An osthyvel by any other name

July 13, 2019 9:37 AM

I'm curious to know how well-known the Nordic-style cheese slicer is. If you live outside of the Nordics, are you familiar with it? Can it be bought in your country? Thank you!
posted by Vesihiisi to Home & Garden (54 answers total)

I'm in the US and I've seen these before. Had no idea they were even Nordic.
posted by saladin at 9:38 AM on July 13, 2019 [11 favorites]

I've seen them in the US too; they are also called cheese planes.
posted by brujita at 9:40 AM on July 13, 2019 [15 favorites]

I think of these as just cheese slicers. Perfectly common.
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 9:40 AM on July 13, 2019 [4 favorites]

Never heard that name for them but own a couple - not exotic in the US.
posted by leslies at 9:42 AM on July 13, 2019 [1 favorite]

I've seen them in many shops around the UK, for many years. I've never known anyone to actually use one, though.
posted by pipeski at 9:42 AM on July 13, 2019

Had one for decades. It's pretty much the only style of cheese slicer I've seen at folks' houses. Never heard of them being specifically Nordic.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:43 AM on July 13, 2019 [1 favorite]

I would think of that as the "fancy cheese slicer" (as opposed to the one I guess I'd call the "regular cheese slicer"), but as another person in the US, I would also agree that these are pretty well-known and I didn't realize they were Nordic.
posted by DingoMutt at 9:53 AM on July 13, 2019

Texas, seen one. Pretty sure my parents used one. Can probably find them for sale at the grocery store, and if not, any decent home goods store
posted by Jacen at 9:53 AM on July 13, 2019

Yep, we had one when I was a kid in the 80s, (southern CA) but not all my friends knew what it was.
Nowadays I’d say it’s slightly more unusual than say, a garlic press, but not as uncommon as a fish poacher.
posted by exceptinsects at 9:55 AM on July 13, 2019

My parents (in the US) have had the same one since the 1970s. I bought one recently (also in the US) after becoming obsessed with the word "osthyvel" [self-link].
posted by moonmilk at 9:56 AM on July 13, 2019 [3 favorites]

I always thought of these as Dutch - my Dutch relatives eat a lot of sliced cheese and these are always in the kitchen.
posted by Gortuk at 9:58 AM on July 13, 2019 [4 favorites]

Ontario, Canada. I have two. Most of my friends have one. Oddly, Canadian IKEA does not sell them.
posted by Secret Sparrow at 9:58 AM on July 13, 2019 [1 favorite]

Another USian who is quite familiar but never heard of them referred to as anything other than a cheese slicer. But I do recall them being part of bar kits in the 70s too.

Amazon has them for sale.
posted by terrapin at 10:02 AM on July 13, 2019

Seen them in shops in the UK, Germany and Switzerland, we may have had one when I was growing up. I just use a knife to slice my cheese because easier to clean and I like thick slices
posted by koahiatamadl at 10:02 AM on July 13, 2019

California, would have called this a regular cheese slicer... Like it's the normal, default kind. Also didn't know it was Nordic.
posted by brainmouse at 10:02 AM on July 13, 2019 [1 favorite]

Default part of a nice cheese set.
posted by gideonfrog at 10:14 AM on July 13, 2019

I found the tweet (about the dreaded ski slope effect) that caused my obsession! I was quite familiar with the tool before August 22, 2016, but I didn't know this name for it.
posted by moonmilk at 10:15 AM on July 13, 2019 [2 favorites]

I have one in a drawer in the kitchen.
posted by Splunge at 10:24 AM on July 13, 2019 [1 favorite]

I have one (midwest US). Hardly ever use it as I find a knife works just as well, unless you want really thin slices. Note: I almost never want really thin slices of cheese.

I'll probably get rid of it the next time I do a major kitchen re-sorting. Didn't know of its origin.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 10:29 AM on July 13, 2019

Yes, called a cheese plane in the U.S., and I am aware of their provenance, though that's because I was a cheesemonger for five years. It was a tool I used daily for giving samples and trimming occasional dry spots or mold.
posted by jocelmeow at 10:35 AM on July 13, 2019 [1 favorite]

Lived in Ireland, US, UK and Canada and it's standard in all of them.
posted by DarlingBri at 10:37 AM on July 13, 2019 [1 favorite]

I remember using one to eat gjetost at my grandfather's house. His father immigrated from Norway to the u.s. in the early 1900s.
posted by noloveforned at 10:41 AM on July 13, 2019

Best answer: In all parts of the US I've lived in (west coast, southeast, northeast, mountain west) these have been available and known as cheese planes or cheese slicers.

