Swiss Cheese - Switzerland

Swiss Cheese is another of Switzerland's culinary specialties, which tourists are sure to enjoy sampling on tours to Switzerland. Extremely popular with the Swiss people, for whom diary farming and cheese making are important traditional occupations, Swiss Cheese is more than just a food item, it is a way of life. Eaten with almost every meal, Swiss cheese is known for its distinctive taste, its characteristic appearance of a yellow slice with holes and its aromatic smell. The holes in Swiss cheese are due to the air that escapes as the cheese is left to ferment and mature. Just like Swiss Chocolate, Swiss cheese too is a product that is exported from Switzerland to delight the palates of food lovers around the world.

What is popularly called Swiss Cheese is known as Emmental Cheese in Switzerland. The most popular cheeses are Emmental, Gruyere, Appenzell and Sprinz. Emmental is characterized by its yellow color, distinctive taste and air holes. It is left to ferment in circular blocks for several months. Gruyere is another cheese with a hard consistency, which is usually fermented for a longer while. There are believed to be 450 different varieties of cheese in Switzerland. You can enjoy tasting the different types of Swiss cheese when you travel with Switzerland Flexi Tours.

Swiss cheese is traditionally made in the Alpine region where dairy farming is a hereditary occupation. The ritual of cheese making is a ceremonial one with entire families participating in the cheese making process. Cattle are led to pastures on the Alpine slopes in summer where they feed to their hearts content. The rich creamy milk produced by these well-nourished cows is used to make cheese. These hand made cheeses are shaped into flat round shapes and left to mature. The cheese develops a distinctive flavor as it ripens and delights cheese lovers with its taste, texture and aroma. Enjoy tasting the various varieties of Swiss cheese when you travel to Switzerland with Switzerland Flexi Tours.