Types of Swiss cheeses. Swiss cheese Swiss cheese varieties
Emmentaler is the king of all cheeses!
Spicy, with mold, in holes: from tender, creamy, nutty - to sharp, strong ... Switzerland is cheese, with and without holes. Cheese is in every Swiss refrigerator, regardless of canton and language.
Dairy products have always been the main food of mountain farmers; they were an important factor in survival in the harsh Alps. Until the 15th century, almost only soft cheese was produced here, then more and more hard. It could be stored for a long time and transported over long distances. In central Switzerland, food consisted mainly of dairy products. Fat cheese was eaten with lean cheese instead of bread!
The consumption of cheese in Switzerland is 22 kg per person per year.
Most Swiss cheese is made from raw milk, which gives the cheese its unique flavor. Each type of cheese has its own history, texture, taste and aroma. And cheese is used in different forms: from a piece of cheese for breakfast to a hot fondue (Fondue) or raclette (Raclette) for a hearty dinner. Half of the milk produced in Switzerland is processed into cheese. How to make sense of such an abundant choice and understand which cheese is the most delicious and valuable? Cheese in Switzerland is not only made from cow's milk. There are also goat, sheep or buffalo milk.
The king of all cheeses is the Emmentaler AOC
Since the 19th century, Emmentaler has been the most popular cheese in Switzerland in terms of demand and production volume. Initially, it was produced only in the Emmenthal region in the canton of Bern, now it is made in other regions of Switzerland from silage-free raw cow's milk, has a nutty taste, contains large holes that appear when propionbacteria are added. "Emmentaler" is distinguished by four stages of maturity: classic (at least 4 months of maturity), Re'serve, or Surchoix (more than 8 months), Extra (more than 12 months) and Uralt (translated from German - "very old") ...
Number two is Le Gruyère AOC
This cheese has existed since the Middle Ages and made the town of Gruye`re in the canton of Freiburg famous. Even today it conquers connoisseurs and amateurs with its spicy taste and rich aroma. Hard cheese made from silage-free raw cow's milk must mature for at least five months, Re'serve at least 10 months. There is a very special, legendary Gruye're Alpage, produced in limited quantities from the milk of cows grazing in the alpine meadows between June and September.
In third place - "Appenzeller" (Appenzeller AOC)
A fragrant, aromatic cheese, the rind of which is processed with herbal brine, is only produced in Appenzell, St. Gallen and Thurgau. According to the degree of maturity, it is moderately spicy, highly spicy and extra-spicy, and as a biovariant it is made from silage-free raw cow's milk.
Emmentaler has a nutty flavor and contains large holes that appear when propionbacteria is added.
"Sbrinz" - legendary cheese (Sbrinz AOC)
Made from raw cow's milk, at least 18 months old, usually up to 3 years old. Sbrinz AOS can be produced by the cantons of Lucerne, Schwyz, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Muri in the canton Aargau, three communities in Bern and several communities in the canton St. Gallen.
Exclusive Têtede Moine AOC
The romantic name "Monk's Head" suggests that monks have been making cheese since the 12th century. It is produced from raw cow's milk only in the summer months in the Jura canton, partly in the Bern canton, ripens for at least 75 days, aromatic. It has a spectacular cylindrical shape with a diameter of 10 centimeters.
Best Raclette du Valais AOC
This raclette cheese is produced exclusively in the canton of Valais and only from local raw cow's milk. From 12 months of maturity, sold as sliced cheese. All other cheese without the “Valais” or “AOC” designation is made outside of Valais and in most cases from heated or pasteurized milk.
Unknown (Büschiumdacavra)
AOC-certified goat cheese from the canton of Ticino is made from raw and quickly heated (57-68 degrees) milk. Cheese makers hang it in bags to drain the whey.
Rare "Zincarlin" (Zincarlin)
The Cinccarlin cheese from Ticino has become so rare that the SlowFood club has taken it under protection. Produced by farmers for hundreds of years, it consists of raw cow's milk with the addition of goat's milk, pepper and salt. Ripens in caves for at least several weeks, rubbed with white wine every morning, tart, pungent in taste. Served with chestnut honey with jacket potatoes.
