![\"APPENZELLER\"](\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Appenzeller_int.jpg\")
<\/a>\nAppenzeller<\/a><\/em><\/center><\/p>\n
Looking Up: Alpage and Preservation<\/h3>\n
It\u2019s not easy to grow crops in the mountains, and before scaling rocky summits was considered recreation, there was little reason to meddle in the steep peaks. From about 9,000 to 5,000 years ago, there was a prolonged period of temperate climate; forests grew on Alpine slopes and communities settled in the valleys. But then, the climate cooled again. Tree lines descended and high-altitude forests became summertime grasslands suitable for large animal grazing. People found a way to adapt: Families, each with a few cows, continued to call the valleys home but herded animals collectively at high altitudes in warm weather. Here, on the alpage<\/i>, were huge quantities of milk to process. The best way to preserve milk for the winter? Make cheese, of course.<\/p>\n
And so it continues. On an alp near the village of Gruye\u0300res in the Fribourg region, Beat Piller and his parents awaken at dawn to transform milk into Gruye\u0300re d\u2019Alpage<\/a> and Vacherin Fribourgeoise<\/a>. Smoke from a wood-burning fire, which heats milk in copper vats, fills the room as Piller and his mother grab hold of either end of a cheesecloth and dip it into the vat. Using fine-tuned senses, they heat, measure, and distribute curds with machinelike precision.<\/p>\n Life on the alp is difficult and labor-intensive. And with the ability to produce only two 80-pound wheels of Gruye\u0300re per day, the family cannot benefit from an economy of scale\u2014but that\u2019s not the goal. \u201cThis isn\u2019t something that we do to earn tons of money,\u201d Piller says as he packs curd-filled cheesecloth into wooden molds. \u201cIt\u2019s a passion, and we just want to be able to make a living.\u201d<\/p>\n In Switzerland, traditional cheesemaking serves many functions. Without the low-intensity, seasonal cow grazing that helps to regenerate and maintain them, these grasslands\u2014hotspots of biodiversity\u2014would begin to disappear. \u201cProducing these cheeses helps us to maintain the environment,\u201d says Laure Rousseau, marketing manager for Le Gruye\u0300re AOP (Appellation d\u2019Origine Prote\u0301ge\u0301e<\/i>). Not all Gruye\u0300res are made on the alpage (or over wood-burning fires, for that matter); many are produced year-round in lower-altitude village dairies. These dairies are modernized, but they follow essentially the same recipe and are deeply reliant on the knowledge and experience of cheesemakers. Forty percent of the country\u2019s milk is made into artisanal cheese, and this cheese represents 70 percent of Switzerland\u2019s dairy exports\u2014impacting employment in marginal areas. The dairies also give local farmers a reliable outlet for their milk and, Rousseau adds, \u201cthey give people a place to buy local products… they keep communities alive.”<\/p>\n Traditional cheesemakers have been able to stay afloat amid an encroaching transition to industrial dairying, albeit in diminishing numbers. The Swiss have long understood that the survival of small producers depends on teamwork. For the country\u2019s most famous cheeses, cooperatives and AOP groups facilitate supply chain organization and enforce quality standards. Take L\u2019Etivaz<\/a>, Switzerland\u2019s oldest protected cheese. It may only be produced in summertime on the alp using wood fire\u2013heated copper cauldrons, and all wheels must be aged and sold by the Etivaz cooperative.<\/p>\n On the one hand, cooperation means compromise for producers. They must accept strict production Other AOP cheeses like Emmentaler<\/a> and Gruye\u0300re have slightly less centralized systems. Young wheels produced on alpages or in village dairies are typically sold to affineurs, who form long-lasting relationships with cheesemakers and often give them more money for wheels of particularly high quality. Aside from abundant space for cave aging and the capacity to work with retailers, affineurs have invaluable cheese maturation skills. Using ears, noses, and taste buds, they\u2019re able to determine when wheels are prime for sale and which require further aging.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a natural, living product,\u201d says Roland Sahli, managing director of Gourmino<\/a>, an affineur that exports Emmentaler and other Swiss cheeses to the US. \u201cEvery day, something can happen new… it\u2019s not like a bakery, where you put bread in the oven and one hour later you know the result.\u201d Sahli and his team closely monitor wheels from the moment they arrive in his cave until they leave, sometimes years later.<\/p>\n Standing in a cave in Moudon, Switzerland, surrounded by 160,000 wheels of Gruye\u0300re, affineur Jean-Marc Collomb echoes the sentiment: Each one needs care. \u201cYou know what the most difficult part of my job is?\u201d he asks. \u201cEach morning I have to come in here and say \u2018bonjour\u2019 to every wheel.\u201d<\/p>\n While cooperation and organization around cheesemaking originally helped mountain peoples adjust to a difficult landscape, today these distinctly Swiss qualities serve another important function. In a small, mountainous country where large-scale agriculture isn\u2019t feasible, gourmet products help Switzerland stay competitive in the global marketplace. Now, to ensure a future for time-honored cheesemaking at home, the country\u2019s producers are targeting consumers abroad.<\/p>\n In the US market, for example, this means reminding Americans about the difference between what they \u201cI had to explain to some very well-known chefs why my Gruye\u0300re cost three times as much as what they called Gruye\u0300re,\u201d she says. \u201cWhat we brought in was on a whole other level.