Tuesday’s Cupful: The Other Swiss Cheeses

A variety of ways to slice it

We’ve already discussed one variety of Swiss cheese known as Gruyere in a previous post. Emmental cheese (aka Emmentaler and Emmenthaler) is another famous Swiss cheese that originated in the Emmental Valley of Switzerland. The Swiss have been making this variety of cheese since the late 13th century. Expect Emmental cheese to taste buttery and slightly fruity in flavor. Emmental also has a denser texture, lower fat-content, and tastes sharper than Gruyere. Swiss cheeses made by U.S. manufacturers are usually made in mass quantities, are aged for only four months, and only mimic the flavor and characteristics of authentic Swiss cheese. Consequently, Americans may be accustomed to using the term “Swiss cheese” to describe almost any pale yellow cheese with different-size holes scattered throughout its slices.