end up ruining it for each other.
Since that first visit, I've found places that I enjoy
(29:43):
much more. The fanciest one for sure is Cafe Gerstener,
which is also located next to the opera. You even
get a view of the magnificent building. They have soccer
tourt of course, and other classics and their own creations.
Cafe Dmel has now chosen a kaiser I think sure,
(30:03):
a kind of thick pancake that has been chopped up
covered in powdered sugar as their stand out promotional product.
There's a big sign right outside the original cafe that
points to their special Kaiserschmarn window. I've seen carts with
it at several tourist attractions throughout the whole city. During
my last visit in June, and while going to these
places for cake and coffee in the afternoon is absolutely lovely.
(30:25):
The lovely waiters, addressed in tailcoats like down to Abbey,
treat you like royalty and no one will look at
you weird for sipping on a single black coffee for
three hours. I have discovered that you can have a
great breakfast in many of these places too. They often
open as early as eight or nine am, which is
early in Europe for a cafe and an offer a
variety of sweet and savory breakfasts, and at reasonable prices
(30:48):
and no need to reserve a table to boot. This
discovery was definitely the highlight of my last trip. I
enjoyed perfect eggs bededict while watching those elderly Viennese people
reading their newspaper like every morning since nineteen sixty three.
Probably just like you imagine, it does sound lovely. It
does sound lovely. Oh all of it sounds so. I mean,
(31:10):
the tourist thing not so much, but oh, the rest
of it.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
I think you make an excellent point about the wanting
to experience the authentic thing and ruining it for everybody accidentally.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
Yeah, yeah, that's kind of what happens a lot of times. Yeah,
there's such a thing as too big yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:29):
Yeah, but you know, you got to go and you
got to try it, and now you have all these
other experiences. Yeah, yeah, and you know what you like. Yeah,
it does sound I'd like that kind of relaxing cafe vibe.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
Right nice. Oh yeah, and most of them are most
of the photos that I saw anyway, Like they look
like gorgeous places like these are in like these like
gorgeous old buildings and they are so beautifully appointed. And yeah,
and they take it seriously.
Speaker 1 (31:59):
I love this. Yeah, I love it too. They take
your kind of relaxation coffee pastry time very seriously.
Speaker 2 (32:09):
Yeah, right as well it should be.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
Yes, that time is precious. Well. Thank you so much
to both of those listeners for writing in. If you
would like to write to as, you can our emails
Hello at savorpod dot com.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
We're also on social media. You can find us on
blue Sky and Instagram at saver pod and we do
hope to hear from you. Savor is production of iHeartRadio.
For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, you can visit
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
your favorite shows. Thanks as always to our super producers
Dylan Fagan and Andrew Howard. Thanks to you for listening,
and we hope that lots more good things are coming
(32:47):
your way.
Hello, and welcome to save your production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
I'm Annie Reese and I'm Lauren vogel Bum and today
we have an episode for you about Yarlsburg cheese.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Yes, and it is a fun one in a lot
of ways.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Oh yeah, yeah, I mean, cheese episodes are always pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Yeah. So was there a particular reasons was on your mind, Lauren?
Or was it just a cheese? It was just a cheese.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
It was a cheese. It was cheese o'clock and we
had not done this one yet, and here we are.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Here we are, and we are going to do our best.
But there's going to be some fun with pronunciation in here.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
I am not proficient in Norwegian, so yeah, nope. Side
note though, two side notes. Actually, First of all, we
did a couple of guest spots over on stuff to
blow your mind over the past couple of weeks, both
about weird food storage happenings and the science behind them.
(01:06):
So we've got some surprise combustion happening in things like
tempuraflakes and then yeah, like exploding watermelons and cans and
accidental creation of galvanic lasagna batteries. So yeah, yeah, it's fun.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
It is fun, and we did mention some of your
you listeners and some of your stories in there, so
go check it out.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Yeah yeah, Also, Atlanta area folks, come on out next
Wednesday if you would like to see us on a
food podcasting panel at the PRX Podcast Creator Summit. That's
happening at the Plywood in the West End. It's seven
to nine pm on Wednesday, July thirtieth. Yeah. Yeah, we're
(02:01):
doing a panel called Feeding the Culture, telling Atlanta's food
stories along with a couple other fabulous human people. It's free,
it's open to the public, so coming out if you're interested.