Elastic Tilsiter
The name of the cheese has been patented since 1993 as "Tilsiter Switzerland". Manufactured in the cantons of Zurich, St. Gallen and Thurgau. There are different varieties of cheese: Tilsiter from pasteurized milk, Surchoix from raw milk up to 6 months of maturity, and even the new Alpine Alpenland-Tilsiter, mashed with white wine. A characteristic feature of this cheese are medium holes, spice, elasticity. Good quality Tilsiter is not always easy to find.
Ziger, Schabziger - Swiss creative (Ziger, Schabziger)
Glarsky cheese (also called "Shabziger") is made from skim milk with the addition of finely ground aromatic herbs of blue fenugreek (Latin Trigonellacaerulea). "Tsiger" is made with the addition of lactic acid bacteria, it must ferment for up to 12 weeks, ripened cheese is stored in a bunker for up to 18 months. After that, herbs are added and the cheese is pressed into a mold, dried for up to 6 months. This cheese is used to dress pasta, fondue or sandwiches. Glarsky Shabziger cheese has been known since the 8th century.
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In Switzerland, 99% of cheeses are made from cow's milk. This country has strict environmental requirements, manufacturing rules, and control. Most Swiss cheeses are relatively fatty and therefore taste good. The aroma of some seems unusually pungent, but there are also a few odorless varieties. All cheeses are divided into very hard, hard, semi-hard, soft, melted.
Classification of Swiss cheeses
High hardness cheeses
This national pride, adored by gourmets, replaces Parmesan for the Swiss. It is believed to be the oldest cheese in Europe. Production is concentrated in the center of the country, distributed over forty small cheese factories. Raw materials are unpasteurized cow's milk from one region, rennet and salt. Hardeners, dyes are not used.
Products are exported from the region after ripening (after 18-22 months). This cheese has been produced either since 70 or 1200. The color of Sbrinz is creamy, the consistency is layered, brittle, the aroma is not very bright, pleasant, rich, the taste is not too salty.
This cheese can be simply eaten, laid on bread and butter, grated for pasta, used in making pizza (if it does not seem too expensive). Sbrinz goes well with wine, sold in bars and slices. With the first option, a kilogram costs 30-35 francs, with the second it is 10 francs more.
Hobelkäse
The Hobelkase variety of Swiss cheese is produced in the Alps. The production technology is extravagant. The cheese is cooked over a fire, cut into long, thin slices and rolled into a kind of tube. It is consumed on its own, with pasta, salads, added to omelet, casserole, lasagne, sauces.
Parmesan
Swiss Parmesan cheese belongs to the premium class. It is made by hand from natural milk of cows grazing in the meadows of the Alps. Feature - the presence of calcium crystals. Consists of milk, natural rennet, ferment, salt, aged for a year.
The texture is brittle (it crumbles during the cutting process), so it breaks off with a knife for a cheese platter. The taste is delicate, delicate, nutty, the aftertaste is spicy, fat content up to 45%. Used as a separate dish, added to pasta, soups, pizza. salads.
Hard Swiss cheeses
Emmentaler
This variety was born in Bern. The name is not certified, it is used by cheese-making enterprises in many other countries, the raw material is pasteurized milk. This variety has a yellow color, many large holes (thanks to the P. Shermani bacteria, which are added at the final stage of production), not too sharp, but piquant taste.
It is used in assorted cheese, sandwiches, appetizers, salads, forms a beautiful crust when baked. Technology for the production of Swiss hard cheese Emmentaler
AOC Emmentaler Switzerland became AOC in 2006. Small rural enterprises produce "genuine" Emmental. Round heads with natural crust. The factories use raw milk, water, naturally occurring starter cultures, and salt. When made in winter, the color is paler, the heads are smaller. The reason for this lies in keeping the cows in the hay.
It takes about a thousand liters of milk to get one head. It heats up, the sourdoughs are added. The precipitate is mixed, placed in a form in the form of a hoop, and pressed. After a while, the diameter of the hoop decreases. The cycle is repeated 6, sometimes more, times. The quality is determined after six months, a year by tapping.
Premier Cru is aged for 14 months. This variety became the winner of 1.7 thousand competitors at the 2006 championship, which was held in Wisconsin. Now he is given a place in the Berne museum. The cost of a kilogram is from 26 francs.
