Borgholm Castle is getting ready for cheese

The old castle, which has been used for a lot of things may be used for the ripening of cheese in the future. 

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  A castle made for cheese? Borgholm Castle (really the ruins of a castle) might be a great place for ripening cheese. Photo: Wikipedia

• Borgholm Castle, the ruin of a fortress first built in the second half of the 12th century on the island of Öland, has been used for many different events during the last decades: Parties, concerts, weddings… But now it’s getting ready for cheese.
  It is Arla Foods in Kalmar that states that the basement area of Borgholm Castle has temperature and moisture levels perfect for ripening cheeses. The thought is that the cheese is to be made at the dairy in Kalmar and then transported to the castle on Öland.
  “We don’t yet know what this will lead to,” says Göran Bengtsson, dairy director at Arla in Kalmar. “That’s what we will find out, if it will influence the taste and so on.”
  If the project takes off, the cheese will have to be turned once a week. Also a cheese connoisseur will visit on a regular basis to determine when the ripening of the cheeses is done.
  “The process of ripening cheese is long, around half a year, so we don’t know for sure,” Bengtsson says. The idea is to move the cheeses already on May 15, but there’s a lot of secrecy involved. “What I can say is that we will ripen both new cheeses and cheeses from the old selection.” And before the cheese can be transported to the old ruin, the place must first be inspected and approved as a food establishment. “Not everything is clear yet. We’ll know more later. There are discussions about renting the northern basement if necessary,” says director of Borgholm Castle Jan-Åke Johansson.