Sweden Farm Makes Pricey Moose Cheese

yahoo ^ | 6/23/04

[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.

[Charles Henrickson]

Tourists pat a moose at the 'Moose House', a 24-hectare (59-acre) moose dairy farm in Bjurholm, Sweden, 650 kilometers (404 miles) north of Stockholm in this file photo dated Sept. 18, 2002. At the moose farm cheese made from milk from moose cows are produced and sold at 7,500 kronor (USD 1,000) per kilogram. The moose farm attracts about 25,000 visitors per year and is the main attraction in an 'activity' center also offering fishing, golf, canoe tours, riding, sauna and in the winter scooter safaris. (AP Photo /Pressens Bild/Hans-Olov Lundkvist)

[rabidralph]

LOL! Thanks for the Python memory.

[BlueLancer]

How about Them Moose Goosers,
Ain't they recluse?
Up in them boondocks,
Goosin' them moose.

Goosin' them huge moose,
Goosin' them tiny,
Goosin' them meadow-moose
In the hiney.

Look at Them Moose Goosers,
Ain't they dumb?
Some use an umbrella,
Some use a thumb.

Them obtuse Moose Goosers,
Sneakin' through the woods,
Pokin' them snoozy moose
In the goods.

How to be a Moose Gooser?
It'll turn ye puce.
Gitchy gooser loose and
Rouse a drowsy moose!

Mason Williams

[Lazamataz]

No way.

[martin_fierro]

[LizardQueen]

I love it.. here's mine:

"Post about moose cheese,
Silly thread springs forth from there.
Time for a shower"

LQ

[Constitution Day]

LOL. You scare me sometimes, Blue.

[larryjohnson]

Saving for my daughter who makes goat cheese on her farm. She was an exchange student to Sweden,speaks Swedish and writes/visits with cousins from Sweden.

[King Prout]

oh, my... there will be larks over this article

[King Prout]

oh... no!

[tiamat]

Haiku ping!

;-)

[tiamat]

Thanks!

( I think)

Okay, Darksheare and Kathy, take a look!

[MeekOneGOP]

Bullwinkle: Hey, Rocky! Watch me pull a rabbit outta my hat!

Rocky: Again? That trick NEVER works!

[tiamat]

4-H ping!

( sort of! )

[theDentist]

Wasn't your sister bitten by a moose?

(better late than never)

[csvset]

New Canadian Quarter !

[reagan_fanatic]

Ha. You people thought you could get me to post to another one of those bizarre 'moose' threads, didn't ya?

Well, it didn't work. |:P

[tiamat]

You're too clever for us!

LOL!

[MEG33]

103...ROFLOL!

[MEG33]

LOL!