They've got a bunch of other podcast related content as
well Wednesday to Friday. And yeah, after our panel, there's
also a little reception at Monday Night Brewing, which is free.
(02:23):
You can have some snacks and drinks and chat with
us if you would like to. We're only slightly terrified,
so yeah, we'd love to see you.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Yeah, we're terrified. You're in control here, you have the
power here, and there's going to be some strong food opinions,
I believe, so oh.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Yes, yeah, we're I'm preparing myself.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Yeah, we're going to poke some hornets nests over here. Oh,
but okay for Nowrlsburg. Yes, ye can see our past
cheese episodes, of which we've done plenty in this case,
perhaps specifically Guda and im and.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Tall Brunost Brunost. I don't remember how to say it.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Wow, yeah, and I didn't look it up. A good start,
we're off too, Yes, all right, I guess that brings
us to our question.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
It brings me to a number of questions. But sure,
let's start with this one. Okay, Yarlsburg, what is well?
Yarlsburg is a brand of Ferm cheeses made from cow
milk with a buttery golden color and characteristically large holes
or eyes throughout. The flavor is nutty and slightly sweet
(03:40):
and milky with just a little bit of funk, and
the texture is like toothsome like a little buttery and
a little bit springy. It melts like a dream into
this like pliable, pullable mass. It's made in mediumish wheels,
but often comes packaged in wedges or slices, and it
comes in a low fat and extra aged versions too.
It can be eaten as a snack or part of
(04:01):
like a cheese plate situation, but it's perhaps more often
used in hot dishes because it melts so well, like
grilled sandwiches, pasta bakes, dips. It's just really pleasant and
like easy and pretty, like a cartoon wedge of cheese.
It's like it's like if adult you got to eat
(04:21):
that cartoon wedge of cheese, and it's just as nostalgic,
or maybe like retroactively nostalgic, as you would think.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
That sounds really nice, that sounds lovely. I'm just trying
to remember if I've ever had it.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
I must have, but it's another one that I kind
of grew up with, and so I do. I do
personally have nostalgia for it, but I'm like, oh, yeah,
I need to go seek some this out.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
I tried to find it and the only things I
could find near me were very expensive.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Oh but you.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
Know, maybe I was splurred.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Cheese splurges nice sometimes, my goodness, yeah, uh huh, yeah,
treats are nice. But okay, yes, so I said at
the top. There a brand of cheese, not a type
of cheese, and Yarlsberg is in fact a brand owned
by the Tina co Op, which is Norway's kind of
monopolistic dairy co op but yes, cheese. Cheese. In general,
(05:18):
cheese is a way of preserving milk, and to do
this you want to get a bunch of the water out.
In the case of Yarlsburg, you start with cow milk
that's semi skimmed, pasteurized, and microfiltered. You add two ingredients
that will help curdle the milk into fats and stuff
your curds and water and stuff your way. First, there's rennet,
(05:39):
which is an enzyme that was originally isolated from the
stomachs of young cows, where it curdles milk to help
them digest that milk. The rennets used in Yarlsberg, though,
are either derived from plants or factory produced bacteria colonies,
as lots of rennets are these days. The second ingredient
is lactic acid bacteria, which eat the sugars in milk,
(06:01):
and poop acids Bacteria. Poop acids will curdle the milk
by changing its electrical charge and making the fats and
stuff clump together. So yeah, some cheese will get tart
and tangy from those lactic acids, But Yarlsberg is a
little bit sweeter, partially because you then add another bacterial
(06:24):
culture propiani Bacterium a schermannii sure, which eats lactic acid
and poops a couple different acids with like milder and
funkier flavors, plus carbon dioxide gas. We'll come back to
that one in just a minute, but okay, So you
get your curds in your way. You drain the way
(06:45):
from the curds until you've got a sort of wiggly,
firm mass, and then cut those curds into pieces and
press them into cheese molds where they will drain even
more under a little bit of pressure. Once it's dried
out enough that it's kind of formed up into a wheel,
you dip that in salt water, then move it into
a maturing room to sit for like eight to ten weeks.
(07:05):
During that time, those propionic acid bacteria will get to
work eating the lactic acid and pooping carbon dioxide gas.