Gruyère
Young cheese has a creamy color, sweetish taste, with a nutty flavor, which changes as ripening is prolonged. A product aged for 5-12 months has cracks, holes, making the structure grainy. The taste is more complex, more specific, earthy, but not overwhelming. Used in baked goods, onion soup, fondue, ham sandwiches. Grated, added with pastas, salads.
Production of Swiss Gruyère cheese
Since 2001, this cheese has been subject to authenticity control, production is determined by law. The most crucial stage of maturation, therefore, special requirements are imposed on the cellars. The microclimate is close to the conditions of natural caves (humidity 94-98%). If the value is lower, the cheese dries up instead of ripening. At higher humidity, the scalp becomes sticky, as if dirty.
Types of Gruyere cheese
There are many varieties of this cheese, according to the aging period, they are divided into soft (at least 5 months), Réserve (from 10 months). Sold "organic" species, varieties that are produced in the Alps, and only in the summer. Premier Cru is aged for a year and 2 months at a humidity level of 95%, a temperature of 13.5 ° C. This variety has been awarded the title of the best in the world championships three times. You can buy a kilogram for 20 francs.
Schabziger
For the first time this variety was made by monks, the manufacturing process is described in the fifteenth century. Production is now concentrated in Glarus County. Raw milk of cows, fat-free, blue fenugreek is added.
Simple Swiss Schabziger Cheese Recipe:
- The milk is heating up
- a natural acid is added that separates Ziger (a special type of whey).
- After pressing into the molds, it is stored for up to 8 days, then dried from two months to six months.
It goes on sale with the brand of the manufacturer. Exported as a green Swiss cheese. Stored in the refrigerator for several weeks. It is most often consumed grated with butter-spread bread. Suitable for adding to noodles, making fondue.
Semi-hard cheeses
Appenzeller
This variety is spicy, produced in the village of the same name. It was first made by monks in the 8th century. The length of the documented history is more than 7 hundred years. Aged in brine with herbs, sometimes with wine or cider, retaining the taste and forming a crust. Each manufacturer has its own recipe, it is kept secret.
The cheese has a straw color, a golden crust, tiny holes. Strong or light aroma (depending on aging), with a nutty or fruity flavor. The cost of a kilogram is from 17 francs.
There are three varieties on sale:
- Extra (black label);
- Classic (silver label);
- Surchoix (gold label).
Bündner Bergkäse
The production is established in the canton of Graubünden, the name translates as mountain cheese. Cow's milk is used as raw material, but only from animals grazing more than a kilometer in the mountains. The taste is determined by alpine herbs, used in assorted cheese, salads. Can be added to meat and vegetable dishes for added flavor. Price per kilogram from 21 francs.
Tessiner Alpkäse
Alpkäse was first made in the 12th century in the Ticino region. To continue production in the summer, the locals moved the cows to pastures in the mountains. Over time, dairy cattle began to graze at different heights.
Long distances and exposure times made it necessary to develop a special production technology. This cheese is distinguished by the way it is made, the composition determined by the flora of the alpine meadows.
Raclette
Swiss cheese Raclette is considered the best if you need to cook the dish of the same name. Sold in bar or square pieces. In the latter version, it is intended for a raclette, which has a surface for frying meat on top, and a mold for melting cheese on the bottom. This variety has a creamy texture, outstanding taste, and a pleasant aroma.
The story of Walliser Raclette is very interesting. It is said that a resident of the canton of Valais Leo decided to warm up the cheese in cold weather. This is considered the birth moment of the dish, which is popular throughout Switzerland. Since raclette is cooked in winter, most of this cheese is delivered to stores during the cold season. Options with garlic, pepper are offered. You can buy a kilogram for 25 francs.
It is known from history that this variety was prepared already in the four hundredth year BC, used as money. The official name was given in 1974. The production facilities are located in the Valais district and only local raw milk is used. Compliance with the recipe and originality is guaranteed by a certificate. The status also guarantees that the animals are kept in conditions that meet the requirements.
Tête de Moine
The name literally translates as "monk's head". It is due to the locality of invention, manufacture. This is the Bellelay abbey from the French territory of the canton of Bern. Modern cheese factories are also located in the mountains. When consumed, this cheese is scraped with a knife to fully reveal its original, delicate flavor.
Swiss cheese production
The name was given by French revolutionaries 2 centuries ago. They drove the monks out, found heads of cheese in the cellar, and an interesting association emerged (scraping resembled the movements of shaving tonsures).
