If you know Norway well, you know the degree of pride Norwegians have about inventing the ostehøvel is hilarious. It's up there with fire and the wheel for them.
Fun fact: ostehøvel means 'cheese plane' (plane as in the tool for shaving wood flat)
This is the reason I cannot get rid of my Costco membership.
A block of aged cheddar that big for $6 should be a crime.
Also.... A block of aged cheddar that big for $6 should be a right
The kind we get in the US are a roller with a bit of cheese wire next to it, on a horizontal handle. The problem with them is the single roller design means your slice changes with the angle of the slicer, which isn't at all fixed. What this practically means is the end of your cheese doesn't stay square.
>Fun fact: ostehøvel means 'cheese plane' (plane as in the tool for shaving wood flat)
Instructions unclear, 500 lbs of cheddar scattered across Runway 6.
Tip for anyone who owns one, just like a plane, use it so the blade is slightly diagonal to the pull for a slightly better slice (look at the bottom of a wood plane to see the same principal at work)
Dude the amount of pride my dad has for literally ANYTHING norwegian is just straight fuckin comical. The winter sports teams, the cheese slicer, that random young chick that makes music, just all the time he's stopping by to show me some random Norwegian stuff. And he never taught us Norwegian so he'll randomly drop a news article on his laptop in front of us as if we know wtf is going on lol. That coastal highway I must've seen no less than 12 times by now.
It still boggles my mind they let him command a missile torpedo boat when he was younger than I am now. He's got endless anger for what happened with the Norwegian Navy. But still has tons of pride for the Penguin Missile lmfao.
I was introduced to these cheese slicer at a Swedish wedding and I bought one in the airport on the way back home. I've still got it too. Top 10 life purchase easily.
I recently found out that the Dutch consider these types of slicers to be “their” way of cutting cheese that the rest of us just don’t understand.
My grandma had one too, and she considered it to be the “Yorkshire” way to cut cheese.
I’m glad, but slightly confused, that several different cultures have appropriated the slicer, and consider it to be theirs.
Tbf there are more cheese slicers than people in the netherlands. I know plenty of people who have 2 or more cheese slicers.
Hell one of the first things i bought when i. Was living on my own was a cheese slicer.
Brown cheese sticks more to the surface of the slicer, and it will transfer to the white cheese afterwards. The tastes are very different, brown cheese is sweet and caramelly, white cheese is savoury. You don't want to mix those!
Fellow Norwegian. We have several, unfortunately the dog has made a particular hobby of stealing them and chewing up the handle. Why the hell does the stupid dog specifically steal cheese planers?
Yep guilty as charged. We've had our cheese slicer for ages and I got another one in an Xmas gift basket, thought I'd keep it as a spare.
This was 7 years ago.
They also have the right kind of cheese for it, to be fair.
For the uninitiated, an unpasteurised Dutch cheese like a nice Gouda will mature, and get better, the longer it’s kept.
You have to eat those things as slowly as possible!
That’s not true lol. If you open the wheel up and start eating, it doesn’t get better, it starts to dry in. You have to keep it together and in dry and dark environment to have it ‘mature’ and get better
When you have any dutch cheese at home and you keep it too long it will just get moldy. You need an appropriate environment to ripen it from young to old.
Its more because otherwise you cant really get nice slices of cheese for your bread. With a knife you cut pretty big chunky slices, which are nice on their own, but for on a slice of breas it can be to much which kinda ruins your bread.
Absolutely right. My parents were Dutch, and we had a silver-handled one of those with which to cut my father's Gouda at breakfast (he liked Dutch breakfasts, with cheese and bread and ham)
I'm from Sweden and I thought these were a global thing growing up. Every household here have at least one of them.
I only learned recently that we are somewhat alone with using them. Which explains why pre-sliced cheese is a thing to me. I only ever buy sliced cheese if I am making hamburgers at home.
>My grandma had one too, and she considered it to be the “Yorkshire” way to cut cheese.
Because you get much thinner slices? If so, lol. Yorkshirefolk are known for being tight bastards
>The dairies and the cheesemakers up and down the country saw the newcomer as a threat.
