Name Variations[]
About Samsoe[]
Samsoe started as a Danish version of Swiss Emmental but today it has developed a totally different character of its own. Once a farmhouse cheese, Samsoe and its many descendants are now factory produced, but can still be considered a gourmet cheese.
Made in round flat cartwheels and in large slabs, Samsoe has a golden-yellow dry rind which is usually coated in yellow cheese wax. Softer than Emmental, it has a texture which can be flabby but which at its best is more akin to Cheddar.
The paste is pale yellow in color with a few shiny holes about the size of cherries. The flavor is quite mild and nutty in the young cheese, but this strengthens and takes on a slightly more pungent quality as the cheese matures.
Samsoe is a useful gourmet cheese for those who do not like strong flavors because it is very versatile. It offers a mild alternative on a cheese board and, sliced with a handheld cheese slicer, it mixes well with other sliced cheeses.
Samsoe has a distinctive, mild, nutlike flavor that's suitable for almost any use from cooked dishes to salads and sandwiches.