🇨🇭 Swiss cheeses

Cheeses of Switzerland are the cheeses made in Switzerland, mostly from the cow's milk of Alpine and pre-Alpine pastures. The country is known for large hard wheels that ripen for months, and many varieties are still made from raw, unpasteurised milk in village dairies.

The cheese regions stretch from west to east. The canton of Fribourg makes Gruyère and Vacherin fribourgeois; the Emme valley in the canton of Bern gave its name to Emmental, with its large holes; Central Switzerland makes the extra-hard Sbrinz. Tête de Moine, shaved into rosettes, comes from the Bernese Jura; the canton of Vaud makes L'Etivaz and the soft Vacherin Mont-d'Or; Valais makes Walliser Raclette. In the east, Appenzeller and Tilsiter are popular cheeses without AOP status.

Cheesemaking in the Gruyère region is traced back to 1115, while Agroscope dates Emmental to the Emme valley of the 13th century; the first valley dairies, from about 1815, spread it beyond the canton of Bern. Today about 32,000 tonnes of Emmentaler AOP are made a year. Gruyère AOP must be at least 5 months old and Emmentaler AOP 4 months; silage is banned for both. ⁴⁵⁶⁷

The milk is almost always cow's milk; goat's and sheep's milk cheeses are made in small batches. Summer cheeses are made right on the mountain pastures: Berner Alpkäse, Glarner Alpkäse and Formaggio d'alpe ticinese.

Switzerland is not in the EU and keeps its own national AOP/IGP register at the Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG/BLW). It lists 12 cheeses, all with AOP status (protected designation of origin); no cheese is registered as IGP. Switzerland and the EU recognise each other's protected names.

How to choose and serve. Buy hard cheeses cut from the wheel and check the ripening age. Classic fondue mixes Gruyère and Vacherin fribourgeois; for raclette, the cut face of the wheel is melted and served with jacket potatoes and gherkins. Tête de Moine is shaved with a girolle, and Sbrinz is broken into chunks to go with wine.

Swiss cheese or Gruyère and Emmental? Emmental, with its large holes, is one Swiss cheese among many, and Gruyère and Sbrinz are dense with few or no holes, so “Swiss cheese” does not describe one type. Switzerland is outside the EU and keeps its own AOP register at the Federal Office for Agriculture, listing 12 cheeses and no IGP; the EU and Switzerland recognise each other’s protected names. Appenzeller is famous but has no AOP.

Look for the Swiss AOP mark (protected designation of origin) and the full name, such as “Gruyère AOP” or “Emmentaler AOP”. AOP means milk, cheesemaking and ripening are tied to a defined region. Buy hard cheeses cut from the wheel and check the ripening age: Gruyère AOP at least 5 months, Emmentaler AOP at least 4. Appenzeller and Tilsiter are popular but have no AOP. Find them at a supermarket cheese counter or a delicatessen.

Why this matters to you: the AOP mark on a Swiss cheese means the milk, cheesemaking and ripening are tied to a defined region, so you know what you are buying and can pick the right cheese for fondue, raclette or a cheese board.