Liederkranz...we hardly knew ye....

So folks, I was at home today munching on a particularly fine cracker when I was suddenly brought back to afternoons after school with my mother, where she and I would indulge in a fine little package of heaven -- Liederkranz cheese. Do any of you remember Liederkranz? It was the stinkiest most fabulous soft cheese in the world and I spent many of my formative years inhaling its stinky fragrance and yummy crust....

But alas, it is no more. It has ceased to be....fill in your favorite part of the Dead Parrot litany....I was told a few years back by an estimable cheese expert (one of the guys at the Chalet) that the company that owned Liederkranz stopped making it and then the recipe was lost and the place where they made it even burned to the ground.

It was the finest of stinky smells. Punguent and strong yet more sophisticated than your typical limburger cheese. It had a taste that's hard to describe and yet if I focus on it..i can almost taste it and smell it in my head and mouth.

It came in a love little square package, similar to that of Boursin -- it was a perfect little circle with a brown stinky crust...my mom and I fought over that crust. Spreadable stinky heaven.

<sigh>

Nothing compares to it. At least..not that I've found.

Anyone else miss something that is, alas, no more?


Shannon

earthlydesire wrote: Do any of you remember Liederkranz? It was the stinkiest most fabulous soft cheese in the world and I spent many of my formative years inhaling its stinky fragrance and yummy crust....

I sure do remember Liederkranz. I had a buddy in high school, his dad was a known communist (which, at the time, was cool), and he kept a little always-half-eaten hunk of the stuff in his refrigerator. I smelled it probalby a hundred times -- not sure I actually ever ate any. I thought I remembered it was produced by a common household name, and indeed it was:

"Liederkranz was developed by a man name Emil Frey. Emil was commissioned by a very successful New York delicatessen owner to duplicate a popular german cheese called Bismark Schlosskase. He instead developed a new variety of limburger thus, Liederkranz was born. The name was later bought by Borden's and became available throughout the US. It was originally made in Upstate New York State and then moved to Ohio. The plant closed in the late 1960s after a fire."

http://www.kuttercheese.com/products/product.html

David "Me like stinky cheese" Hammond

I don't know what the real story is, but I like this story better:

http://www.monroecheesefestival.com/history.shtml

especially the explanation of why the cheese is no more:

"When fire damaged part of the Van Wert plant in June 1973, it included the area where Liederkranz was produced, curtailing production for several months. Eight and a half years later, on December 18, 1981, the Borden company closed the Van Wert plant. It was no longer going to manufacture natural cheese. In the future it would be offering only process cheese. Six months later, June 1982, the Fisher Cheese Company bought the Van Wert plant. It started to produce Liederkranz in a small section of the plant prior to the purchase. In August 1985 the Fisher Cheese Company discovered bacterial contamination in a batch of Liederkranz, and withdrew it from the market. This contamination was also found in other cheeses it produced. That was the last time Liederkranz was made, and the Beatrice Foods Company now owns the rights to the formula for this famous cheese created by Emil Frey In Monroe, New York."

Bill/SFNM

I hadn't thought about Liederkranz for years. As a kid I was both attracted and repelled by it. I never ate much but always tried it again.

A few months ago at West Allis Cheese in the Milwaukee Public Market, one of the owners mentioned a cheese similar to Liederkranz. So I bought a little box of Petit Frere, made by Crave Brothers in Waterloo WI. They've been making Les Freres, a washed rind cow's milk cheese, for a while and this is simply a smaller version of it. I ripened it for a couple months in my refrigerator and brought it out recently. It wasn't as soft and runny as I'd hoped (I'd make a lousy affineur) but I enjoyed it quite a bit. It definitely brought back memories of Liederkranz. I hope to get another piece and will try to age it more. Fans of Liederkranz might want to give it a try; it might be as close as you'll get these days.

Oh WOW....now that looks like my memory of Liederkranz.

That is making my tummy growl and get all upset about not having any of it. I can practically smell the stuff.

Rene -- you're a prince to post this...

Shan

Hi,

According to Trib's The Stew blog, Liederkranz returns due to a dedicated fan base.

Bringing back Liederkranz makes sense given the surging American interest in all things cheese. Folks have been turning away from the bland, scentless processed cheese of their youth for artisan cheese that offer sensual textures, nuanced flavors and, yep, a little stink on the nose.

Liederkranz was invested in 1882 by a New York cheesemaker named Emil Frey, according to “The Deluxe Food Lover’s Companion.” He modeled this cow’s milk cheese on limburger and named it after a New York singing society called Liederkranz.

Regards,

Wow -- Cathy -- thanks so much for posting this.

The big question is -- WHERE?

my tastebuds are getting very drooly.

Hi,

I have sent an e-mail to the company with the very same question. According to their website, this cheese started distribution within the last two weeks. More information on DCI Cheese's website.

It did say speciality cheese shops. I'm sure someone will spot it somewhere and alert us.

Regards,

Bring it on!
The current version of Limburger is such a plain vanilla type with all the charachter taken out of it. I've tried aging for different time periods of months to 6 months and nothing makes the center soft and runny, it stays hard as a brick.
Hopefully the 'new' Leiderkranz has not had the taste bred out of it.-Dick

The last paragraph of this blog refers to Bergsteiger cheese from Kutter Cheese in upstate New York. While 'Liederkranzlers' apparently disdain it, I've tried it and if you're looking for a Limburger to serve your friends, you can't do better. It's an End-in-Itself, regardless of its relation to Liederkranz! Kutter also makes some artisanal cheeses, and a very very long aged cheddar that is excellent.