These bubbles of gas expand within the body of the cheese,
forming its eyes, which are typically like one to two
centimeters in diameter. That's like up to a little less
than an inch. Temperatures have to be really carefully regulated
(07:27):
during aging because those bacteria could overproduce gases and like
actually crack the wheels open if you let them get
too warm and excited. The cheese makers will also move
and flip the wheels to make sure that they ripen evenly. Furthermore,
I am given to understand that they know when each
particular wheel is ready by tapping on it. They're looking
(07:49):
for like a particular sound and feel. Yeah, yeah, of
the most Yerlsberg is sold after that like twoish months
of development, but there's also a special reserve that's matured
for twelve months. It develops like a firmer texture and
a sort of richer taste. The company also has a
(08:11):
couple of cheese banks around Norway, like small ones, think
like a walking closet instead of like a vaulted layer.
But yeah, they keep some three year and five year
wheels in those cheese banks. So those finished wheels are
fifteen inches across and four inches high, weighing in at
twenty two pounds in metric. That's about forty x ten
(08:34):
centimeters and ten kilos right around there. Y'allsberg is available
in both original and light versions, though the light won't
melt as well because you know, less fat here you are?
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Makes sense? Makes sense? Well, what about the nutrition.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
You know, cheese is a nutrient dense food on purpose,
lots of proteins, fats, and micronutrients in there. Like watch
your portion sizes. The light version does have around forty
percent less fat, if that's the thing that you're concerned about. Also,
apparently the production process gets rid of like basically all
(09:13):
of the lactose and the cheese. So this is one
that might be okay for you if you're if you're
a lactose intolerant.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Interesting, all right, well we do have some numbers for you.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
Yeah, yeah, uh okay. So Norway has right around five
million inhabitants and they consume about nine million kilos of
yarlsberg a year. That's it.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
You know what's up.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
They know what's up. Nine million kilos is like nineteen
million pounds. Americans consume about twelve million kilos or twenty
six million pounds, though we do have like three hundred
and thirty five million more people here. So yeah, Norwegians
consume like one and a half more kilos of yarlsburg
per capita than we do. They know what's up up,
(10:00):
They know what's Yarlsberg makes up some eighty percent of
Norway's cheese exports I've read numbers slightly higher than that too,
so like yep, apparently you can find it in ninety
percent of American grocery stores. Tina has three cheese factories
(10:23):
that produce Yarlsburg in Norway, plus one each in the
US and Ireland. They all use the same equipment, but
have tweaked their processes to account for specifications in the
local milk supply. Tina also has a factory just for
their Yarlsberg bacterial culture where they can produce up to
I don't think it's usually running at capacity, but they
(10:45):
can produce up to two thousand milli liters per hour,
which sounds like I mean, millileaters aren't a whole bunch,
but that's like a trillion bacteria, which is enough to
make twenty thousand kilos of Yarlsberg.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
They are ready, they are prepared.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
That factory also does supply the entire world's Yarlsburg productions.
So yeah, and the Tina co Op consists of about
ten thousand farmers in Norway.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
It's a serious business, this cheese.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
It is, Oh, oh my goodness, it is. And we
do have quite a history for you and We are
going to get into that as soon as we get
back from a quick break for a word from our sponsors,
(11:42):
and we're back.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Thank you sponsors, Yes, thank you. Okay, so again see
the mental episode. But early mental, a precursor to Yarlsburg,
dates back to the thirteenth century in Switzerland.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Yes, it's what we in America typically call Swiss cheese
Guda from right around the same time from the Netherlands.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
Yes, and if you've listened to this show, you know
our usual cheese history spiel. It was an accident due
to a variety of environmental circumstances and oftentimes coupled with
a not at all verified story about lost love or
royalty or not wanting to waste ingredients. That's more probably true.
(12:24):
But this one is interesting because it was quite deliberate,
and in fact, I was talking to my friends about
this when I was starting to do my research, and
I was being very confident. I was like, I'm pretty
sure I know how the story goes down, because we've
done a lot of these cheese episodes. Nope, I'm wrong.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Yeah, not a single shepherd's daughter is involved.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
Weirdly, even I had to reevaluate some things all right.