This variety is made from raw milk. One head weighs between 0.8 and 2.5 kilograms. Most often it is cylindrical, the height is 70-100% of the section. Production is regulated by law, outside Switzerland, this variety is considered a symbol of the Jurassic region.
Since 1982, a scraping device has been produced. This is an axis that sticks into the head, and the scapula pivots around it. The device has become a good advertisement for popularization. The price depends on the form. A kilogram of an uncut head costs 25 francs, a kilogram of thin rosettes costs 48 francs.
Vacherin Fribourgeois
The production of solid is located in Friborg, the taste is sour, changes with the extension of the ripening period. Used in fondue.
There are 6 types of these cheeses:
- Classic (ripening period from 6 to 12 weeks);
- Mountain (ripening period 9 to 25 weeks);
- Extra (maturing period from 12 weeks);
- Alpage, Country (maturing period 12 to 25 weeks);
- organic Bio (maturing period from 9 weeks).
Vacherin Mont d'Or is soft, seasonal, with a greyish-yellow crust. Produced in the Yur district, fat content 45-50%. For sale it is packed in round wooden boxes, therefore it can be served as fondue after heating in the package.
Milk from cows grazing in the mountains is used in the production of Vacherin d'alpage, so its taste is brightest. It is made in a pot over a fire; it is rarely found on sale. With prolonged exposure, the smell of ammonia appears. A kilogram costs from 20 francs.
Tilsiter
This variety was made in the 19th century by the Westphal family, brought to the settlement from the Emmental Valley. In Sovetsk (formerly Tilsit), a building of those times has been preserved. It later turned out that the initial ingredients were not available. Yeast was used for fermentation, which made the aroma fuller and more intense. The name of the variety was given by the name of the town.
Tilsiter has a structure of medium density, randomly distributed holes. For the production of commercial varieties, pasteurized milk with the addition of caraway and pepper is used. The peel is yellow, relatively dark, fat content from 30 to 60 percent. This cheese goes well with dark beer, rye bread. Tilsiter is used to make salad cubes, it is added to sauces, potatoes, hamburgers, and homemade pies.
The production of three variants has been established according to the updated recipe:
- with a strong odor (fresh milk is used in production);
- soft (made from pasteurized milk);
- Rahm-Tilsiter (cream is added to pasteurized milk).
The cost of a kilogram is from 20 francs.
Semi-soft Swiss cheeses
Reblochon
Originally it was a semi-hard French (Savoy) cheese made from milk, which was supplemented secretly. Inside, the mass is creamy, the crust is dry, the color is from gray to orange, the aroma is deep, nutty. When ripe for up to 8 weeks, fat content is 45%. The traditional dish with Reblochon is called Tartiflette (potato-bacon casserole).
Vacherin Mont d'Or
The production is not limited to Switzerland, it is also supplied from the part of the Jura region located in France. Raw materials have been controlled by the state since 1981. Fat content 45-50%, it is delivered to shops in round wooden boxes, sometimes it is sold warmed up. The structure is like a cream. This is a dessert cheese, gourmets consume it warmed up with bread and potatoes. Cost per kilogram from 23 francs.
Soft
Tomme vudoise
Invented in the 17th century in the region between lakes Jura and Zhu. The production is located in Geneva and the Vaud district. The young product has a creamy, neutral, soft taste, after ripening, rustic (with the aroma of grass, fresh milk).
The structure is soft, melting, covered with red, sometimes white mold, thin crust. Peppers, truffles, basil, hazelnuts are often added. Suitable for cheese platter, used as part of salad, stewed vegetables, sometimes served with jerky, ham, white wine. Locals fry this cheese, bake it in the oven.
This is an expensive cheese sold in semicircular shapes. Types with garlic, herbs are offered. A kilogram costs from 30 francs.
This cheese is cheap as it is made from whey. The taste is reminiscent of ricotta, the locals add spice by smoking in the oven.
Soft Swiss cheeses are less well known due to their short shelf life, which makes transportation difficult. Most of the varieties are not exported, they are supplied to local stores. In addition to Gala, these are Fontalino, Risler Paulin, varieties whose names contain Vacherin.