Geo

The major problem with acquiring many of these 'boutique' products is shipping costs which are usually as much as the cost of the item and in this case, would far exceed the actual cost. It's nice to know about these items but one can only spend so much money. We have cut back drastically on our Overnight Delivery and Second Day Air products due to the shipping costs.-Dick

HI,

My sense it is somewhere here in Chicago. They are not offering through larger stores because they cannot promise the minimum volume required. If you check this company's website, they are distributors of many small batch cheeses. It also doesn't hurt to ask at the cheese counter. If they don't know, then point where it originates from. They may already be sourcing cheese from them, it is simply adding to the order.

Regards,

Back in the days when my husband and I were dating, Liederkranz was always part of our picnics. (As with garlic, the "aroma" doesn't matter if you're both eating the food.... At least it didn't bother us!) We continued to enjoy Liederkranz until it suddenly disappeared. So I'm excited to hear that it's coming back!

I just checked with the company and was told that they have not yet started shipping to the Chicago area. They expect to do so around 4/15-4/19. After that, the woman said, they will have a better idea who has picked up the product and where it will be available.

As of now, they have only shipped to Milwaukee, she said.

Cathy, let us know if you hear something different in reply to your email. Thanks.

Not much of an answer:

Unfortunately, we don’t have it in the Chicago area at this time. We do have it at Sendiks & Larry’s Market near Milwaukee.

I'll be in Milwaukee on Saturday, I will see where these shops may be relative to Smelt Fest in Port Washington.

Regards,

Not Liederkranz but Limburger...

For some cheesemakers, the love of the trade has much to do with the opportunity to be innovative, to create new varieties that they can call their very own signature cheeses. For Myron Olson, general manager at Chalet Cheese Coop, a small, alpine-style factory in the hills of southwest Wisconsin, the love of the craft is all about tradition and a fervent belief that, for some things, the old ways are best and must be preserved.

Olson, one of the elite corps of Wisconsin Master Cheesemakers, has made his mark by championing a cheese not likely to win any popularity contests or grab the spotlight on fashionable restaurant menus. It’s smelly, it’s misunderstood and, according to Olson, it’s a cheese for which you almost need a mentor. It’s Limburger, and, as America’s last traditional Limburger maker, Olson happily fills the mentor role for anyone who will listen, taste and give Limburger a chance.


Chalet Cheese Co-Op
Baby swiss, brick, limburger. Retail outlet. Tours for four or more by appointment.
Hwy 81 from Hwy 11, one mile NW of Monroe (toward Argyle) to Hwy N, then N four miles to N4858 Cty N, Monroe,
N4858 County Rd N
Monroe, WI 53566
608-325-4343

Ladies and Gentlemen of LTH -- I have found the Liederkranz and I am ecstatic to report that it absolutely matches my memory of it. As I sit here, savoring my first taste of it -- the smell is wafting up to my allergy ridden nose and despite my sinus problems, it is strong and salty and savory to my receptors. I am in cheese heaven.

I was patrolling Peapod yesterday ordering groceries because after a session at Trader Joe's on Saturday, I could not stand the idea of another visit to the grocery store for the non-TJ's items and so I succumbed to the siren song of Peapod. After I look for sales and my usual suspects, I always check out the new items and lo and behold, Liederkranz jumped at me like Michael Myers with a big bloody knife.

When it was delivered today, I think I waited about 5 minutes before I opened it and gasped at its perfect crusty rind and delicious creamy center. It is divine. It was $7.99 for 6 oz and I am letting it sit a bit so that it'll get all gooey and melty and I think it will be gone before the day is out. My mother, who lives in Georgia, is incredibly jealous of me. Of course...since I can only get it at Peapod (at least so far -- I haven't found it anywhere else) I won't be able to get anymore of it until I need groceries delivered again -- they do have a minimum on delivery and I am not made of money. And it's probably good thing or I might become someone who is made of Liederkranz.


I have two pictures but my tech skills aren't good -- and I can't figure out how to get it in this post. I will figure it out and post it when I can.

It is everything I remembered it being -- and I have to say, for the first time, I get Proust's madeleines.

Earthly...

Who made your Liederkranz? I want to start asking around for it.

Thanks

Mike

Hi Mike -- Cathy2 has a link to their website above. DCI Cheese Corp.

However, I do know where it's available in the Chicago area -- I emailed them.

Sunset
Larry's Market
Valli
Angelo Caputo's
Joe Caputo's


Most of those places are in the suburbs and they didn't give me specific locations of Sunset Foods but I know you can order it through Peapod.

earthlydesire wrote:...My mother, who lives in Georgia, is incredibly jealous of me.

As my eyes scanned this post, I first read it as "My mother, who lives in Georgia, can smell it from there."

Ha! Joel...she actually said something to that effect when I told her I had it on me. I was quite cruel actually, telling her over the phone of its delightful odor.

My sisters, on the other hand, were disgusted to hear that the stinky cheese was once again available. Miscreants.

<grin>