Continuing on the Austrian cheese tour, we paid a visit to Sennerei Hittisau.

Sennerei is an Austrian word for dairy or creamery - often referring to a co-operative. The cheesemaker at Sennerei Hittisau is Herbert Bauer, who produces a wonderful Allgau Bergkase, Bergtilsiter and Bachensteiner. In Austria and Bavaria, if "Bergkase" is preceded by the word "Allgau", it means that its a cheese made in the mountains during the summer months from the milk of cows grazing on the upper pastures. Equally, the same goes for Tilsiter in that if "Berg" (meaning "Alp") appears in the name, it is made in the summer in high pastures.

Here are some photos from the visit.

The end of this week sees the start of the Slow Food Cheese Festival in Bra, Italy. Held every two years it is a spectacular event staged in the streets of this ancient town. Small scale cheesemakers and affineurs from all over the world converge to sell cheese, talk cheese, consume cheese and generally have a good time.

As if attending this event, wasn't enough of a privilege, the trip to Europe also affords many overseas visitors such as me, the opportunity to visit cheesemakers and producers in situ. This year, I have been spending time with my friend and colleague Norbert Sieghart of Kaeskuche. Norbert is a wholesaler and exporter of cheeses from Bavaria and the Allgaü region, a mountainous and spectacularly beautiful area reaching across from southern Germany into western Austria.