 thumb|right|a wheel of young milbenkÃ¤se milbenkÃ¤se ("mite cheese"), called mellnkase in the local dialect and often (erroneously) known as spinnenkÃ¤se ("spider cheese"), is a german specialty cheese made from quark and produced using the action of cheese mites. historically, the cheese was produced in the saxony-anhalt/thuringia border region of zeitz and altenburg districts; today it is produced exclusively in the village of wÃ¼rchwitz, in the state of saxony-anhalt.  the traditional method of making milbenkÃ¤se, which dates back to the middle ages, was nearly lost by 1970, with only the elderly liesbeth brauer knowing the technique. local science teacher helmut pÃ¶schel was taught the proper way to make milbenkÃ¤se and together with his associate christian schmelzer managed to revitalize the tradition. a memorial was later erected at wÃ¼rchwitz to celebrate the renaissance of milbenkÃ¤se production. the rear side of the memorial is hollow and is regularly stocked with small bits of milbenkÃ¤se for passersby and tourists to try. milbenkÃ¤se is said to taste similar to harzer cheese, but with a bitter note (increasing with age) and a distinctive zesty aftertaste. mites clinging to the cheese rind are consumed along with the cheese. ==production== thumb|left|aged milbenkÃ¤se quark flavoured with salt and caraway is shaped into small balls, cylinders or wheels, and dried. then it is placed in a wooden box containing rye flour and inhabited by tyrophagus casei mites for at least three months. the digestive juices of the mites diffuse into the cheese and cause fermentation; the flour is added because the mites would otherwise simply eat the whole cheese instead of just nibbling away at the crust as is desired. after one month, the cheese rind turns yellow; after three months, reddish-brown. some producers allow the cheese to ripen for up to one year, until it has turned black. ==legality== milbenkÃ¤se falls into something of a legal grey area: eu regulation 178/2002 allows the sale of foodstuffs containing living animals if they are "prepared for placing on the market for human consumption".article 2(b) at eur-lex.europa.eu on the other hand, cheese mites or their digestive juices are not explicitly permitted as additives for cheese according to the relevant german food ordinances (zusatzstoff-zulassungsverordnung and kÃ¤severordnung). milbenkÃ¤se is produced under a permit by the local food safety office and [[hazard analysis a
German_cheeses Insects_as_food Thuringian_cuisine