Jarlsberg is a traditional, creamery, hard, Norwegian cheese. The world’s most famous “Baby Swiss.” It has the consistency texture and hole formation of Swiss Emmental but its flavor is more nut-like and sweeter. The paste is golden yellow with holes of various sizes. A full wheel of Jarlsberg weighs about 20 lbs., one tenth the weight of a wheel of Emmental.
The history of Jarlsberg cheese can be traced back to the middle 1850s. Anders Larsen Bakke (1815–1899) was a farmer and entrepreneur and a pioneer in Norway’s dairy industry.He produced cheese in the Vale village in what was then the county of Jarlsberg and Larviks, 80 km south of Oslo.The cheese shares similarities with Emmental introduced to Vestfold by Swiss cheese makers during the 1830s.
