What Alp Ahorni is known for

The Zeller family makes Berner Alpkäse AOP on Alp Ahorni above Lenk during the summer grazing season. Milk from its cows is worked in a kettle over fire, and the wheels mature for slicing or shaving. Cheese is available through the family's sales point in Lenk, with postal parcels also arranged by direct contact.

Alp Ahorni is the Zeller family's summer cheesemaking operation above Lenk in the Bernese Oberland. The family takes its cows onto the alp for the grazing season and makes Berner Alpkäse AOP from their milk. Cheesemaking follows the rhythm of that summer pasture rather than the setting of a year-round town dairy.

The milk goes into the cheesemaking kettle with cultures and rennet; fire and handwork are part of the process. The family cares for the wheels as they mature, producing cheese for slicing as well as longer-aged Hobelkäse. These different stages of maturation matter when choosing between a piece for cutting and cheese intended for shaving.

You can buy the family's cheese at its sales point in Lenk without making an excursion onto the alp. The business also offers parcels by post through direct contact, providing another route to the same producer's cheeses. If a particular maturity is important to you, ask about the available wheels rather than treating all Alpkäse as identical.