Processed Swiss cheeses
Types of processed cheese from Switzerland:
- sausage - easy to cut;
- briquetted - from rennet fatty cheeses (up to 70% fat), spices can be added that change color, taste;
- chunks - each small piece is packed separately;
- in the form of a paste - moist, greasy, easily smeared.
The production of such cheese is profitable due to the ease of coming up with new recipes, cheap raw materials, and ease of transportation. More important is the possibility of processing illiquid assets. Swiss processed cheeses are loved and appreciated all over the world; they are used on sandwiches, with salads, in sauces, and mashed soups. Sweet varieties are added to baked goods and desserts.
Unknown varieties include Büschiumdacavra and Zincarlin. The first is made from raw goat milk, quickly heated to 57-68 ° C. The second grade is old (more than 100 years old), the production uses cow's milk, to which a little goat milk, salt, pepper are added. It matures in a cave, wipes it daily with wine. The taste is spicy, tart. Locals eat it with potatoes boiled in their uniforms.
Benefits of Swiss cheeses
- Most varieties of Swiss cheese are organic, the close arrangement of raw materials allows you to avoid the use of synthetic additives.
- It is impossible to establish intensive, large-scale production in the mountains. There is an opinion that the production of cheeses by hand will soon be stopped in Switzerland. The reason is the abundance of cheaper products on the shelves.
- Cheese makers think that cheese has long been not just a product to satisfy hunger. Handmade products are more of a delicacy that can decorate a festive table.
- In Russia, the consumption of Swiss cheese is increasing; in 2018, 2,731 tons were imported. Reviews of Swiss cheeses indicate that this is a worthy replacement for Italian and French, which disappeared from the shelves due to sanctions. Russians call them tasty, real. These are elite products, incomparable with the mass ones.
In Switzerland, famous for its cheeses, 2,400 varieties of this product are registered, and the French culinary expert André Simon devoted 17 years of his life to creating the book "On the Cheese Business", in which he described recipes for preparing 839 types! Today, even experts find it difficult to calculate the number of varieties - after all, cheese is prepared all over the world using a variety of technologies.
Hard cheeses. How to choose?
Hard cheeses are very popular due to their rich taste and bright aroma. They contain a little moisture (up to 56%) and mature for a long time: from 3 months to 3 years. If you do not know which type of hard cheese to buy for your daily menu or holiday table, check out their main varieties:
- Famous Swiss with large "eyes": emmental with a slight nutty tint, gruyere, fragrant raclette. They are ideal for cheese platters and to complement dishes such as onion soup. And guests will be delighted with the classic fondue - a melted mixture of emmental and gruyere!
- Dutch varieties - edam, gouda, maasdam - will appeal to lovers of creamy taste. They are great for sandwiches and are interesting to combine with sweet mustard.
- Parmesan, grana padano and pecorino are the pride of Italian cheesemakers. Without them, it is difficult to imagine classic Italian dishes: pizza, pasta, lasagne. And the delicate sweetish taste of Parmesan goes well with fruit.
How to store hard cheeses?
If you want the product to be stored longer and to reveal its taste as fully as possible, you need to follow a few simple rules:
- different hard cheese varieties should not be stored in the same package, as they perfectly absorb odors;
- the taste of the product can change greatly due to temperature extremes, therefore it is recommended to keep it on the lower shelf of the refrigerator;
- it is better to replace polyethylene with parchment paper, which allows the product to "breathe" and at the same time protects against chapping.
For a foreigner, Switzerland rests on three whale associations - watches, chocolate and cheese, which are of excellent quality here. Unlike France, which is famous for its soft cheeses, Switzerland is known throughout the world as a producing country for hard and extra-hard varieties. We present a list of 15 varieties of Swiss cheese that can help you navigate the peculiarities of this gastronomic delicacy and distinguish the cheeses of this country from others.
Gruyere
Gruyeres (photo: @ameriswissfood)The most famous cheese from Switzerland is hard, with a pungent taste and nutty aroma. France also produces its own "French gruyere", which differs from the smooth and uniform Swiss by the presence of holes.
Raclette
Raclette (photo: @ yogigram31) Semi-hard cheese with a buttery pulp with a pleasant milky-creamy taste and aroma. This type of cheese served as the basis for the dish of the same name. The raclette is melted in a special stove, and the melted mass is carefully scraped with a knife onto a plate and served with potatoes in their uniform.
