There’s More to Swiss Cheese than “Swiss Cheese”
In the United States, the moniker “Swiss Cheese” is given to a light-colored, fairly soft cheese
that looks as if Bonnie and Clyde had used it for target practice. The big holes in this cheese,
however, are not the result of stray bullets, but rather occur naturally as gases created by the
fermentation process are trapped inside the cheese. Unfortunately, the term “Swiss Cheese” has 
no
meaning to a Swiss person. Switzerland produces about 450 different
varieties of cheese. Each region of this tiny country basically has its
own cheese, and they all have very distinct flavors and characteristics.
What Americans refer to as “Swiss” cheese, a Swiss person would call
“Emmentaler” because it originates in the Emme Valley east of the
Swiss capital of Berne. For a cheese to be called “Emmentaler,” it must
meet very stringent production and quality requirements. The milk for
this cheese, for example, must be fresh, untreated milk from cows that
have only been fed grass or hay, but no silage. It takes about 12 liters of
milk to make one kilogram of Emmentaler cheese. This cheese is aged
for at least four months, but does not achieve full maturity until it is 12
months old. It is produced in large wheels that weigh between 75 and 100
kilograms. But, I can tell, you are still tormented by the eternal question
of how many holes there are in a Swiss cheese, aren’t you?
An average Emmentaler wheel contains between 1000 and 2000
holes, which account for about 20 percent of the cheese’s volume.
But let’s move on past the “holey-ness” of Emmentaler to the
wondrous realm of other exquisite cheeses produced in Switzerland.
The most widely available cheeses in the United States would be Gruyère
and Tilsit, but you may be able to obtain Vacherin or Appenzeller as well.
Gruyère is particularly important to fondue lovers as it is traditionally the second c
heese variety—besides Emmentaler—featured in a classic Swiss fondue. Gruyère Premier Cru, a special variety of Gruyère, is the only cheese awarded the title “Best Cheese of the World” at the World Cheese Awards in London three times. Tilsit cheese was actually invented in Russia by a Prussian-Swiss family from the Emme Valley. The recipe, however, returned to Switzerland in 1893, and the cheese has been manufactured there ever since. Vacherin is a soft cheese similar to French Brie. Appropriately, it is produced in the French-speaking part of Switzerland.
Appenzeller may also be used together with Emmentaler to concoct a great Swiss fondue. It originates in the tiny canton of Appenzell in the northeastern part of
Switzerland.
Even a cursory glance into a Swiss cookbook will tell you that cheese plays a major part in
Swiss cuisine. The average Swiss person consumes more than 21 kilograms of cheese per year.
Originally, this love affair with cheese began out of necessity rather than choice. Meat has always
been very expensive in Switzerland, and cheese was a cheaper way to obtain necessary protein
and calories in the old days. Today, it continues to be a popular protein source because of its
amazing diversity of flavors and consistencies. Jealous detractors claim that Switzerland's official
country abbreviation CH (Confoederatio Helvetica) really stands for Cheese Heads. But if you have
an opportunity to travel to Switzerland, be sure to try out as many cheese varieties as possible. You
may like some of them at first bite, but others are an acquired taste. In either case, you will be
amazed at how different cheese can be.
= Cheese Head????
If you are a true cheese aficionado, take a trip along the Swiss Cheese Road in the Emme
Valley region. It’s the cheese eater’s equivalent of a winery tour
(http://www.kaesestrasse.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/Downloads/Karte_Emmentaler_K_sestrasse.pdf).
If you like visuals, go to the website of the Emmental show dairy for a virtual tour (Rundgang) or a
video of the cheese-making process (Wie das Loch in den Käse kommt). Sorry this site is available
in German only.
http://www.cheesevillage.ch/cgi-bin/flexi060614? WEB=k4KVzdRHb0kAABpkb0kAAADw&Q=&S=1:1:318::0:7:::1::&P=2&MT=main
Want to make your own virtual Emmentaler cheese, and in English at that:
http://www.emmentaler.ch/index.php?uid=62
For those of you who like "sports" with their cheese, there is the annual Cheese Rolling
Championships scheduled for Sept. 5, 2009, in Berne:
http://www.emmentaler.ch/?uid=98.
The Appenzeller cheese producers have a website that is available in German or English:
http://www.appenzeller.ch/
