Flaming Fromage

Sometimes you have to see to believe.

After reading about a brunost cheese fire that burned for days in Norway, I wanted to see this super special cheese with my own eyes.

Thanks to the internet and refrigerated shipping, I ordered a pound of brunost cheese for a fair amount of money (my mom always said I liked waste...she wasn't wrong) I set about trying to burn this cheese. I'd read that it took high temperatures. I tried three different methods.

Cheese that looks like peanut butter and tastes like caramel-flavored Cheez Whiz. Those silly Norwegians. 

First things first though - be safe!

Start basic - try lighting it on fire. Sizzles, but does not ignite. 

Try campfire style with bits of tinder and paper. The "kindling" burns but the cheese does not.

Method number 2: direct heat in a skillet

Method number 3: thin slices on a cookie tray right under the oven's broiler

It's smokin'! And let me tell ya, my husband was THRILLED with this experiment: "You spent HOW much on cheese and my house smells like this WHY?"

Melting, bubbling, and smoking

And finally - FIRE! The cheese in the oven combusted from the high temperature. Less than an ounce of cheese burned for over ten minutes. 

I finally put a lid on my skillet and there was a flash fire, but it would go out every time I lifted the lid. While the cheese in the oven turned to complete ash, the cheese in the skillet looked like a lava rock. 

I really liked the cheese. Supposedly it's great on venison, in soups, and on desserts. What does it taste like? You know how there is bacon-flavored Easy Cheese? This tasted like caramel-flavored Easy Cheese. With the consistency of fudge. 

Operation Burning Brunost - SUCCESS!



P.S. For the record, I really liked the cheese. I thought it tasted great on apple slices. I shared it at the office and 4 out of 5 people liked it. The others strongly hated it.