Welcome back to the Cheese Corner, where to begin our new school year, we’ll be taking a look at Switzerland’s gruyère cheese in and out of fondue.
Originating from Gruyerès, Switzerland as far back as 1150, gruyère is a nutty delight. Outside of fondue, it has a smooth but hard texture and a distinct nutty taste and aftertaste, which, while not as strong, lets the slightly sweet taste linger until you inevitably want to try more. In fondue (in the recipe I used, it was mixed with garlic and dry white wine), its melty texture makes it fantastic to dip bread and apples in, allowing them to share the nutty taste mixed faintly with the wine.
Gruyère strengthens its taste as it ages, with the time frame ranging from six to twenty-four months, but as gruyure.com assures, “The maturation length may vary but the quality always remains outstanding!”
Its creation process begins with cow’s milk being heated in copper vats, into which cultures and rennet are added to coagulate the milk into curds. The curds are then heated up, put into molds, and compressed to get liquids and moistures out. After a full day of being soaked in brine, the lengthy and varied aging process begins.
Like other swiss cheese, gruyère is historically known for the small holes, or “eyes” that appear across its sides, although much less so than emmental, the cheese most commonly associated with “Swiss Cheese.”
While the holes were once thought to be caused by bacteria within the cheese, it was recently discovered that hay dust had been getting onto the cheese’s sides that the bacteria had been forming around. However, holes have become less and less common as farming technology has made it harder for the hay dust to get onto the cheese.
While the recipe I used relied solely on gruyère, it and emmental are often used together in fondue. Gruyère is added to a pot of garlic and dry white wine, and stirred and boiled until ready to be served with bread.
Whether in or out of fondue, or aged for more or less than a year, gruyère guarantees among the best and nuttiest tastes Switzerland’s cows and farmers have to offer.
