How To Make Havarti Cheese At Home

Follow our easy and delicious step by step guide on how to make your own Havarti cheese at home.

Havarti cheese is a semi-soft Danish cheese that traditionally has open ‘eyes’ in it’s formation. It is a smooth, buttery cheese that is often eaten grilled or melted.

How To Make Havarti Cheese At Home

 What is Havarti Cheese?

How To Make Havarti Cheese At Home, easy to follow delicious recipe

Created in the 1850’s by Hanne Nielsen, a Danish woman that traveled to various countries learning about many types of cheese, Havarti was named for the farm where it was first created. 

Havarti is a semi-soft cheese traditionally made from cow’s milk with the addition of rennet to curdle the milk. It is recognizable by its smooth, pale yellow appearance, dotted with tiny holes. 

Because of the smooth and creamy texture, havarti melts well and has a buttery and slightly sweet flavour. Havarti is great on its own, sliced and/or grilled. 

Havarti is usually aged around three months, which is considered when the taste is at its best. 

Making Havarti Cheese At Home

Make Time – About 2.5 hours

Pressing Time – 4-5 hours

Time In Brine – 6 hours

12.5 – 13.5 hours all up to make

Havarti Cheese Ingredients

  • 10 litres whole cows milk
  • 1/4 teaspoon mesophilic type ii starter
  • 1/8 teaspoon mesophilic aroma starter i.e Flora Danica
  • Rennet diluted in 1/4 cup water (see manufacturers instructions for amounts)
  • 1/4 cup cheese salt

How To Make Havarti Cheese At Home

  1. Warm milk to 32c
  2. Add cultures, stir thoroughly
  3. Leave to ripen for 30 minutes, keeping the temperature at 32c
  4. Add Rennet diluted in 10mls of boiled and cooled water
  5. Leave to set for 45 minutes – 1 hour or use the Flocculation Method for the best set
  6. Carefully cut the curd into 1 cm cubes
  7. Leave to rest for 5 minutes
  8. Stir for 10 minutes, until curds are a regular size (a whisk can be helpful for this but don’t cut the curds up too small with it)
  9. Pour off approximately 1/3 of the whey
  10. Replace immediately with 2-3 litres of hot water (80-85c)
    Add enough hot water to bring the temperature up to between 36c and 38c
    The cooler the temperature, the softer the cheese but stay within this range
  11. Stir regularly to prevent the curds from matting together and to make sure all curds are at the same temperature
  12. Add the cheese salt
  13. Keep the curds at temperature for 25-30 minutes, stirring regularly to integrate the salt
  14. Pour the curd out into a colander lined with cheese cloth keeping the curd broken up
  15. Add any herbs if desired
  16. Transfer your curds in your press
  17. Press at 5kg for 30 minutes
  18. Remove, unwrap, flip and redress
  19. Press at 10kg for 2 hours
  20. Remove, unwrap, flip and redress
  21. Press for another hour
  22. Remove, unwrap, flip and redress
  23. Press for another hour
  24. Submerge in saturated brine for 6 hours, turning regularly to brine all surfaces
  25. Remove and allow to air dry with 80-85% humidity at 14 degrees Celsius  for 5-7 days until cheese is dry to the touch, but not cracked
    Turn daily and wipe with brine if any molds appear

How To Age Havarti Cheese

  • Wax when the cheese is dry to the touch
  • Age for at least 2 months.

Learn How To Wax Cheese Here

Tips for How to Make Havarti Cheese

Flavour with spices, herbs such as dill, cumin and peppers

It is best to keep it wrapped in parchment paper in the least cold part of the refrigerator. 

how to make havarti cheese at home

Ways to Use Havarti Cheese

Once you learn how to make havarti, you will want to use it as much as you can so we’ve put together many ways to incorporate havarti into your rotation!

Havarti is great when added to grilled sandwiches and burgers because of how it melts. 

You can mix it into an omelet or scrambled eggs. 

Because it tastes great at room temperature as well, it makes a wonderful addition to cheese plates with crackers and fruit. 

Top sliced or chopped vegetables with havarti and broil until melted. 

Mix it into your macaroni and cheese!

Take a baguette and brush it with olive oil and garlic. Top with havarti and broil until cheese is melted. 

Havarti can be used in sweet and savory dishes! See the recipes we’ve found below!

Orange Breakfast Souffle with Dried Cherries

This Taste of Home recipe combines eggs, dried cherries, and havarti to make a wonderful souffle that is best when made the day before!

Pour one-half cup of orange juice and one-half cup of dried cherries into a bowl and allow to stand for 15 minutes. 

In another bowl, whisk together 6 eggs, 2 cups of milk, a quarter-cup sugar, some orange zest, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Add the cherries and orange juice and stir. 

Stir in 8 cups of cubed brioche. 

Sprinkle with one and a half cups cubed havarti. 

Refrigerate overnight (covered). 

When you are ready to bake and serve, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

While the oven is heating, allow the souffle to warm up a bit on the counter. Then bake for 45 to 55 minutes until it is fluffy and golden. A knife inserted into the center should come out clean. 

Let stand 10 minutes before cutting and serving. 

While the souffle cools, combine 1 cup of maple syrup and one-quarter cup dried cherries. Heat through. 

Dust the souffle with confectioners sugar. 

Serve the maple syrup and cherry sauce with the souffle. 

Find the original recipe at Taste of Home

Baked Ratatouille with Havarti Cheese

This recipe by Skinnytaste is a great way to get your family to eat more veggies! 

Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees F. 

Heat olive oil in a large skillet and saute onions and garlic for 2 to 3 minutes. 

Add a bit of salt and pepper, tomatoes, red pepper flakes, thyme, basil, red and yellow peppers and saute for 5 to 8 minutes on medium-low heat. 

Grill zucchini and eggplant on a grill pan for 4 to 6 minutes, turning once. 

Pour 1 cup of sauce into a baking dish. Layer the eggplant and squash slices and pour the remaining sauce on top. Place cheese on top. 

Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. 

Find the full recipe at Skinnytaste

how to make havarti cheese at home, easy to follow home cheese making recipe

Do you have any questions or comments about Havarti? Join the discussion over at the Curd Nerd Forum. We would love to hear from you! We really hope you enjoy our havarti cheese recipe.

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3 thoughts on “How To Make Havarti Cheese At Home

  • Pingback:3 More Cheese Recipes | Curd-Nerd

  • 17/03/2013 at 4:06 am
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    just found your webpage……interesting……been playing with cheese makeing for about 6 months now…..never can find an answer too 1 question tho, maybe you can help………instead of WAXING is it feasable too just vacuum pack the cheese for ripening??

    • 20/03/2013 at 12:44 pm
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      Hi Jeff

      Thanks for your comment. I have written a post on this exact question, that might help you out. Take a look and let me know if you still have any questions.

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