Butterkäse basics and the Isle of Sark story
If you’ve ever checked out our cheeses, you’ll know that some of them are instantly familiar favorites: Cheddar, Gouda, and Havarti need no introduction. On the other hand, our Sark Triple Cream Butterkäse might call for one — Butterkäse, while it’s a cheese rooted in Old World history, doesn’t get quite the same marquee space as its European peers. But this rich, ultra-soft cheese deserves a closer look — as does our version’s namesake, the little Guernsey island of Sark.
As our friends over at Wisconsin Cheese point out, the first order of business is learning the right way to say it: it’s booter-ke-zuh, not butter-case. In German, it means butter-cheese, and it’s an apt description: it’s creamy, buttery, and often can even be spread rather than sliced. Because it’s fairly new to the European cheese scene (it first showed up in Germany in the 1920s as their take on a similar Italian cheese), Butterkäse has had only about a century to build a fan base. But it’s universally appealing, with a mild, smooth flavor that sidesteps objections from those who “don’t like cheese.” These days, Germany still produces most of the Butterkäse eaten in Europe, and in the U.S., Wisconsin-based companies — like Hoard’s — offer it locally as well as nationally.
Our version — Sark Triple Cream Butterkäse — is made with Guernsey milk, famous for its rich, golden quality. Guernsey cows originally came from the Channel Islands between England and France, and was the breed selected by our founder W.D. Hoard to form the basis of his Wisconsin herd in 1899. And while the Island of Sark’s Guernsey herds are a thing of the past, our contemporary Guernseys are descendants of the original Hoard’s herd.
Sark, with a population of only 500 or so, had a long legacy of Guernsey dairy farming, but they just said farewell to their only dairy farm in April of this year, when the owners retired. The Sark Dairy Trust website notes that the island once “was self-sufficient in milk and cream,” and with a goal to recapture that magic, in 2019 the Trust and like-minded residents put out a public appeal for funds to build infrastructure and attract a dairy farmer or two back to the Island after a long absence. Now, with the retirement of their latest farmers, they’re on the lookout again, hoping to bring dairy — and Guernseys — back to Sark.
This tiny island caught our eye when we first crafted our Butterkäse: we knew that this cheese variety doesn’t have the huge presence of some of our more well-known cheeses, but its straightforward, timeless appeal reminded us of the beauty and simplicity of the island Sark. The island is a throwback to a simpler time: cars aren’t allowed on the roads, only bicycles and horse-drawn conveyances, and the lack of urban sprawl has earned the island a Dark Sky Community designation. The people of Sark make it easy to enjoy the simple things — and we’re all for celebrating that.