Norwegian brown cheese
Norwegian whey cheese, made from whey boiled down with milk and cream. Caramel-brown, firm and slightly sticky, sweet-salty with a caramel note and, depending on the kind, a hint of goat.
Strictly speaking, brunost is not an aged cheese but whey boiled for hours with milk and often cream until the milk sugar caramelises and the mass sets firm. It comes made from cow's milk, from goat's milk (geitost) and as blends; the goat versions taste sharper and stronger, the cow's milk ones milder and sweeter. Its texture is close to soft caramel or fudge, which is why it is shaved into paper-thin slices with a cheese slicer, for bread or waffles. In warm sauces, such as those served with game, it melts smoothly and adds sweetness, salt and body at once. Look for it in shops selling Scandinavian food, at well-stocked cheese counters and by mail order; tightly wrapped, it keeps a long time in the fridge.
Substitute:
There is no true substitute, because the mix of caramel, salt and milky tang only comes from boiling down whey. For sauces, Mexican cajeta (goat's milk caramel) with a pinch of salt gets fairly close in flavour, but it is liquid and sweeter; it will not work for slicing onto bread.