Milbenkäse

Milbenkäse is a small, amber or black cylinder of cheese that smells sharply of ammonia. When you take a bite, it tastes deeply nutty, sharp, and zesty. The best part? It is covered in thousands of tiny, living cheese mites, and you eat them right along with the cheese!

How It's Made

Cheesemakers mix a soft fresh curd called quark with caraway seeds and elderflower, shaping it into little cylinders. These wheels are placed in wooden boxes full of rye flour and millions of live cheese mites for three months to a year. The mites munch on the rind and excrete digestive enzymes that naturally ferment the cheese from the outside in, creating its dark color and sharp flavor.

The Story

The tradition of making mite cheese in the German region of Würchwitz dates all the way back to the Middle Ages. But by 1970, this ancient craft had nearly vanished completely, and only one elderly woman in the village, Liesbeth Brauer, still knew the secret recipe. Thankfully, a local science teacher named Helmut Pöschel learned her technique and rescued Milbenkäse from extinction. Today, it is a perfectly legal, fiercely protected European delicacy that keeps a centuries-old culinary partnership between humans and tiny bugs alive.