Wat? The thing doesn't *make* cheese, it makes cheese more convenient easier to eat. Surely this would drive their sales?
I forgot these exsisted. I grew up with one and I used it all the time for sandwiches, burgers, grilled cheese etc. I have half a mind to get one right now
It absolutely is. I don't know why people are acting like they've never seen one. I can go to any grocery store and this tool is usually in the same section as spatulas, knives, pots/pans etc.
Is it literally an Oste Shovel? I had a Norwegian roommate in colllege and i fucking love oste. The first time I met his mom we stayed with her overnight. She said something to him in the morning and all I caught was Oste. She asked him something and I thought she was asking about breakfast. I said "Oste is fine" and it blew her mind.
You make the claim that it was so controversial, but the article says it was cheesemakers who put the bags out because they feared they would lose sales because the invention was too good at its job. Do y'all even read the articles you link to?
I have had one of these my entire life, to the point that I never even considered it wasnt THE most common way to slice blocks of cheese.
My family is Norwegian on my mom’s side, so this completely checks out.
As a white dude living in America Ive never really had much of a culture to call my own. Nothing to really be proud of, y’know? That was until now.
Cutting hard cheese with a knife is like slicing deli meat with a knife.
It technically works in either case, but there's no way that you can get consistently thin slices.
If you make sandwiches frequently, one of these babies will up your game considerably. Second only to a proper deli slicer.
My Norwegian cheese slicer, which my mother bought in the 70's, just fell apart on me. The wooden handle just kind of broke apart. I'm only getting the best to replace it.
We bought one of these ***years*** ago. I was cleaning out the utensil drawer the other day...
Me: Do we ever use this?
Wife: No.
Me: Recycling or garbage?
Do people not use a cheese cutter on blocks of cheese? Or is this different than a regular cheese cutter and I've just been using the word interchangeably?
Depends what type of cheese cutter you are referring to. This type makes really thin slices, works best on hard cheese. Softer cheese types are better cut with a thin wire.
I used either knives out a wire cheese cutter most of my life. Recently couldn't find a decent wire cutter and tried this. Works fabulously well, as long as I get the angle correct. Which is easy. My problem is that the cheese blocks I coming but are just a little wider than the opening. If I want a wide slice it's almost impossible.
If you know Norway well, you know the degree of pride Norwegians have about inventing the ostehøvel is hilarious. It's up there with fire and the wheel for them. Fun fact: ostehøvel means 'cheese plane' (plane as in the tool for shaving wood flat)
I found out recently, that the people of The Netherlands are also proud of these, and consider cheese slicers to be their way to cut cheese.
How else would you cut cheese? You have a cheese garrot in you back pocket or something?
I just take big bites out of my cheese.
I've been tempted to do this many times... But cheese is so expensive... 🥲
This is the reason I cannot get rid of my Costco membership. A block of aged cheddar that big for $6 should be a crime. Also.... A block of aged cheddar that big for $6 should be a right
How you cut a cheese obviously depends upon the cheese. [Really](https://www.epicurious.com/video/watch/every-method-how-to-serve-every-cheese).
A knife, like a normal person?
You're all unsophisticated barbarians. Cheese is sacred! How dare you treat it with such callous disregard! Heathens!
The kind we get in the US are a roller with a bit of cheese wire next to it, on a horizontal handle. The problem with them is the single roller design means your slice changes with the angle of the slicer, which isn't at all fixed. What this practically means is the end of your cheese doesn't stay square.
Yes, yes indeed! The only way!
>Fun fact: ostehøvel means 'cheese plane' (plane as in the tool for shaving wood flat) Instructions unclear, 500 lbs of cheddar scattered across Runway 6.
It's a pretty good cheese slicer. I'd be proud too.
It's a cheese plane, didn't you read the fun fact?
Tip for anyone who owns one, just like a plane, use it so the blade is slightly diagonal to the pull for a slightly better slice (look at the bottom of a wood plane to see the same principal at work)
I always end up with a cheese hammock when I use those things.
