Tingvollost facts for kids
Tingvollost is a Norwegian company that makes delicious cheeses. It was started in 2003 in Tingvoll Municipality. They use milk from cows to create different kinds of cheese. These include blue cheese and cheeses with white mold. In 2014, they made 21 tons of cheese from 200,000 liters of milk.
Their most famous cheese is called Kraftkar. It is a type of blue cheese. Kraftkar became the World Champion at the World Cheese Awards in 2016. This big competition was held in San Sebastián, Spain. Kraftkar competed against 3,021 cheeses from 31 countries to win this top prize.
Kraftkar had won many awards before becoming World Champion. It first won the national championship in Norway in 2009. It also won a medal in the Nordic Cheese Competition in Denmark. In 2011, Kraftkar won a gold medal at the World Cheese Awards. That same year, it also won national and Nordic gold awards. In 2012, it won the Nordic award again.
Tingvollost has other award-winning cheeses too. In 2013, their cheese called Vismann won a silver medal. Vismann is a milder version of Kraftkar. At the World Cheese Awards in London in 2014, they won bronze medals. These were for their cheeses Edel frue (a soft white cheese) and Mild mester (a semi-hard white cheese). In 2015, Mild Mester was named a "Super Gold" cheese. It was one of 62 cheeses nominated for the top prize at the World Cheese Awards in Birmingham. That year, Edel frue and Vismann won bronze, while Kraftkar won silver.
How Tingvollost Started
Tingvollost was founded in 2003 by the Waagen family. They started the company on their farm, Saghaug Gård. This farm has been around since the 1300s!
The company is a family business. Kristin Waagen is the chief executive officer. Her parents, Gunnar Waagen (the farmer) and Solvår Waagen (the senior cheese maker), are also very involved. Solvår Waagen says that all their cheese is made by hand, without big machines.
The company was able to start because of a new rule in 2003. The minister of agriculture, Lars Sponheim, allowed milk farmers to make cheese from their own milk. Before this, farmers usually had to sell their milk to larger companies like TINE. This new rule helped small cheesemakers like Tingvollost begin their journey.
See also
- List of cheesemakers
- World Cheese Awards
