Havarti Cheese

Havarti Cheese — Plain, Dill, Garlic Herb, Caraway & Aged Reserve

Danish by origin, Havarti is a semi-soft cow's milk cheese with a buttery, mild flavor and a supple texture that melts cleanly — one of the most versatile cheeses on a board or in the kitchen.

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4 Products
Garlic & Herb Cream Havarti Cheese

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Garlic & Herb Cream Havarti Cheese

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Plain Cream Havarti Cheese

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Plain Cream Havarti Cheese

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Caraway Cream Havarti Cheese

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Caraway Cream Havarti Cheese

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Jalapeno Cream Havarti Cheese

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Jalapeno Cream Havarti Cheese

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What Is Havarti Cheese?

Havarti is a Danish cow's milk cheese developed in the mid-19th century by Hanne Nielsen, a Danish farmer who traveled Europe studying cheesemaking before returning home to create her own. The cheese is named after her farm, Havartigaard, north of Copenhagen. It's a washed-curd cheese — the curds are rinsed with water during production, which removes some of the lactose and gives Havarti its characteristic mild, slightly sweet flavor. The paste is ivory to pale yellow, supple, and dotted with small irregular holes. Young Havarti is mild, creamy, and easy — the kind of cheese that works on a sandwich, melts into a grilled cheese, or sits on a board without overwhelming anything next to it. Aged Havarti, like the Castello Reserve aged nine months, develops a noticeably fuller character — buttery and slightly nutty, with a firmer texture and the first hints of crystalline structure.

Havarti Cheese Varieties

Plain Cream Havarti is the baseline — mild, creamy, and soft enough to slice cleanly straight from the refrigerator. Dill Cream Havarti is the most popular flavored variety, the herbaceous note from the dill complementing the buttery paste without overpowering it — particularly good on an open-faced sandwich or melted over fish. Garlic & Herb Cream Havarti brings more punch — good for a cheese board where you want one assertive option alongside milder cheeses, or melted into scrambled eggs or a quesadilla. Caraway Cream Havarti is the most traditionally Scandinavian of the flavored versions — caraway seed is a classic Danish pairing with Havarti, and the combination works well with rye bread and a cold beer. The standout in the collection is Castello Reserve Aged Havarti — aged nine months, which is unusual for Havarti, and the result is a noticeably more complex cheese: full-bodied, intensely buttery, with a touch of nuttiness and the pleasant tingle of milk salts. Castello describes it as the world's first aged Havarti, and it eats more like a semi-hard cheese than the soft, mild version most people know. Serve it with sliced apple and a glass of Malbec.

How to Use Havarti Cheese

Havarti's best quality in the kitchen is how it melts. The supple, low-moisture paste softens evenly and smoothly without breaking or becoming greasy — making it one of the better melting cheeses for grilled cheese, quesadillas, burgers, and baked pasta. It doesn't have the stretch of mozzarella or the sharpness of cheddar, but it brings a creaminess that both lack. On a board, plain or dill Havarti works well alongside stronger cheeses — a blue, an aged cheddar, a washed rind — where its mild character gives the palate a break between more intense bites. For pairings, Havarti is accommodating: light white wines like Pinot Grigio or Riesling, wheat beers, sparkling wine, and most fruit preserves all work. The jams and spreads collection has fig preserves, honey, and quince paste that pair naturally alongside any Havarti on a board. For more pairing guidance, the igourmet wine and cheese pairing guide covers semi-soft cheeses in detail.

Also Worth Exploring

The soft cheese collection covers every fresh and semi-soft cheese beyond Havarti. For a curated introduction to multiple styles at once, the cheese assortments collection pairs Havarti alongside complementary cheeses chosen to work together on a board.

Havarti Cheese: Frequently Asked Questions

Havarti is mild, buttery, and slightly tangy — the flavor is gentle enough that most people find it immediately approachable, with none of the sharpness of cheddar or the intensity of a washed-rind cheese. Young Havarti has a creamy, almost milky quality with a soft paste and small irregular holes throughout. As it ages, the flavor develops — the Castello Reserve aged nine months has a noticeably fuller, nuttier character with what the maker describes as a tingle of milk salts. The flavored versions shift the profile considerably: dill Havarti is herbaceous and fresh, caraway Havarti is earthy and slightly spiced, garlic and herb Havarti is the most assertive of the range. All versions share the same supple, easy texture that makes Havarti one of the most versatile cheeses for both eating and cooking.

The most recognized Havarti brands are Danish, reflecting the cheese's origins. Castello is the most widely distributed premium Havarti brand globally — their Reserve Aged Havarti is the standout product in the category, aged nine months for significantly more complexity than standard Havarti. Arla is another well-regarded Danish producer. The igourmet cream Havarti range — plain, dill, garlic herb, and caraway — is cut and wrapped to order from whole forms, which means it arrives fresher than pre-packaged supermarket Havarti and has better texture and flavor as a result.

Yes — Havarti is one of the better melting cheeses available. Its semi-soft texture and relatively high moisture content mean it softens evenly and smoothly under heat without breaking or separating into grease. It works well in grilled cheese, quesadillas, burgers, baked pasta, and egg dishes. The plain and dill versions melt the most cleanly. The aged Reserve Havarti, being firmer, also melts well but brings more flavor — a better choice when you want the cheese to be noticeable in the dish rather than just a creamy background element. For comparison: Havarti melts more smoothly than cheddar and without the stringiness of mozzarella, which makes it a useful middle-ground melting cheese for applications where you want creaminess without a strong flavor statement.

Cream Havarti has extra cream added during production, which gives it a higher fat content and a richer, more supple texture than standard Havarti. The flavor difference is subtle — both are mild and buttery — but cream Havarti has a softer paste that slices more easily when cold and melts more smoothly when heated. Most of the Havarti sold in the US, including the igourmet range, is cream Havarti. Standard Havarti without the cream addition is slightly firmer and less rich, and less commonly found outside Denmark and specialty cheese shops.

Havarti is a semi-soft cheese and dries out faster than hard cheeses once cut, so storage matters. The best method is to wrap it in a cheese storage bag, which allows the right amount of airflow while maintaining humidity — better than plastic wrap, which traps moisture and encourages mold, or leaving it unwrapped, which causes the paste to dry and crack at the edges. Store Havarti in the warmest part of the refrigerator, typically the vegetable drawer. Well-wrapped Havarti will keep for two to three weeks after cutting. If the surface develops a small amount of mold, slice it away — unlike soft cheeses, the dense paste of Havarti means surface mold stays on the surface rather than penetrating through.

Havarti is one of the more accommodating cheeses for pairing because its mild flavor doesn't compete with much. For wine, light whites work best — Pinot Grigio, Riesling, and unoaked Chardonnay all complement the buttery, mild character without overpowering it. Sparkling wine and Champagne are also a natural match. For beer, a Danish wheat beer or a light lager is the traditional pairing — the same direction the cheese comes from. On a board, Havarti pairs well with fresh fruit, honeycomb, fig preserves, and mild crackers or rye bread. The dill version is particularly good with smoked salmon, cucumber, and a squeeze of lemon. The caraway version is most at home on rye bread with a cold beer. The aged Reserve pairs with something with more structure — a Malbec or a medium-bodied red, and sliced apple or quince paste alongside it.