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Our legacy

Why do we think Castello is the king of speciality cheese? Two reasons: its illustrious history and tradition of skilful production. While it has a knack of disappearing from the fridge in no time at all, Castello has actually been around a long while.

115 years to be precise...

Castello History

Our story begins in 1893, when the young visionary, Rasmus Tholstrup, decided to dedicate his life to cheese making. Over 110 years later, the story continues, with Castello being sold in over 50 countries...

Thanks to his high standards and hard work, Rasmus soon became a pioneer in his field. Fortunately his son, Henrik, grew up to share his passion for cheese and the Castello legacy was secured. Henrik Tholstrup took the family dairy from strength-to-strength, introducing a range of innovative, prize-winning, cheeses.

Henrik bought a Swedish dairy and the successful Bianco cheese was born - a creamy havarti with a smooth and supple texture that became very popular. However, it was Castello that made Tholstrup a big name within the industry. Tholstrup developed the white cheese over the course of ten years before its introduction, a debut that saw Castello receiving scores of medals and prizes.

In 1958 Henrik bought several dairies in Denmark, and on the first day of production 17 Castello cheeses were manufactured. Just four years later, that number had increased to 2,200. 30 years later, 60,000 Castello cheeses were being produced every day.

In 1963 Henrik received the Danish Cheesemonger's award, having made 'A tremendous effort by introducing the new Castello cheese, which has made Danish cheese production highly successful and in a few years has gained remarkable popularity both in Denmark and abroad'.

At first Castello was called 'yellow' because of its golden wrapping; this was the precursor of today's favourites, Castello Blue and White. Having been acquired by Arla in 2006, Castello is now available at a store near you. Give it a try - taste the legacy!

Crafted with care

Making speciality cheese is a real skill. And thankfully, each and every one of our cheese makers shares the same passion for Castello as our founder, Rasmus Tholstrup. He set the benchmark for precision, dedication and the understanding of the way in which each and every cheese ripens.

Castello cheeses each have very different characteristics. So whether it's Blue or White, our expertise means they are given individual attention. Only when Castello cheeses are ripe and perfectly ready will you find them on the shelves. Then it's over to you to sit back and enjoy it - while it lasts!

How we make it

The Castello dairy might have grown in size over the years, but traditional production values of impeccable quality remain at the core. Here's how we do it.

First things first: we source the best milk from the best farms - we wouldn't have it any other way! Then we mix the milk with cream and concentrate it, before pasteurising the mixture. Then we pour the milk and cream mixture into a vat, and determine the destiny of the cheese by adding a few further ingredients For Castello Blue, we add maturing culture, rennet and blue mould. For Castello White, we simply add maturing culture and rennet.

We like to think of what happens next as cheese making magic. It's a simple enough process, but it takes skill and experience to perfect. The cheese starts to coagulate as it splits into the soluble part, or whey, and the insoluble curds. We cut and stir the curds and whey, then pour them into a round plastic case where they separate fully. The remaining curds soon become cheese, at which point we remove it from the casing and dip it into salted water. It's the same traditional method we've always used, after all, why try and improve on perfection?

Next, Castello Blue is pierced with lots of tiny holes before being placed on a tray in our ripening room. Trust us, it's this vital mould-growing process that makes Blue taste so good! It takes about 14 to 16 days to ripen. After this, the cheese is washed, dried, cut, packed and left in a cooling room for 5 to 7 days at 1°c. It is then shipped out after it is 21 to 25 days old.

When making Castello White, the cheese is removed from the plastic casing before being sprayed with a special mould that covers the cheese. It is then ripened on trays for 12 to 14 days before being pre-cooled, cut and packed. It is shipped after 18 to 20 days.

 
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