So modern day Yarlsburg was developed in nineteen fifty six
as part of a long term research project by a
Norwegian team under the supervision a professor Ole Martin east
Guard at the Dairy Institute at the Agricultural University of Norway.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
Yes, and fun fact here, east is a Norwegian word
for cheese or like a dairy where you make cheese,
So this professor's name is essentially cheese land or like
cheese farm, depending on how you want to translate Guard.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
That's fantastic.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Yeah, best fact of the episode. Possibly, there's a lot
of good facts, but that's what that one's high quality.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
That's fun. That's fun. You can only hope.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
But someone inspired him to pursue this, this dream of cheese. Yeah, yeah,
And he was inspired by a thesis of a student
named per Sockshogs and he he wanted to recreate a
lost Norwegian cheese from the eighteen hundreds that they'd heard
tale about but had disappeared. So for about a decade
(13:58):
this team tinkered with the recipe, relying largely on a
combination of the traditional recipes for Guda and imental. Yeah.
They were working on the flavors and textures that they
could get from like temperatures and brine levels and cultures,
and right arrived at this process like stacking Gudha's lacked
acid bacteria and Emental's eye producing a propionic acid bacteria.
(14:22):
They wanted something with like more controlled eyes and a
less dry texture than Swiss, so right, like kind of
like the texture of Guda with the eyes of Swiss.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Yes, And once the recipe was perfected, the cheese was
ready for commercial production.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
Yeah. Just a year later after like debuting it in
nineteen fifty seven, the cheese was being produced at an
industrial scale and they called it a Gutuler after Gudha
and Ementaler because there's an earth that's added to the
end of emmental sometimes.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
Yes, yeah, that's all one, Yeah, optional earth. I love that.
I also love this. At first it was sold as
a research cheese or extra cheese until the Norwegian Ministry
of Agriculture gave the go ahead for the use of
the term Yarlsberg. So the name comes from Yarlsburg Manor,
(15:21):
located in Vestfold, Norway, or perhaps count Videl Yarlsberg, its owner.
Yarl means earl in Norwegian, and there was a historical
reason that they chose it. The area was well known
for its dairy in cheeses in the eighteen hundreds, and
it's thought to be the home of Norway's first dairy
(15:41):
circa eighteen fifteen. The cheese they produced didn't resemble modern
day Yarlsburg, however, but they weren't making something similar to
Swiss imental by eighteen twenty five.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Yeah, that was when Norway's first agricultural college was founded.
The college was producing menttal until it closed its dairy
in eighteen thirty two. A few different dairies, as some
run by co ops, popped up in the area in
the eighteen sixties, and a bunch of those hired Swiss
cheesemakers to help them figure things out. So they were
(16:15):
making Swiss style cheeses, but the co ops weren't doing
great at managing logistics like marketing and transportation.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
Yes, and this meant that the quality could vary significantly,
and eventually cheese production in this area pretty much shut
down by nineteen oh four. But because of this history,
Yarlsburg Manner granted permission for use of the name for
this cheese. Norway's largest dairy co op, Tina, took over
production of Yarlsburg soon after it was developed to make
(16:44):
the cheese. They transported milk from the co Ops dairies
to Tina's cheese plant.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
And they had gotten their start. Okay, so again, co
Ops had been running dairies in Norway for a long time,
but really got their start in the nineteen twenties to
help Norway's dairies export their products, though they were operating
under different names until they launched the Tina brand in
(17:09):
the nineteen seventies. Anyway, they were exporting Yarlsberg to the UK,
the US, Canada, and Australia by nineteen sixty two, plus
a couple places in Europe like Germany and Sweden right
around the same time.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Tina first registered the patent for Yarlsberg in nineteen seventy two,
and ownership of the secret behind the cheese was transferred
from the dairy Institute to them in nineteen ninety four.
Over the years, they have released several different varieties, lower fat,
aged and rhymeless. For example, when American demand surpassed Tina's
(17:44):
production capabilities and export quotas in the nineteen nineties, they
contracted with an Ohio cheese factory called Alpine cheese to
aid in production. So Tina ships the Ohio Dairy frozen
cultures in order to make Yarlsburg. But yes, due to
milk differences between cows from Norway versus cows from the US,
(18:06):
it allegedly took out Pine about a year and a
half to nailed down the process of making Yarlsberg so
that it matched Yarlsburg from Norway.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
Yeah. Yeah, they were working on it for a minute.
