Swiss cows that produce the milk needed
to make Cheeses from Switzerland are fed
naturally dried hay in winter and fall. In
spring and summer, they graze on herbs in
pristine prairies and alpine valleys.
Swiss cows do not eat silage since it is
fermented and affects the makeup of their
milk. Silaging influences the evolution of
cheese. Cheese produced from silaged milk,
once it ages 3 months, will start to inflate
and take on a bad taste.
Farms producing milk used to make
Cheeses from Switzerland are family-run
businesses with an average of 30 cows per
farm.
Industrial farming is virtually
nonexistent in Switzerland.
It’s not
just cheese that is subject to quality
controls: herds of Swiss cows are also
inspected by government health officials.
Milk is
delivered to dairies twice daily. It travels
less than 20 km from the farms, ensuring
that it keeps all its natural properties.
Cheeses from Switzerland are made from
unpasteurized milk that is processed no more
than 12 hours after production to preserve
its organic properties.
Milk
used to produce AOC Cheeses from Switzerland
is never pasteurized. Raw milk is heated
to the optimal temperature to maintain its
molecular properties. No additives or
chemicals are added in the making of
authentic Cheeses from Switzerland, which
are made in the finest Swiss tradition.
The milk
can be used within 18 hours of milking.
Cheese is
aged for at least 3 months. Carefully
controlled conditions ensure that the cheese
ages correctly.
After
being aged for 3 months, cheese wheels
are moved into special cells where they
mature for optimal flavor and texture.
Authentic Emmentaler AOC and Le Gruyère AOC
are aged for at least 5 months at the dairy
to ensure the cheese matures in a controlled
environment. Moving young cheese wheels may
damage the cheese, creating an inferior
quality product. The whole process is
strictly monitored by the Swiss government.
AOC
stands for “appellation d'origine contrôlée”
(AOC), French for “controlled term of
origin.” It follows the name of a cheese to
identify a product, its authenticity, and
the region it comes from. The term is a
guarantee of the cheese’s qualities and
characteristics, the region it comes from,
the know-how of the cheese makers who
produced it, and the history and reputation
of a process and name too old to be patented.
In Gruyère
AOC, the entire sector (2300 milk producers,
174 village cheese-makers, 52 alpine
pastures and 9 sales businesses) have very
strict controls to ensure the proper use of
the AOC symbol.
The
letters AOC will lead you to tasty
encounters with products that are full of
character. Choosing Cheeses from Switzerland
is a great way to treat yourself - and
celebrate artisanal savoir-faire and
traditional Swiss farming methods at the
same time.
Cheeses from Switzerland are made by
qualified artisans with years of experience
and know-how that is handed down from
generation to generation. This means that
consumers can be sure that Cheeses from
Switzerland are authentic and pure.
The
average weight of a Gruyère AOC cheese is 35
kilos.
The average weight of an alpine Gruyère AOC
is 28 kilos.
The
famous holes in cheese
First of all, we must clear up a
preconceived idea: most Swiss cheeses do not
have holes!
What is most commonly identified as “Swiss
cheese” in other countries is Emmentaler.
The holes are formed by carbon dioxide that
develops during the slow maturation process.
This is also where Emmentaler gets its
distinctive taste.
