Liptauer
Central European cheese spread
title: "Liptauer" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["slovak-cheeses", "hungarian-cuisine", "austrian-cuisine", "cheese-spreads", "spicy-foods"] description: "Central European cheese spread" topic_path: "geography/austria" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liptauer" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Central European cheese spread ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox food"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Liptauer |
| image | Liptauer.jpg |
| image_size | 250px |
| type | Cheese spread |
| main_ingredient | Cheeses such as sheep milk, goat milk, quark or cottage |
| :: |
| name = Liptauer | image = Liptauer.jpg | image_size = 250px | caption = | alternate_name = | country = | region = | creator = | course = | type = Cheese spread | served = | main_ingredient = Cheeses such as sheep milk, goat milk, quark or cottage | variations = | calories = | other =
Liptauer is a spicy cheese spread from Slovak, Austrian and Hungarian cuisine. Liptauer is made with sheep milk cheese, goat cheese, quark, or cottage cheese.
Etymology
The name is derived from the German name Liptau or Liptó for the former county Liptov in northern Slovakia.
Overview
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Quark_liptauer_cheese.jpg" caption="quark cheese"] ::
It is a part of the regional cuisines of Slovakia (as Šmirkás, a form of the German Schmierkäse for cheese spread), Hungary (kőrözött), Austria (Liptauer), Slovenia (liptaver), Serbia (urnebes salata, "chaos salad"), Croatia, Albania (liptao), Italy (especially in the province of Trieste), and Romania (especially in Transylvania, where it typically goes by the Hungarian name, körözött).
The three main ingredients are spreadable white cheese like quark, chives and paprika. About one third of "traditional" Liptauer consists of bryndza, a sheep milk cheese. Other soft cheeses used include cottage cheese, quark and goat. These are mixed with sour cream, butter or margarine and finely chopped onions; sometimes beer is added. Usual spices include ground paprika, fresh parsley and whole (or ground) caraway seeds. Variants add others such as prepared mustard, Worcestershire sauce, capers and anchovy paste.
In Szeklerland and among other Transylvanian Hungarians, tarragon is also mixed in.
Consumption
Liptauer is traditionally eaten as an open sandwich, especially with rye bread or pumpernickel toast, or bagels, and also as an appetizer with crackers, served with beer or wine, or as a filling for cold dishes such as stuffed tomatoes, peppers, celery or hard boiled eggs. Ready-made Liptauer is generally available in small tinfoil packages and has a spicy, sharp taste.
In Austria, Liptauer is a typical snack served at Heurigen, Austrian wine-drinking taverns. In Slovakia and Hungary many families have their own recipe for the dish. In Serbia, Liptauer is available in most restaurants that serve local cuisine. It is often made spicy with paprika, roasted red peppers and egg yolks.
Another substitutes for bryndza:
- Schlierbacher cheese (in German)
- Mondseer cheese (in German)
- Pálpusztai cheese
References
References
- "Körözött, Hungarian appetizer cheese spread". Cleveland Hungarian Heritage Museum.
- (2006). "The World Cookbook for Students". Greenwood.
- Gundel, page 135
- Ward, Artemas. (1911). "Cheese: Liptau".
- "Vienna Heuriger".
- (1986). "Bulletin". International Dairy Federation (IDF).
- Gundel, Károly. (1992). "Gundel's Hungarian cookbook". Corvina.
- Mendelson, A.. (2013). "Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages". Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::