But in my experience, they seem to be considered either kind of outdated or as special-occasion-only tools. Many people get them as part of a fancy cheese tool set, try to use it once, and either stick it in the back of the drawer forever or only pull it back out when company comes. I think we need to learn how to use them properly.
posted by rhiannonstone at 10:42 AM on July 13, 2019 [12 favorites]

We've had a cheese plane for at least twenty years. Only thing for thin slices of harder cheeses.
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 11:11 AM on July 13, 2019 [1 favorite]

Grew up in the UK in a household where we had one, referred to as the cheese slicer, which my parents had bought on holiday in Norway in the 1960s or early 70s, it was the only one I'd ever seen until I had my own place and went out to look for them, wondering if they were even on sale here. They were. I use mine all the time, so much better than a knife for creating even, thin slices to put on crackers.
posted by penguin pie at 11:18 AM on July 13, 2019 [1 favorite]

Canada here. I've owned one for years, and they can be found in most any kitchen wares store. At any cheese shop I've been in where I've asked for a sample, the person at the counter will use one to plane off a thin slice of the cheese I'm inquiring about.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 11:19 AM on July 13, 2019 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Not to cheesesplain, but I'm 43 and have had them in my life as long as I can remember. I've seem them called cheese planes. They have them at cheese shops and kitchenware shops all over the US. They also have them in France.
posted by aubilenon at 11:21 AM on July 13, 2019 [1 favorite]

Another room-mate had one, in the group house where I lived in college.

Hardly ever use it as I find a knife works just as well

My experience also. Plus a knife is easier to clean.
posted by Rash at 11:22 AM on July 13, 2019

Yep, very common but not on sale in IKEA in the UK, but I'd go to Flying Tiger if I did want to buy one, so it's got some Nordic associations.
posted by ambrosen at 12:02 PM on July 13, 2019 [1 favorite]

I don't think it's typical to own one in the US, but they're very easy to get and certainly well-known to a lot of people.

In Minnesota my grandmother (who is of Norwegian descent) had one at least as far back as the 1970s. I'm pretty sure my grandparents on the other side of the family had one too (that grandfather has some Swedish heritage).

We had one in my family when I was growing up in Minnesota.

I bought one for myself when I was at university in the 90s.
posted by theory at 12:08 PM on July 13, 2019

Grew up in MA, one was always around.
posted by Making You Bored For Science at 12:11 PM on July 13, 2019

Yep, these are common in the US (though certainly not universal). They're a familiar sight at any cheese shop or kitchenware store.

I, too, had no idea they were Nordic.

I personally don't own one – I just have this set of simple, stainless steel cheese knives.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 12:12 PM on July 13, 2019

These exist in Germany as well and are called Käsehobel.
posted by amf at 12:27 PM on July 13, 2019

My grandparents have had one since the 1950’s, in suburban Connecticut. Aside from the inventor, there’s nothing particularly Nordic about them.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 12:31 PM on July 13, 2019

I grew up in the UK and never knowingly saw one until I moved to Sweden, so in my mind if nowhere else they have Nordic associations.
posted by misteraitch at 1:24 PM on July 13, 2019

I bought one when visiting Norway a couple of years ago, after getting caught up in the hype (I did avoid buying a scarf with pictures of them, which were widely available at tourist destinations!). To be honest, I haven't used it and I assume it's still in our kitchen drawer. Just searched now and learned they are for sale at Woolworths, one of the largest grocery chains in Australia.
posted by Cheese Monster at 1:35 PM on July 13, 2019

The parents picked one up at the tail end of the Danish Stainless Steel Craze in the mid-70s. Since we exclusively ate hard cheddar/dunlop cheeses, it was hilariously useless for that so it lay unused for decades.
posted by scruss at 1:40 PM on July 13, 2019

My cheese plane is (literally) the most-used utensil in my house. (MeFi name checks out!) I've known about them at least as long as I've known of forks and spoons, so about half a century. I had no idea they were of Nordic provenance. Not only do I have one -- but this reminds me that I need a new one. (Mine's a Calphalon and the metal part constantly loosens from the rubber handle and falls out.) In addition to slicing cheese, I use mine to peel cucumbers because it's faster and easier than using a vegetable peeler.
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 2:08 PM on July 13, 2019

That's a kaasschaaf and you'll find one in pretty much every house in the Netherlands. Most of them are used on a daily basis.
posted by Too-Ticky at 2:08 PM on July 13, 2019 [2 favorites]

These exist in Germany as well and are called Käsehobel.
Which is German for osthyvel (or, osthyvel is Swedish for Käsehobel.... or cheese plane in English).

