While in Leipzig, I got to taste something a bit unusual but wholly enjoyable: gose cheese.
I discovered this dish at the Ohne Bedenken Gosenschenke, a gose tavern in Leipzig. While there were lots of local German specialties on the menu, I had been sent to the Gosenschenke by Tilo Jänichen, who owns the historical Ritterguts Gose brewery to taste this unique dish in particular.
This plate featured what the menu described as a “Camembert-like” cheese (it was a bit more solid and less creamy than a Camembert, in my opinion) that had been brined in sour gose. This traditional Leipziger beer is made with coriander and salt, for a refreshing beer that is a bit reminiscent of a Berliner Weisse.
Served with rye bread spread quite liberally with lard and sprinkled with fresh herbs and red onion, the cheese was quite pleasant — and something I’m thinking I could easily reproduce at home by marinating a really mild Caprice des Dieux type cheese or even a Neufchâtel (the French heart-shaped one, not the low-fat American kind).
In America, a store-bought Camembert might actually work pretty well — it just needs to be fairly mild so that it doesn’t overpower the cheese.
Some slightly sweet German pickles make this a super tasty lunch idea.
And of course, you’ll need some gose to serve alongside it. Goseanna!