The mountainous Switzerland produces a unique Gruyere cheese with a unique taste and aroma. It is its taste and production stages that are considered the benchmark for imitation, and millions of fans around the world maintain the proud title of the leader among cheeses.

On the instructions of the editors, I go to the quiet Swiss canton of Friborg, because Gruyère cheese, and in French it is pronounced with an accent on the last syllable Gruyère, is produced here, in the district of Gruyères, after which it got its name.

Autumn is perhaps the best time to visit mountain cheese dairies. Small two-story chalets proudly rise at the foot of the mountains, here and there you can see the families of farmers busy with work, tired cows, jingling heavy Swiss bells, idly looking around, calmly chewing on the green grass. A real leisurely idyll of high-tech agriculture!

Gruyere is produced in such small family-owned cheese dairies. Here fresh milk is obtained and young cheese is produced with a dense yellow body without holes, which has a slightly pungent aroma and a bright slightly nutty taste.

Since 2001, Gruyere has been awarded the AOC mark, which means the status of a controlled origin product. Now Gruyere can only be called the cheese that was produced in the canton of Friborg and some cantons in the neighborhood according to a specific recipe and regulated technologies.

For the production of cheese, only fresh milk is used, collected from the surrounding farms. Further, like many years ago, milk is poured into a round copper vat and heated to 34 ° C. The starter culture made on the basis of rennet is also placed there. The milk is curdled and divided into a rapidly hardening mass - future cheese, and whey. Intensive stirring with a special device with stretched strings divides the curd mass into small-sized fragments-grains. Then it is heated at a temperature of about 50-55 ° C. The entire process described takes no more than 2 hours.

The readiness of the curd is determined by the local cheesemaker, who monitors the heating temperature, evaluates the appearance and takes samples, making a test for elasticity. At the end of the cooking process, the whey is drained, and the cheese mass is placed in special molds. In them, the cheese will be pressed to obtain the desired density, the appearance of the head and the complete removal of the remaining whey. After pressing, each head is placed in a salt bath for a day, this is how Gruyère's salting process takes place. This completes the first stage of production and begins the most important: the cheese is sent to storage for further maturation.

The complexity of the process lies in creating and maintaining certain conditions for proper maturation. The storage should have a cool temperature of about 12-14 ° C, high humidity 94-98% and no harmful microorganisms. The cheese maker regularly checks each batch, rinses their heads with salt water and turns them over. The first ten days this happens daily, then twice a week until the age of three months, and then once a week.

With this care, the rind of the cheese becomes hard and darkens, providing tender cheese protection from the external environment. It is on it that bacteria can settle, so the Gruyere crust is not eaten.

After the first months of ripening, each cheese head is checked and graded. During the same period, guests appeared on the farms - representatives of large producers who bought out young lots of cheese to organize further maturation in their industries. In fact, the interaction between the producer and the farmers is much more intense, the producers finance the receipt and processing of milk, the purchase of equipment and the like, but our article today is about the cheese itself.

So, to select their future cheeses, manufacturers send the most expensive specialists, because the inspection is carried out exclusively by the appearance and aroma of the heads, any cut violates the integrity and is done extremely rarely. In the event of a mistake by specialists and the selection of low-quality samples, the company will not just lose some part of its earnings, but incur huge losses, taking into account lending to farmers and may become bankrupt.

But now the lots have been selected, young cheeses come to their new storage facilities for further maturation. New checks take place here, and the cheeses are divided into streams. Some batches will spend just a few weeks here and will go on sale with a maturation period of 4-5 months with the name “Gruyere Soft”.

Other parties will spend months in storage and delight fans of mature Gruyères. And the most outstanding samples will move to special storage facilities owned only by the most titled producers, and will become cave-aged cheeses.

One of such world producers of cave cheeses is the Emmi concern. His cheeses, ripened in the Kaltbach caves, have become the hallmark and standard of the highest Swiss quality. Even outwardly, such cheeses are easy to distinguish from others: the crust becomes very dark, almost black in color, the cheese body on the cut is dense with small white blotches, the aroma is bright, strong, the crust breathes with dampness, one might say that the spirit of the caves has been preserved in it.

From the first slice, you understand that this cheese really has no analogues: the strong aroma not only does not interfere with tasting, on the contrary, it takes us from the cozy space of our house or restaurant to the times of our ancestors, who learned to create unique hard cheeses from excellent Swiss milk. The body is damp, although firm, but elastic, it lends itself well to slicing. The slices are smooth, plastic, the taste is multifaceted, gradually opening and difficult to describe.

It can be compared to the wonderful scent of expensive selective perfumes, their first notes slowly open, transferring initiative to the middle notes and then to the trail of the entire composition. Likewise, Gruyere, despite the invariably constant quality and taste, is revealed to us in a new way every time.

As already mentioned, Gruyère has fundamentally different flavors and, depending on the time of its ripening, there is a special instruction for buyers about this in the name under the word Gruyère:

• Gruyere doux or soft has a ripening period of 4-5 months
• Gruyere reserve or in translation reserve, premium grade, ripens from 8 months
• Gruyere vieux or old is aged for over a year, often over 1.5 years.