I think they officially opened in two thousand and one,
and we're producing some five five hundred metric tons of
Yarlsberg a year within about a decade.
Speaker 1 (18:28):
Yes. Meanwhile, contract production of Yarlsberg with Ireland got going
in two thousand and one. Yep.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
They opened in two thousand and four and started producing
about three thousand metric tons of cheese. Wow, uh huh yep.
Yarlsberg got name dropped in American media like The Sopranos
in nineteen ninety nine and The Devil Wears Prada in
two thousand and six, in both cases as like a
kind of pricey and like fancy or fussy sort of cheese.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
M and I found this, I love this In a
twenty thirteen article for The Guardian, Felicity Cloak tried to
get to the bottom of where the holes or eyes
and Arlsburg came from, because she thought there might be
a marketing gimmick targeted towards Americans who associated Holy Cheese
(19:20):
with cartoons. The recipe is top secret, but as far
as she could tell after learning about similar cheeses, they
are formed by those pro pionic acid bacteria, which also
gives the cheese some of those signature nutty flavors. She
left it kind of feeling like, well, that makes sense,
but I could sense she wanted us, she wanted more,
she wanted a conspiracy or something. But it was funny,
(19:44):
and you know that is potentially probably not the whole reason,
but it is potentially part of the reason where they
were like these holes people.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
People like them, Yeah, people like them, They're pretty sure.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
When Norway's government eliminated agricultural export subsidies that impacted Yarlsberg
in twenty fifteen, Tina moved all of the production for
Yarlsburg exports outside the country, largely to a factory in Ireland.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Yeah, there were a couple other like trade agreement laws involved.
Tina's Norwegian branch was bumping up against their export limits
in general and their import limits in the US in particular.
So yeah, So they started work on a revamped factory
in Ireland in twenty sixteen, looking to increase production capacity
(20:34):
from that three thousand metric tons a year to like
fourteen thousand metric tons. And I need to emphasize that
this was a major situation for Tina, Like they were
already producing about seventy five percent of their Yarlsburg meant
for non Norwegian markets outside of Norway, but at their scale,
(20:58):
like what they were producing in nor our Way for
export was a lot like ten five hundred metric tons
of Yarlsberg a year for export, So it meant redirecting
some like ninety million leaders of Norwegian milk that had
previously been earmarked for y'allsburg production for export.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
Wow, people really get their mindes put their minds to
it when cheese is involved.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
Yeah yeah yeah. Also trade agreevance can muck things up
in really interesting.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
Ways, interesting and confusing ways. Well, speaking of in twenty sixteen,
another Norwegian dairy company started producing what they labeled a
Yarlsberg type cheese and Tina sued them and the court
sided with Tina, but the other companies. They had an
interesting argument, which was, well, you're saying it was made
(21:55):
back in the eighteen hundreds, right, these types of cheese,
And the judge was like, now, allion effort. They took
it off their packaging.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
Yeah yeah, I'm I feel like they could use like
gutlure if they wanted to. Yea, but yeah, y'arlsburg is copyrighted,
so here we go.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
Yep, it's all trademarked. It's always interesting on their website
because it writes reserved after everything.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Yeah, yeah, I think it's an R. I think it's
the rights reserved sign. But anyway, yeah, no, there's a
lot of rights reserved signs on that website. Heck yes,
but yeah no. They it worked, their their their production
and marketing worked, and since the cheese's invention in the
nineteen fifties, some eight hundred thousand tons have been produced.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
That's wild.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
Yeah, science cheesem yeah, of which we do have multiple types.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
But this is a real sick seth story. I have
to say for it is mm hm, Well until next time,
another cheese episode. I think that's what we have to
say about your Alsberg for now.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
I believe it is. Uh. We would love to hear
from y'all though, if you have any if you have
been to Norway and want to share those experiences, if
you're from Norway, heck, if if you have a favorite
melty cheese purpose recipe situation, Yeah yeah, let us know.
(23:33):
But we do already have some listener mail for you,
and we are going to get into that as soon
as we get back from one more quick break for
a word from our sponsors, and we're back.
Speaker 1 (23:49):
Thank you, sponsor, Yes, thank you, and we're back with
It's Tom and Jerry Madness. Oh okay, yeah, yeah, oh okay.
