The new mountain cheese was cut at the Almkäse festival
High above Annaberg, in the beautiful hiking region of Zwieselalm Dachstein-West, this year’s Tennengauer Almkäse Festival was celebrated with a GenussMarkt on the alp. The Rottenhofhütte warmly welcomed the hikers and I also stopped for a bite to eat with dairymaid Magdalena Kraft.
The Tennengauer Almkäse
Not all cheese is the same: When the animals graze in the GenussRegion Salzburg, they eat only the best feed. Fresh and dried grasses and herbs give the hay milk its intense flavor. And this, in turn, is the secret of the hearty Tennengauer Almkäse. In addition, the hay milk contains high-quality minerals and vitamins, because it is neither cooked nor pasteurized. The Tennengau cheese producers use mainly hay milk in first-class organic quality for their cheese creations.
Many roads lead to alpine cheese
Radiant weather, radiant mood: This makes hiking really fun! For the first part I treated myself to an ascent with the Donnerkogelbahn. I love to float uphill while letting my eyes wander. Everything is there: Gosaukamm with the Donnerkogel, which gives the gondola its name, and the striking Bischofsmütze, on the other side the view of the Gerzkopf.
The local mountain of Lungötz not only offers a challenging tour up into a nature reserve worth seeing. There is also the “Schwarze Lacke“, a legendary bog pond. The view continues to the Tennengebirge – and then it’s time to change trains, because today the Ameisenexpress is waiting to take us to the hut.
By the way: If you prefer to walk, you can also reach the hut from Annaberg from the Korrein parking lot after a leisurely 1.5 hours.
Good things from the GenussRegion
The producers of the GenussRegion Tennengau are already hard at work preparing the stalls for the Genussmarkt. Representing the GenussRegion Tennengauer Almkäse are: Johanna Wallinger and her award-winning goat cheese from the Fischhof in Annaberg, Gertraud and Josef Oberascher from the Schmiedbauer farm cheese dairy in Bad Vigaun, Niki Rettenbacher from the Fürstenhof organic farm cheese dairy in Kuchl, Toni Gschwandtner from Sonnleit’n in Abtenau. The GenussRegion Tennengauer Berglamm presents Rupert Neureiter from Schlenggenhof in Scheffau. Loud delicacies, I will take a few delicacies for the way back.
What a cheese!
I’m early today, dairymaid Magdalena Kraft still has a bit of time to greet the hikers, because the roast pork is simmering in the oven, you can smell it already up to the door of the hut: “Mhm!” Magdalena is happy to cut her new herb mountain cheese today: “It wasn’t always easy with the cheesemaking,” she explains to me, “at first I didn’t succeed with every one.” In the meantime, her alpine cheese is a poem: spicy and just like the newly created mountain cheese with g’schmackigen herbs from the alp. My tip: At the Annaberg Kasroas you can watch the dairymaid in the cheese dairy after a hike. There where about 13 different varieties are produced!
A successful celebration
In the meantime, the Schattseit’n-Musi from Großarl has also started to play, the sky is bright blue and the pork roast is ready. Visitors sit on the terrace in the sunshine and enjoy the alpine day. It’s true: up on the mountain, many can take a breather, leave everyday life behind and unwind. I enjoy the spinach and cheese dumplings, watch the children having a blast riding the ponies and make a heart out of hay under Gaby’s guidance.
Before I head back home, I do some shopping “in the Genussregion”. Of course, you can also get the delicious variety in the valley at the producers, farmers’ markets or already well prepared in one of the GenussWirthäuser. Enjoy it!
Oh yes, and the next GenussMarkt will take place at the Lammertaler HeuART Festival with us in Annaberg on Sunday, September 4!