Swiss Cheese

Swiss cheese

Swiss cheese is the name given in America to those varieties of cheese which resemble the cheese made in Switzerland. Some varieties of cheese have distinguished appearance, the cheese blocks are riddled with holes which are called the eyes, and some blocks where the eyes are not present are called the “blind”. These types of cheese do not have very sharp taste but they have piquant flavour. There are more than four hundred varieties of cheese in Switzerland. The area is known for the vast production which has its own distinguished appearance and taste. Most of the production is done with the cow’s milk but scarcely goat’s and sheep’s milk is also used. All the production of cheese can be divided into five major categories which are soft cheese, semi soft, semi hard, hard and extra hard cheese.

The most popular extra hard Swiss cheese is the Sbrinz, which is very popular and is widely used. It is not produced at a large scale; it is only available at forty two central Switzerland dairies. This cheese is made from the local cow milk and it is also used as a substitute to parmesan cheese because it is also very hard when touched.

The hard cheese category begins with the Emmentaler cheese, simply known as "Swiss cheese" all over North America, New Zealand and Australia. Its name is Emmeentaler because it is originally from the Emme valley of Bern. It is yellow in colour and has a very good tart taste, it has large holes and it is also used successfully in different cuisines too. Another popular hard cheese is the Gruyere, which is named after its town. It is also of yellow colour. When the cheese is fresh it is creamy and nutty in flavour but as days proceed, it becomes more complex.

In case of semi hard cheese Appenzeller is the type which is highly in demand. The scent of this cheese is very strong; it is sometimes fruity and sometimes nutty in flavour. Its tastes just like all the other varieties of Swiss cheese changes with its age. Another category of semi hard cheese is Raclette which is salted cheese. The Vachern Mont d’or is the semi-soft variety cheese and under the soft variety, the seasonal cheese with soft texture falls. Many people enjoying cheese in their food, the efforts that are utilized in making up of the cheese are worth its taste.