Cheese Shopping

Swedes love their cheese. In ICA Maxi, one of the biggest supermarket chains in Sweden, they have about 2-4 whole rows of cheese variations to choose from. Some of them I've never heard of until I arrived here: 

• Herrgårdsost, Swedish cheese from milk of the cow.
• Hushållsost, termed as "household cheese", made from whole milk and has higher fat content. This one is produced in cylindrical packaging (like the ones above).
• Prästost, translated directly as "priest cheese". I think this is mostly because they were produced in churches and has something to do with payment in kind, and this kind of cheese was part of the payment.
• Västerbottensost, "Västerbotten cheese", which is actually from a province in Sweden called Västerbotten.
• Of course, GOUDA! Who can forget that?
• Brie Cheese, and so much more!

Each is made and packaged differently, and is very popular in Sweden. So, going out on a "cheese run" -- meaning dropping by the grocery just to replenish your supply of cheese in the household -- does not sound weird at all.

Today, we got a good deal at ICA Maxi. Arla's Hushållsost were sold at only SEK 49,90 per kilo so we bought two packages. Arla also sells it in 2-kilo-packaging, but we bought one kilo each just so it's easier to store.

The second great rebate that we received were the discounts on Philadelphia Cheese. One pack usually costs about SEK 18, but we got it today at only SEK 10 each. When groceries in Sweden have these promos, they usually limit the amount of items you can buy. However, this is not applicable for these products. It does not say how long these prices will stay this low, but I suggest you do a "cheese run" while stocks last!