Brunost is also known as mysost (Norwegian), mesost (Swedish), meesjuusto (Finnish), mysuostur (Icelandic), myseost (Danish) and Braunkäse (German).

The Norwegian and German names mean brown cheese, while other names mean 'whey cheese'. The most commonly exported varieties of Brunost are Geitost which is made with a mixture of goats and cow's milk, Ekte Geitost made with goat's milk and Gudbrandsdalsost.

Brunost is a sweet, dense caramelized brown Scandinavian whey cheese produced in many countries. The cheese gets its brown colour and fudge-like texture from the slow simmering process, which allows the milk sugars to caramelize. A low-fat variant is made by increasing the proportion of whey in milk and cream.

Brunost is served thinly sliced on rye toast or crisp bread. It is considered healthy because it contains iron, calcium and B vitamins.