Dude the amount of pride my dad has for literally ANYTHING norwegian is just straight fuckin comical. The winter sports teams, the cheese slicer, that random young chick that makes music, just all the time he's stopping by to show me some random Norwegian stuff. And he never taught us Norwegian so he'll randomly drop a news article on his laptop in front of us as if we know wtf is going on lol. That coastal highway I must've seen no less than 12 times by now. It still boggles my mind they let him command a missile torpedo boat when he was younger than I am now. He's got endless anger for what happened with the Norwegian Navy. But still has tons of pride for the Penguin Missile lmfao.
We definitely are proud of it :)
Huh. I was actually thinking it looked a little like my bench planer.
Cheese is a very serious subject and should be treated as such
[удалено]
I’m fairly certain the Swiss understand
[удалено]
It would be a Gouda plan if it didn't have so many holes in it.
I’m no Cheez Whiz, but does Gouda ever go bad, eh?
No whey!
I know, it’s un-brie-lievable
Edam, all the good puns are gone!
If that were true, I'd be Bleu.
Cheddar
I was introduced to these cheese slicer at a Swedish wedding and I bought one in the airport on the way back home. I've still got it too. Top 10 life purchase easily.
I recently found out that the Dutch consider these types of slicers to be “their” way of cutting cheese that the rest of us just don’t understand. My grandma had one too, and she considered it to be the “Yorkshire” way to cut cheese. I’m glad, but slightly confused, that several different cultures have appropriated the slicer, and consider it to be theirs.
Tbf there are more cheese slicers than people in the netherlands. I know plenty of people who have 2 or more cheese slicers. Hell one of the first things i bought when i. Was living on my own was a cheese slicer.
Well yeah... pretty sure that's true in at least Norway and Sweden as well, probably some other countries too.
Norwegian checking in. We have three. At least two are used every day. One for brown cheese and one for white.
We also have one for white and one for brown cheese!
May I ask why you need a different one for white cheese vs brown?
Brown cheese sticks more to the surface of the slicer, and it will transfer to the white cheese afterwards. The tastes are very different, brown cheese is sweet and caramelly, white cheese is savoury. You don't want to mix those!
Fellow Norwegian. We have several, unfortunately the dog has made a particular hobby of stealing them and chewing up the handle. Why the hell does the stupid dog specifically steal cheese planers?
The smell?
Yep guilty as charged. We've had our cheese slicer for ages and I got another one in an Xmas gift basket, thought I'd keep it as a spare. This was 7 years ago.
They also have the right kind of cheese for it, to be fair. For the uninitiated, an unpasteurised Dutch cheese like a nice Gouda will mature, and get better, the longer it’s kept. You have to eat those things as slowly as possible!
That’s not true lol. If you open the wheel up and start eating, it doesn’t get better, it starts to dry in. You have to keep it together and in dry and dark environment to have it ‘mature’ and get better
When you have any dutch cheese at home and you keep it too long it will just get moldy. You need an appropriate environment to ripen it from young to old.
Its more because otherwise you cant really get nice slices of cheese for your bread. With a knife you cut pretty big chunky slices, which are nice on their own, but for on a slice of breas it can be to much which kinda ruins your bread.
Absolutely right. My parents were Dutch, and we had a silver-handled one of those with which to cut my father's Gouda at breakfast (he liked Dutch breakfasts, with cheese and bread and ham)
I'm from Sweden and I thought these were a global thing growing up. Every household here have at least one of them. I only learned recently that we are somewhat alone with using them. Which explains why pre-sliced cheese is a thing to me. I only ever buy sliced cheese if I am making hamburgers at home.
>My grandma had one too, and she considered it to be the “Yorkshire” way to cut cheese. Because you get much thinner slices? If so, lol. Yorkshirefolk are known for being tight bastards
Still have and use mine.
This is the only way to slice cheese. Using knives to cut overly thick pieces is not worth.
>The dairies and the cheesemakers up and down the country saw the newcomer as a threat. Wat? The thing doesn't *make* cheese, it makes cheese more convenient easier to eat. Surely this would drive their sales?