Emmental
Emmental (photo: @meatropolis_vilavelha) Semi-hard cheese made from cow's milk with large holes. Its name is borrowed from the valley of the Emme River, where it began to be produced. It has a sweetish taste and is perfect for preparing fondue in combination with Gruyere.
Hobelkaze
Hobelkaze (photo: @millahola) An extra-hard cheese that has gained its recognizable face in gastronomy thanks to the fact that it is served rolled up in a tube. This is a hand-made cheese that is only made in the Swiss canton of Bern.
Appenzeller
Appenzeller (photo: @alapishro) Hard boiled cow's milk cheese with smooth flesh. The first mentions of this cheese date back to the 13th century. The cheese is soaked in cider or white wine, and during the ripening process it is treated with herbs and spices that give it a special taste and aroma.
Tete de Moine
Tete de Moine (photo: @parisismykitchen) Translated from French, tête de moine is "monk's head", and like many European cheeses, it began to be produced by monks in the 12th century. Tête de Moine has a semi-solid consistency, but traditionally it is customary not to cut it, but to scrape it off with a knife like shavings.
Vashren-Mont-d'Or
Vashren Mont-d'Or (photo: @kazerijstalenhoef) Soft cheese made from pasteurized cow's milk with a velvety moldy crust ranging from amber to reddish brown.
Washren Friborgois
Vachren Friborgois (photo: @tour_de_cheese) Semi-hard cheese made from cow's milk with a milky nutty flavor and a thin brown-red washed crust. Swiss vashren can be part of a fondue, as well as served as a stand-alone dish or as part of a cheese platter for dessert.
Sbrinz
Sbrinz (photo: @globus_cheese_and_foods) Extra-hard cheese, which belongs to the elite Swiss varieties. The ripening process can take up to three years, which is necessary to obtain full maturity. Ripe sbrinz has a delicate creamy taste and a very hard consistency that crumbles under the knife.
Etiva
Etiwa (photo: @anderseinarkarlsson) Etiva is the "younger brother" of Gruyere, who was born about a century ago. In the 30s of the last century, Gruyere producers began to create their own cheese based on the already known technology, giving it the name of their village. The new variety turned out to be more tender and creamy, slightly more salty and less pungent.
Tilsiter
Tilsiter (photo: @mattodasso) Tilsit was previously called the city of Sovetsk in the Raliningrad region - at the time when it was the territory of East Prussia. It was there that they began to produce cheese, which we know as salted tilsiter, which is popular in Russia, Germany and Switzerland. Tilsiter has a hard semi-hard consistency with small holes. Manufactured in Switzerland since 1893.
Blasher
Blusher (photo: @gurmaniia) Soft cheese with light yellow flesh cut through with textured streaks of blue mold. The cheese has a balanced salty-sweet-sourish taste with notes of mushrooms, honey and fruits.
Sabziger
Schabziger (photo: @drkase) Cheese from the Swiss canton of Glarus, where local monks began to produce it in the 8th century. It cannot be confused with any other variety due to the delicate green hue that the milk of fenugreek sprouts will give it. It is also known as "green Swiss cheese" and is most often added to dishes grated.
Tom Vaudoise
Tom Vaudoise (photo: @fromagesdesuisse) Soft Swiss cheese with a white moldy crust, which hides a delicate flowing pulp with a strong aroma and a pungent spicy taste. Recommended for serving in combination with fruits and white wines.
Belper Knolle
Belper Knolle (photo: @loeb_ag) One of the most unusual and young Swiss cheeses (appeared only in 1993), which will appeal to connoisseurs of strong, pungent tastes and aromas. It is a hard cheese with a crumbly texture, rounded in a sprinkle of black pepper. Outwardly, the head of the cheese looks like a truffle - and this is how its name is translated.
- Switzerland
5 days / 4 nights
Bern - Zurich
Switzerland produces a huge variety of types of cheese: hard, soft, produced in the village cheese dairy and cheese factory; cheese cut into the finest slices, cubes, flowers; melted cheese in which slices of bread are dipped or simply served with hot potatoes, etc. Most often, the names of cheeses correspond to a particular geographical name, where they are produced. We invite you to make an unforgettable gastronomic journey and become a connoisseur of Swiss cheeses, having tasted the most famous of them.