\u201d<\/p>\n So far, the strategy of Swiss producers in the international market has been honesty: emphasizing the unique mountain pastures, cheesemaking expertise, stringent environmental regulations, and GMO-free feed. But as competition grows, so does the need for innovative marketing. The Swiss seem to understand the value In one Swiss legend, an insolent sweetheart of a herdsman whines, \u201cHow can I walk up those rough stony tracks to your alp in my beautiful shoes?\u201d The herdsman, also quite spoiled (as a child, he bathed in whey and double cream), builds her a giant cheese stairway. Gaps between the wheels are sealed with butter, and each morning workers sweep them with fresh milk. On the alp, the pair feeds fires with butter and breaks the divine law that all should live simply. Upset by their excessive lifestyle, God finally punishes them by breaking off a piece of the mountain, burying them on the alp forever.<\/p>\n So, then, in the country\u2019s folklore, cheese is the ultimate metaphor: precious and valuable as gold, yet abundant and meant to be shared; a symbol of wealth and bounty but also a reminder of the importance of modesty. Is it the job of the humble producer to brag about his finely calibrated skills and senses, about his small dairy perched in a dreamlike mountain landscape? Or can the cheeses\u2014massive in size and boasting rich, lingering flavors, punctuated by wild flowers, herbs, and smoky fires\u2014speak for themselves?<\/p>\n Gruye\u0300re AOP<\/a><\/strong>: Dense and creamy, these sweet and salty wheels grow more robust with age\u2014nutty flavors deepen as crystalline granules form. Wheels develop distinct personalities and aromas that range from chocolate to mushroom to caramel to buttered toast.<\/p>\n L\u2019Etivaz AOP<\/a><\/strong>: It\u2019s often compared to Gruye\u0300re, but limiting the production of this cheese to the wood fires and copper cauldrons of the summer alpage guarantees that the milk\u2019s fruity, grassy aromas reflect the specific pasture where cows grazed.<\/p>\n Sbrinz AOP<\/a><\/strong>: Parmigiano Reggiano<\/a> gets all the hype, but this extra-aged hard cheese earns top marks with connoisseurs. Unlike the Italian variety, Swiss Sbrinz is full-fat. By the time it reaches peak maturity at 24 months, it boasts layers of crystalline crunch dispersed in a paste that crumbles and grates while retaining a surprising amount of fudgy creaminess.<\/p>\n Appenzeller<\/a><\/strong>: A rich, complex classic dotted with small holes and famous for robust flowery aromas. Lacking an AOP, producers keep the recipe secret; it\u2019s said that only two people know what\u2019s in the herbal brine rubbed on the outside of wheels during aging.<\/p>\n Emmentaler AOP<\/a><\/strong>: Imitated endlessly but never quite replicated, these massive 200-pound wheels have many factors to thank for their perfect holes. Namely: artisan producers, affineurs who move wheels strategically between humid and dry caves, and hard-working Propionibacterium<\/i>. A lack of saltiness or sharpness means that hazelnutty, sweet flavors\u2014which deepen with age and linger on the palate\u2014shine through.<\/p>\n Raclette du Valais \/ Walliser Raclette AOP<\/a><\/strong>: When fresh, this washed-rind cheese has a buttery taste and mild acidic tang. Melting it fireside releases the cheese\u2019s intense fruity aromas, with notes of bouillon and raspberries\u2014it\u2019s best enjoyed atop boiled potatoes and cornichons.<\/p>\n Vacherin Fribourgeois AOP<\/a><\/strong>: This is perhaps the creamiest of all classic Swiss Alpine cheeses, its fondantlike texture making it essential for fondue. The flavor is rounded and nutty, and grows earthier with age.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nTe\u0302te de Moine<\/a><\/em><\/center><\/p>\nLooking Down: Caves and Collectives<\/h3>\n
\nand sales rules (they aren\u2019t allowed to sell cheeses directly), sustain meticulous quality control, and face fines for substandard wheels or production above quota. On the other hand, producers are relieved of the burdens of maturation and marketing. And because the cooperative is a single enterprise, it establishes price. In the end, an Etivaz producer earns two times more for his milk than if he sold it conventionally (to a collection facility).<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nClockwise from bottom left: Appenzeller<\/a>, Vacherin Fribourgeois<\/a>, Gruye\u0300re<\/a>, Sbrinz<\/a>, Emmentaler<\/a><\/em><\/center><\/p>\nLooking Outside: Forging a Future<\/h3>\n
\ncall \u201cSwiss cheese\u201d and real wheels and wedges from Switzerland. Swiss native Caroline Hostettler, owner
\nof Florida-based importer Quality Cheese<\/a>, remembers first bringing authentic cheeses to the US in the 1990s, to a market flooded with commodity block cheeses people thought of as \u201cSwiss.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nLeft to right: Gruy\u00e8re, Gruy\u00e8re d\u2019Alpage, Gruy\u00e8re Reserve<\/a><\/em><\/center>Today, the learning curve isn\u2019t quite so steep, but Hostettler thinks the Swiss still struggle with branding. From 1914 to 1999, the Swiss government strictly controlled its country\u2019s cheese production and distribution through a cartel called the Swiss Cheese Union. Under that system only Emmentaler, Gruye\u0300re, and Sbrinz could be produced, so cheesemakers had little need for marketing. When the union dissolved due to corruption charges<\/a>, makers of those cheeses had to compete for the first time in an open marketplace, find niches, and rebuild their reputations.<\/p>\n
\nof their products, but they don\u2019t like to talk about it. \u201cI think we are too humble, almost,\u201d Hostettler says.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nVacherin Fribourgeois<\/a><\/em><\/center><\/p>\nTasting Notes<\/h3>\n