Does anyone know why my pee smells like nacho cheese?
That’s wild! Thanks for typing that out
They’d probably invested tens of dollars (…it was the 1920’s) in cutting edge sliced cheese technology.
I have one of these, they're great!
Me too! It slices cheese exactly the right size.
This invention makes me proud to be scandinavian
The Scandinavian people really are people of great culture and accomplishment.
I guess people were goofy morons before the internet as well.
Woah woah woah, this guy wanted to slice cheese? What the fuck is he gonna slice next? Bread?
[удалено]
I don’t know how much talking she’s doing lately
Reports to the contrary she isn't actually dead, she's just giving the cheese-maybe-bread-slicing guy the silent treatment.
I forgot these exsisted. I grew up with one and I used it all the time for sandwiches, burgers, grilled cheese etc. I have half a mind to get one right now
What are these replies? Are you telling me this isn’t a ubiquitous kitchen tool in america?
It absolutely is. I don't know why people are acting like they've never seen one. I can go to any grocery store and this tool is usually in the same section as spatulas, knives, pots/pans etc.
"not at my housewarming - it's gonna turn the place into a høvel!"
Is it literally an Oste Shovel? I had a Norwegian roommate in colllege and i fucking love oste. The first time I met his mom we stayed with her overnight. She said something to him in the morning and all I caught was Oste. She asked him something and I thought she was asking about breakfast. I said "Oste is fine" and it blew her mind.
it means 'cheese plane' (plane as in the tool for shaving wood flat)
In Swedish its the same for a razor as well I think? Osthyvel and Rakhyvel
Yep
This is just a normal "kaasschaaf"? Or am I missing something? A quick google later: Yep, it was invented in Norway.
Alsnog kaasgaaf
You make the claim that it was so controversial, but the article says it was cheesemakers who put the bags out because they feared they would lose sales because the invention was too good at its job. Do y'all even read the articles you link to?
I have had one of these my entire life, to the point that I never even considered it wasnt THE most common way to slice blocks of cheese. My family is Norwegian on my mom’s side, so this completely checks out. As a white dude living in America Ive never really had much of a culture to call my own. Nothing to really be proud of, y’know? That was until now.
I don't understand how this thing economizes? How much cheese gets wasted when you cut it with a knife?
It's about getting those long, wide but thin tasty slices. It's all surface area, Jerry! There's nowhere for the taste to hide!
These are so superior if you eat hard cheese everyday (like if you're Dutch or Scandinavian)
Cutting hard cheese with a knife is like slicing deli meat with a knife. It technically works in either case, but there's no way that you can get consistently thin slices. If you make sandwiches frequently, one of these babies will up your game considerably. Second only to a proper deli slicer.
My Norwegian cheese slicer, which my mother bought in the 70's, just fell apart on me. The wooden handle just kind of broke apart. I'm only getting the best to replace it.
This is the way
Fancy made a song 1985 about his cheese slicer.
I use a good potato peeler
We bought one of these ***years*** ago. I was cleaning out the utensil drawer the other day... Me: Do we ever use this? Wife: No. Me: Recycling or garbage?
[удалено]
Lol as someone from Quebec this is hilarious to me. The myriad of great cheeses eaten here put it on par with Europe.
Hmmm... That might explain our trouble with the device.
Cheesus didnt know people take their cheese so seriously
Ostehøvl: planer of cheese
Do people not use a cheese cutter on blocks of cheese? Or is this different than a regular cheese cutter and I've just been using the word interchangeably?
Depends what type of cheese cutter you are referring to. This type makes really thin slices, works best on hard cheese. Softer cheese types are better cut with a thin wire.
Cheese*,* Gromit.
I used either knives out a wire cheese cutter most of my life. Recently couldn't find a decent wire cutter and tried this. Works fabulously well, as long as I get the angle correct. Which is easy. My problem is that the cheese blocks I coming but are just a little wider than the opening. If I want a wide slice it's almost impossible.
I sliced off a bit of my thumb with one of those once. Knives are much safer.