Posted on 06/23/2004 2:55:14 PM PDT by knak
STOCKHOLM, Sweden - It's healthy and tasty, for those with expensive tastes. Farmers in northern Sweden are milking moose and making cheese, which they sell for a lot of dough — nearly $500 a pound. The buyers include upscale hotels and restaurants in Sweden.
AP Photo
Christer Johansson and his wife, Ulla, started their 59-acre dairy farm "Moose House" seven years ago in Bjursholm, 404 miles north of the capital, Stockholm. They claim it is the only moose dairy farm in Europe.
The Johanssons currently have 14 moose in the fields but only three — "Gullan," "Haelga" and "Juna" — can be milked.
The three cows, who stay outdoors all year, were abandoned calves found in the woods around Bjursholm and taken in by the Johansson family.
"Fortunately they know and love us, because they weigh about 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds). They see us almost as their own calves," Christer Johansson said.
The Johanssons were inspired by similar facilities in eastern Russia, although those produce only milk, he said.
The moose only produce milk between May and September, the time from when they calve to when they are in heat again, Christer Johansson said. It takes up to two hours to milk a moose and they each produce up to a gallon of milk a day.
"That's one of the reasons why the cheese is so expensive," he said.
The milk, which contains 12 percent fat and as much protein, is refrigerated and curdling is done three times per year, crating about 660 pounds of cheese a year. It is made in three varieties and can be sampled at the farm's restaurant.
"We hope later on to be able also to export more of the cheese, especially the somewhat sour feta-type, which is laid down in oil and easy to transport," he said.
The Johansson farm attracts about 25,000 visitors a year.
Time for a shower!
This is hugh and vey series!
This sounds series, perhaps even hugh.
Incoming!
Here we go!
Hey! Where's my sister?
All your cheese are belong to us!
Including the majestic møøse
A Møøse once bit my sister ...
No realli! She was Karving her initials on the møøse
with the sharpened end of an interspace tøøthbrush given
her by Svenge - her brother-in-law - an Oslo dentist and
star of many Norwegian møvies: "The Høt Hands of an Oslo
Dentist", "Fillings of Passion", "The Huge Mølars of Horst
Nordfink".
It isn't that somebody has to milk a moose. It's that somebody was stupid enough to be the first to try it.
If only one of the dairymen or mooses (moose? meese?) had been named "Hugh", you'd have had a trifecta here.
Those crazy Kjellberg's will probably OD on Moose Cheese and Lefsa!
Oh, sh*t, here we go again.
Must.....Resist............can't..............
That's Majestik Moose Cheese...it leaves one with a strange urge to bite one's siblings.
What's the weight of a laden moose cheese?
Sometimes you just have to marvel at what life offers up.
What no whine with this cheese?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.