Swedish treat: Moose cheese

From CNN's Offbeat News:

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) -- It's healthy and tasty, for those with expensive tastes.

Farmers in northern Sweden are milking moose and making cheese, which they sell for a lot of dough -- nearly $500 a pound. The buyers include upscale hotels and restaurants in Sweden.

Christer Johansson and his wife, Ulla, started their 59-acre dairy farm "Moose House" seven years ago in Bjursholm, 404 miles north of the capital, Stockholm. They claim it is the only moose dairy farm in Europe.

The Johanssons currently have 14 moose in the fields but only three -- "Gullan," "Haelga" and "Juna" -- can be milked.

The three cows, who stay outdoors all year, were abandoned calves found in the woods around Bjursholm and taken in by the Johansson family.

"Fortunately they know and love us, because they weigh about 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds). They see us almost as their own calves," Christer Johansson said.

The Johanssons were inspired by similar facilities in eastern Russia, although those produce only milk, he said.

The moose only produce milk between May and September, the time from when they calve to when they are in heat again, Christer Johansson said. It takes up to two hours to milk a moose and they each produce up to a gallon of milk a day.

"That's one of the reasons why the cheese is so expensive," he said.

The milk, which contains 12 percent fat and as much protein, is refrigerated and curdling is done three times per year, crating about 660 pounds of cheese a year. It is made in three varieties and can be sampled at the farm's restaurant.

"We hope later on to be able also to export more of the cheese, especially the somewhat sour feta-type, which is laid down in oil and easy to transport," he said.

The Johansson farm attracts about 25,000 visitors a year.

"I'll have a ham-and-moose-cheese on rye, please."