- Day 1 - 3: Bern
Arrival to Bern. Transfer to the hotel.
- Hotel Bellevue Palace Bern 5 *.
Excursions with departure from Bern:
- "Emmental"- the Swiss cheese king. It is so famous all over the world that sometimes it is simply called “Swiss cheese”. Emmental is famous for its holes, which have become in some way his "calling card". We invite you to the cheese dairy of 1741, where cheese is still made according to old technologies. During the tasting, you will taste not only the classic Emmental, but also its different types.
- "Gruyere"- the famous Swiss cheese. It has been made from fresh cow's milk in the vicinity of the town of Gruyeres since the 12th century. Gruyere has a sweet but slightly salty taste that changes with age. Young cheese is creamy with a nutty flavor, but the taste becomes more earthy and complex with age. You will see this for yourself during a visit to the cheese dairy in Gruyères, and also enjoy a walk in the village of Gruyères and a visit to the castle of the same name.
- "Tete de Moine"- the name of the cheese, literally meaning "monk's head", comes from the place of its invention and production - the Abbey of Bellelay, located in the canton of Bern. The cheese is made from the milk of cows grazing on the aromatic and spicy pastures of the Jura Mountains. This is the taste of cheese - aromatic and spicy. This cheese is unusual for its shape and way of tasting. It is eaten in a non-standard way: it must be carefully "scratched" with a knife in order to fully reveal its delicate aroma. We are pleased to invite you to visit one of the smallest cheese dairies. You will not only get acquainted with the production, but also taste the cheese with such an unusual name. .
- Day 4 - 5: Zurich
Moving to Zurich. Transfer to the hotel.
- Hotel Baur au Lac 5 *
- Dolder Grand 5 *
- Widder 5 *
- Park Hyatt Zurich 5 *
- Glockenhof 4 *
Excursions with departure from Zurich:
The famous cheese of Eastern Switzerland - Appenzeller, originally from the village of Appenzell. The cheese is made from fresh cow's milk and has a fairly strong taste. Moreover, only milk from local cows raised on pastures between the Kotstanz lakes and the Santis massif is used. During the manufacturing process, the cheese is cleaned with special brushes and soaked in a brine made from mountain herbs, the recipe for which is kept in the strictest confidence. You will visit a cheese dairy where the famous Appenzeller has been produced for over 700 years.
Premier Cru cheeses
- Emmentaler Switzerland Premier Cru- cheese aged for at least 14 months in damp cellars. This cheese won the world title in Wisconsin (USA) at the 2006 World Cheese Championship.
- Le Gruyère Premier Cru- produced and matured only in the canton of Friborg. Aged for 14 months in humid caves. It is the only cheese that has won the title of the best cheese in the world at the WORLD CHEESE AWARDS in London three times: in 1992, 2002 and 2005.
Types of Swiss cheeses:
Extra hard
- - Sbrinz
- - Hobelkäse
Solid
- - Emmentaler
- - Gruyère / Greyerzer
- - Schabziger
Semi-solid
- - Appenzeller
- - Bündner bergkäse
- - Mutschli
- - Raclette
- - Tête de moine
- - Vacherin fribourgeois
- - Tilsiter
Semi-soft
- - Vacherin mont d "or
Soft
- - Gala
Interesting facts about cheese
The famous cheese dish - fondue, originally from the Swiss canton of Vaud. It was invented by shepherds, who had to make a hot dinner from the three products at hand - cheese, bread and wine. For fondue, cheese (Emmental and Gruyère) is melted together with wine and spices in a cast-iron pot, and then slices of bread, planted on a special long fork with two prongs, are dipped into the resulting hot mass. Born in the mountainous pastures of Switzerland, fondue has become one of the staples of European cheese restaurants today.
There is a special type of cheese that is produced only in summer in the Swiss Alps - "fromage d" alpage " (alpine cheese)... It is made from the milk of cows grazing in alpine meadows and has a much brighter taste. It is often done in a kettle over a fire in some remote chalets in alpine meadows, and can be found commercially in alpine villages.
The cost of the services of an interpreter, assistant and guide in Zurich, a description of excursions in German Switzerland, the cost of transfers with departure from Zurich, a car with a driver available in Zurich, with Cost of services of an interpreter, assistant and guide, with departure from Bern, description of excursions with departure from Bern: on request.
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