Brunost in the Scandinavian countries since time immemorial. An archeological find from September 2016 in central Jutland has determined that a cheese residue on pottery from circa 650 B.C. is a type of cheese probably brunost. However, the creation of the modern, firm, fatty brunost is commonly attributed to the milkmaid Anne Hov from the rural valley of Gudbrandsdalen. In the second half of the 1800s, Gudbrandsdalen was suffering economically due to falling profits from grain and butter sales. While working at the Valseter mountain farm near Gålå in 1863, Anne Hov (sometimes named Anne Haav) came up with the idea
Brunost not adding milk or cream. Also, in Norway, pultost is traditionally made from byproducts of the brunost-making process, and has a very distinctive flavour. Brunost is mostly used as a topping for sandwiches, crispbread, and biscuits. It is very common in the traditional Norwegian matpakke (literally "food pack"), which is a common Norwegian lunch—sandwiches are packed in a lunch box in the morning, and carried to work for consumption in the 30 minute lunch break commonly afforded to Norwegian workers. One advantage of brunost for this purpose is that although its texture changes if not refrigerated, its taste does not.