(24:10):
Jade wrote, I just listened to your May Night a
Cherascaria episode and had to write in but not about Cherrascaria.
A few years ago, my husband and I made a
cake for our friend's birthday. The cake depicted the scene
and Revenge of the Sith where Anakin and Obi Wan
fight on Moustafhar. He had the birth birthday party in
(24:30):
her backyard and when it was time for a cake,
my husband and another friend walked outside with flight sabers
and I followed them with the cake. Obviously, we were
playing Battle of the Heroes on someone's phone. We were
all kids slash teens when the prequilogy came out, and
have continued to love Star Wars into our mid late thirties,
(24:51):
so the cake and its presentation were a big hit.
Making the cake was a labor of love and was
pretty silly at the time, but it's now a really
special man for me. My husband died almost eight months
ago the age of thirty seven, and I miss him
all the time. Thanks for bringing up a fun memory
of a happier, simpler time in my life. Since this
(25:12):
is ostensibly a food podcast, I'll tell you a little
more about the cake itself. We use my mom's chocolate
cake recipe for the cake. Her secret is using many
chocolate chips because they suspend in the batter and add
extra chocolate flavor and texture. We use peanut butter icing
and cookies and cream Swissmerang butter cream for the filling.
(25:32):
For decorating, we used red Swissmerang butter cream for the
lava and yellow highlights, and chocolate Swissmerang butter cream covered
with broken oreos for the rocky parts. It was one
of the most delicious cakes I've ever made, and I
wish I had a piece. Right now, I've attached some
photos of the cake, as well as photos of my
(25:54):
dog as a pet. Tex Duke is the Brindle one
and Bella is the Tricolor one in five and are
taking really good care of me. In my grief, I
also included a photo of my husband Jared and I
last fall with the rise of the Resistant Stormtroopers at
Disney World because it makes me smile. Oh well, sorry
for your lost Oh.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
I'm so sorry. Yeah, and this is a gorgeous cake cake.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
It is amagazing.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
It's it's multi leveled. So so you've got Anakin down
in the lava and and obi one up on the
precipice and yeah, I mean it's I've never I've never
seen oreos look so much like lava rocks. This is great.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
It they do. And okay, so there are these figurines
of Obi Wan and Anakin on the cake, right, But
there's also a little popsicle stick with a text bubble
for Obi Wan that says it's over Anakin, I have
the high ground. It's just perfect. This is that's the scene.
That's that.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
It's the scene.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
Me man, the scene, and I'm so this makes me
so happy. It looks so beautiful. I'm sure it sounds delicious.
It's very creative. And also, yes, you have to play
Battle of the Heroes when you're bringing it out.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
Yes, that question is obvious. That's I mean really, and
I mean a Battle of the Heroes is a great
is a great track, let's go.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
Oh yeah, if you need to get yourself motivated Battle
of the Heroes, you'll be ready to go.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
Say what you want about the prequilogy. But the music
was still banging. Oh John Williams was there.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
Did you know that the like happy celebration song and
a phantom menace is like the Infer's kind of creepy
theme but in like off key or something like the same.
It blew my learned this fact.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
Huh.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
Anyway, he was working on a whole different level.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
Oh yes, he was all the time. Yeah. Or yeah,
he's done. Sorry he's not done. Yeah, yeah, no, it's
past tense because the movies came out in anyway, there
we go. Also, the dogs are so sweet. Oh, just
those buddies little I love a little brindle baby. Oh
my gosh.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
Yeah, that's a great picture. They look like buds.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
I'm sure they get up to mischief, but yeah, they
look like buds. Justin wrote, I hope you're doing well
and get to enjoy lovely things, not just through research,
but in real life. This summer, I wanted to share
some of my soccer Torte Vienna coffeehouse experiences with you,
even though I'm sure I'll have no original thought whatsoever,
(28:39):
and plenty of other people will have written in with
similar stories. I'm German and have been lucky enough to
visit Vienna many times, even half living there for a while.