Anyway, we had one of those in my childhood home as well (and I have one now, bought at a French supermarket). Never thought of it as Nordic, but indeed it was invented by a Norwegian. Who knew.
posted by ClarissaWAM at 2:09 PM on July 13, 2019

Had one growing up in New Zealand and got given one living in the US. Common.
posted by gaspode at 2:48 PM on July 13, 2019

In Australia it’s common to have one of these in a drawer, rarely used.
posted by EXISTENZ IS PAUSED at 3:09 PM on July 13, 2019

Since moving to the Netherlands, I spend way more time than I want to explaining to Dutch people that YES we have these in the US as well, and NO, I don't need to be shown how to use it just because I'm American, and ACTUALLY part of the reason we don't use them as often is that Americans often eat cheeses that come in shapes or textures that aren't appropriate for this tool THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

...I don't know why I get so exasperated over this.
posted by wakannai at 4:46 PM on July 13, 2019 [2 favorites]

Yep— pretty common. Had one in USA, Canada, UK, and NZ.
posted by lemon_icing at 4:47 PM on July 13, 2019

So, the one I have I did in fact get in Sweden, but I didn’t think of the general class of cheese slicers as being Swedish, just the particular one we got (at an art fair in Malmö).

We could however use a class on how to use it properly, or which cheeses to use it with. It’s not really great for medium sharp American cheddar, and I can’t imagine how it would be useful for a chèvre, Camembert, or Brie, which cover most of our regular use cheeses.
posted by nat at 6:54 PM on July 13, 2019 [1 favorite]

UK/Canada: we have them, but standard box graters also have a plane attachment on one side, so we mostly use that.
posted by tinkletown at 10:06 PM on July 13, 2019 [1 favorite]

I'm in the US, and I only knew that thing from Scandinavian friends introducing it to me as the thing you use to slice brunost and gjetost. I have seen them in fancy cooking stores.
posted by capricorn at 7:22 AM on July 14, 2019 [1 favorite]

The advantage of an osthyvel/kaasschaaf/Käsehobel over the slicer on a box grater is, IMO, that you can 'catch' the just-sliced slice by pressing down on it with your index finger as you finalise the slice, and transfer it to the bread/toast/Zwieback/knackebrød in one go.

And for the type of slicable-by-osthyvel cheeses: they work best for ones that have a Gouda/Edam-like consistency, up to medium-old (beyond that it's knife, axe, chainsaw or angle grinder).

In our cutlery drawer there's also an osthyvel that grates (literally).
posted by Stoneshop at 11:02 AM on July 14, 2019 [3 favorites]

I've seen them around in kitchens (in many years of shared living situations) and thrift stores in the US but didn't even realize they were for cheese, let alone that they were Nordic or popular in the Nordics.
posted by needs more cowbell at 1:34 PM on July 14, 2019

I'm from the US, from NYC originally, now in New Jersey and I've used these for decades. I just call it a cheese slicer though, not a plane. It's the only cheese slicer my kids have ever seen. I knew it was Norwegian--I'm pretty sure that's been on the Blue somewhere before.
posted by ceejaytee at 12:15 PM on July 15, 2019

Best answer: I have a big Xmas party every year where I put out at least a dozen types of cheese, and it's always amusing to see how people react to the cheese plane. I live in CT now, but grew up with one in Norway and have never not had an ostehøvel in my kitchen. There are several types of cheese that slice better with it, like gjetost/brunost, Jarlsberg/similar swiss cheese, nøkkelost etc. I would guess 1/3 to 1/2 of my guests have never seen one before, or only know it from using it at my house. So I'd say it's not completely unheard of, but not common in the US unless they're of Scandinavian descent.

(Many people are too afraid to use it and instead use a knife to cut big slabs off, which is horrifying to my Norwegian eyes. Also snobby, so I never say anything, but I have to admit it just viscerally feels WRONG when I see giant slices cut from the side of my gjetost...)

indeed it was invented by a Norwegian. Who knew.
Any Norwegian could have told you ; )
posted by widdershins at 1:06 PM on July 15, 2019 [1 favorite]

I call them cheese planes and we had one in our house when I was growing up which is kind of strange because the only cheese my family ate were either processed slices or those bricks of cheddar or mozzarella that you'll grate when you're making lasagne or pizza so we never needed to have one. Now that I have my own place and eat all kinds of cheeses regularly I just cut them with a knife.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 4:02 PM on July 15, 2019

DingoMutt: "I would think of that as the "fancy cheese slicer" (as opposed to the one I guess I'd call the "regular cheese slicer"), but as another person in the US, I would also agree that these are pretty well-known and I didn't realize they were Nordic."

Same - we had the "regular kind" as a kid in the US, but I feel like the Nordic kind is the kind you mostly see now.

I figured they were big in Scandinavia when osthyvel showed up as one of the words taught rather early in Duolingo Swedish.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:59 PM on July 17, 2019 [1 favorite]

Duolingo weighs in.
posted by Chrysostom at 2:17 PM on July 29, 2019 [2 favorites]