If it so happens that you have not tried not only the cave-aged Gruyère, but also the young Gruyère, we really envy you. Yes, you are not mistaken, we envy and are very happy for you, because very soon you will feel what you once experienced and we, having tried this for the first time amazing cheese... It is impossible to be indifferent to Gruyere, people love him and eagerly want to buy him again, it is impossible to tear himself away from him! He stores in himself all the best that can only be in cheese, this is a pleasure great taste and decoration of any table.

This city is considered the capital of fondue. But fondue would never have appeared without a gruyere. And Gruyere would not have appeared without Gruyere. Does the last sentence sound like gibberish? Then I'll clarify: Gruyere is both cheese and a small town where this cheese was first produced.

But first about the cheese.

The La Maison du Gruyere cheese dairy is located in Gruyere, where the production process of the cheese of the same name can be viewed in a special museum. Admission is paid, but for Switzerland the price that is asked for admission is more than humane, moreover, the ticket price includes several small pieces of cheese of different aging periods. First, you will be offered an exposition that tells about the herbs of the alpine meadows and the cows from whose milk this cheese is obtained. If you are going to those places - I give the address:

La maison du gruyere

After that, you can go to the corridor, separated by glass from the workshop where the cheese is produced. The production process, in general, is not much different from the production of standard cheese. First, the milk is heated to 34 degrees, the sourdough and rennet are added, which separates the whey from the curd.

A special apparatus cuts the curd mass into small pieces and mixes it in whey, which is already subjected to more intense heating. At this time, the curd mass acquires properties that ultimately allow it to become a monolithic whole with the help of presses, which are visible in the right half of the workshop.

After that, large heads of cheese are immersed in the brine, but now, as you can see, the brine is idle: the process of making cheese takes several months, and it is kept in brine only for a day.

The longest stage in the production of Gruyeres is maturation, where it is stored at a certain humidity and temperature, regularly inverted and moistened with brine. The result is a standard Gruyere head weighing about 35 kilograms. This, unfortunately, is not real, otherwise too many would try to pinch off a piece.

There was also a map of Swiss cheeses in the museum, but I am convinced that this is one big hoax. Everyone knows that Switzerland is one of the great cheese powers in Europe, sources mention almost 500 varieties of cheese that are produced here, and this is not in doubt. However, if you dig a little deeper, try to find these 500 varieties - and it turns out that the cheese is there, but it ... is not. Gruyère and a dozen more well-known varieties are on hearing, but you will not find almost any mention of the rest! It's the same story with cheese dairies: they seem to be there, but somewhere out there, and it's impossible to get to them. Compare with France or Italy, where each village has its own kind of cheese, unlike the others! .. Why so - I am at a loss, but I suspect that the beautiful story about Swiss cheese is just a cover for some other cases, about which it is better dont know.

At the very end, of course, there is a shop where you can buy not only cheese, but also ready-made fondue. The most popular type of fondue in these places is called moitie-moitie. This translates roughly as "half-and-half" and refers to the ratio of Gruyeres to Vacheron Friborgois. In addition to cheese, the composition contains wine, a thickener, and you can estimate the price, given that 1 Swiss franc is now approximately equal to 1 US dollar.

You have already seen how Gruyere is made today, but in such copper kettles, cheese was cooked before the industrial revolution.

Having got acquainted with Gruyere, you can take a walk around Gruyere. It is beautiful here: where there are mountains, it is always beautiful.

But it's not just the mountains: Gruyeres turns out to be a small, but very pretty town, and in addition to a castle. The road is paved with cobblestones and leads to the castle, framed by buildings as old as they are beautiful.

Small but cozy church.

At some point, however, all this decorous Middle Ages is rather unceremoniously interrupted by installations in the style of a shocking high-tech.

Here is the museum of the artist Giger, who created costumes for "Alien" and other science fiction films. As I understand it, the inside is about the same, if you are a fan - perhaps you need to go there.

You can go inside the castle, or you can just go around it around the perimeter and look at the views opening at its foot. Nice in places.

In places, usually.

And the castle is powerful!

Here's how. The windows, of course, were only cut open later, after the stronghold lost its strategic importance.

A few more views of the surroundings of Gruyeres and the mountains. The place is pretty, albeit quiet.

However, for many, “quiet” is an advantage, not a disadvantage, and I understand them. An alien, created by the artist Giger, for example, managed to sip on Hollywood fame, but decided to settle here, and apparently for a reason.

In general, if you decide to come to Gruyeres to see the production of cheese, be sure to take a walk.

You will not regret.

Always in the top five

This cheese always hits the top five. It is included in the list of the five best-selling cheese varieties in the world. He is regularly ranked among the best in polls dedicated to the most delicious cheeses... He was mentioned 150 years ago in Dumas' Big Culinary Dictionary: “There is a large number of various cheeses. Brie, Dutch, Gruyere, Livarot, Marole, Camembert, Roquefort, Parmesan are valued the most. " And Dumas knew what he was talking about - after all, he was a gourmet and a noble glutton.