On my first visit as a teenager more than a
decade ago, my dad took me to Hotel Soccer, right
across from the Opera to enjoy a slice of their
iconic tort. As you said, it's an understated, humble piece
(29:00):
of cake and that's actually pretty Austrian, and I remember
enjoying it very much. However, the cafe itself is not
very enjoyable. Thanks to its popularity. There's often a waiting
line to get in. The tables are set very close
to each other, and the waiters start eyeing you to
get up and leave as soon as the last bite
has disappeared off the plate. And this is not Austrian
(29:21):
at all. Of course, the crowd mainly consists of tourists,
so you'll hear lots of different languages. Many cultures are
used to speaking at high volumes, and there's huge backpacks
and functional clothing everywhere. It's the same as with all
the popular spots. Everyone wants to experience the authentic thing,
and we kind of end up ruining it for each other.
Since that first visit, I've found places that I enjoy
(29:43):
much more. The fanciest one for sure is Cafe Gerstener,
which is also located next to the opera. You even
get a view of the magnificent building. They have soccer
tourt of course, and other classics and their own creations.
Cafe Dmel has now chosen a kaiser I think sure,
(30:03):
a kind of thick pancake that has been chopped up
covered in powdered sugar as their stand out promotional product.
There's a big sign right outside the original cafe that
points to their special Kaiserschmarn window. I've seen carts with
it at several tourist attractions throughout the whole city. During
my last visit in June, and while going to these
places for cake and coffee in the afternoon is absolutely lovely.
(30:25):
The lovely waiters, addressed in tailcoats like down to Abbey,
treat you like royalty and no one will look at
you weird for sipping on a single black coffee for
three hours. I have discovered that you can have a
great breakfast in many of these places too. They often
open as early as eight or nine am, which is
early in Europe for a cafe and an offer a
variety of sweet and savory breakfasts, and at reasonable prices
(30:48):
and no need to reserve a table to boot. This
discovery was definitely the highlight of my last trip. I
enjoyed perfect eggs bededict while watching those elderly Viennese people
reading their newspaper like every morning since nineteen sixty three.
Probably just like you imagine, it does sound lovely. It
does sound lovely. Oh all of it sounds so. I mean,
(31:10):
the tourist thing not so much, but oh, the rest
of it.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
I think you make an excellent point about the wanting
to experience the authentic thing and ruining it for everybody accidentally.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
Yeah, yeah, that's kind of what happens a lot of times. Yeah,
there's such a thing as too big yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:29):
Yeah, but you know, you got to go and you
got to try it, and now you have all these
other experiences. Yeah, yeah, and you know what you like. Yeah,
it does sound I'd like that kind of relaxing cafe vibe.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
Right nice. Oh yeah, and most of them are most
of the photos that I saw anyway, Like they look
like gorgeous places like these are in like these like
gorgeous old buildings and they are so beautifully appointed. And yeah,
and they take it seriously.
Speaker 1 (31:59):
I love this. Yeah, I love it too. They take
your kind of relaxation coffee pastry time very seriously.
Speaker 2 (32:09):
Yeah, right as well it should be.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
Yes, that time is precious. Well. Thank you so much
to both of those listeners for writing in. If you
would like to write to as, you can our emails
Hello at savorpod dot com.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
We're also on social media. You can find us on
blue Sky and Instagram at saver pod and we do
hope to hear from you. Savor is production of iHeartRadio.
For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, you can visit
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
your favorite shows. Thanks as always to our super producers
Dylan Fagan and Andrew Howard. Thanks to you for listening,
and we hope that lots more good things are coming
(32:47):
your way.
Savor News
Hosts And Creators
Anney Reese
Lauren Vogelbaum
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Cardiac Cowboys
The heart was always off-limits to surgeons. Cutting into it spelled instant death for the patient. That is, until a ragtag group of doctors scattered across the Midwest and Texas decided to throw out the rule book. Working in makeshift laboratories and home garages, using medical devices made from scavenged machine parts and beer tubes, these men and women invented the field of open heart surgery. Odds are, someone you know is alive because of them. So why has history left them behind? Presented by Chris Pine, CARDIAC COWBOYS tells the gripping true story behind the birth of heart surgery, and the young, Greatest Generation doctors who made it happen. For years, they competed and feuded, racing to be the first, the best, and the most prolific. Some appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, operated on kings and advised presidents. Others ended up disgraced, penniless, and convicted of felonies. Together, they ignited a revolution in medicine, and changed the world.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.