What is Gruyere?

Gruyere - dense hard cheese with a bright, rich taste and a light nutty flavor. The smell is pungent, quite strong. According to the international classification, refer to hard (Hard) cheeses. Gruyeres is a product with a controlled origin: it is produced only by 223 cheese dairies in Switzerland - in the cantons of Friborg (just there is the village of Gruyeres, which gave this cheese its name) Vaud, Neuchâtel, Jura and Bern.

Cheese is made from cow's milk and has several degrees of maturity:
Soft (fr. Doux) - 5 months
Semi-salted (fr.mi-salé) - 7-8 months
Salted (fr. Salé) - 9-10 months
Top grade or reserve (fr. surchoix / réserve) - from 1 year
Old (fr.vieux) - from 15 months
In addition, a special "Alpine" Gruyere is produced - it is made only in summer and only on high-mountain pastures; There are 53 such high-altitude cheese dairies. The dimensions of the Gruyere are standardized - its head should be round and flat (like a wheel), 55-70 cm in diameter and 10-15 cm in height. Such a head weighs (depending on the degree of maturity) 25-35 kg. By the way, in order to make one "wheel" of Gruyere, 400 liters of milk are used.
It is believed that Gruyere cheese was made in the town of the same name as early as 1115. Medieval chronicles refer to the region as a renowned center for cheese production and its inhabitants as experts in cheese making. It is reliably known that already in the Renaissance, cheese from Gruyeres was exported to France and Italy (or rather, to the small states and city republics of which it consisted). The name Gruyere was assigned to this particular type of cheese as early as 1655, when the cheese acquired pan-European fame.

This is what traditional Gruyere production looks like. In this photo - cheese is squeezed.

In 1762, the article "Gruyère" is included in the Dictionary of the French Academy. In the 19th century, the geography of Gruyere production expanded to its current boundaries, and the technology of its manufacture was also fully approved. In 2001, Gruyere is granted the status of a product of controlled origin (AOC, Gruyere website: www.gruyere.com).

How is Gruyere eaten?

First, the numbers: the fat content of Gruyere is up to 53%, and 100 grams of this cheese contains 398 kilocalories. How to use all this wealth?
Gruyere can be eaten on a sandwich or as a dessert (with nuts, fruit and red wine - ideally from Burgundy). It is also (especially more matured) quite capable of replacing Parmesan in sauces, salads, soups and pasta.

Fondue set 🙂

Suitable for baked or fried vegetables. It is very good to bake Gruyere on a toast (even in the oven, even in a frying pan); he is perfect in classic French onion soup... And, of course, gruyere is one of the traditional foundations for fondue.

The phrase "Swiss cheese" has long been entrenched in the mind as an elite, best cheese High Quality... Few cheeses can boast such high marks and recognition. Only quality product made according to a strictly fixed technology and with increased control of its observance, can be called Swiss.

What kind of cheese is that?

Such products include Gruyere cheese. Although this cheese has recently received the official name of the Swiss cheese, only since 2001 it rightfully belongs to the class of elite cheeses. It began to be produced in the XI century, after another six centuries they actively returned to this issue and continued to develop the recipe. For this cheese, France and Switzerland fought fiercely, proving that they are the birthplace of this elite product. In 2001, Switzerland was able to obtain AOC status, which provides for strict control of the place of production of this cheese and securing a monopoly.

France also produced Conte and Beaufort cheeses using the same technologies. The French and Swiss versions are distinguished by some details - these are small holes and more delicate texture at French cheeses, while Gruyere should not have holes at all, he belongs to the class of solid.

For its natural taste, calorie content, fat content and unusual notes, Gruyere cheese received the highest award four times at the cheese-makers' competition.

It is possible to call Gruyere cheese only if it was produced in Switzerland and only in the areas of Vaud, Jura, Neuchâtel, Friborg, Bern.

Like almost all Swiss cheeses, it was named after the area where it was produced. You can argue about taste for a long time if you do not know its features. At different times, it can be sweetish, salty, salty, mature and old. Young cheese, about five months old, has a sweetish taste, at eight months - salty, at nine months - ripe, rich nutty-fruity aroma, older than 1 year - old cheese with a rich and more tart taste. It is considered the most valuable, expensive and is called "Reserve" or "Top grade". It belongs to the number of fatty and high-calorie.

Distinctive feature of this product - a subtle nutty-fruity aroma, which at different times manifests itself more or less intensely. Gruyere itself changes its texture over time from softer and more delicate to dense with a more intense tart taste. As noted above, this type of cheese can only be produced in Switzerland. According to strictly controlled technology, 1 kg of cheese is obtained from 12 liters of the best Alpine milk of those very happy cows who graze all day on fertile meadows and eat fresh, rich in nutrients, juicy and young grass.

The manufacturing process begins with collecting morning and evening milk, which is placed in a copper basin. To it is added a ferment from lactic bacteria and rennet (extract from the stomach of a calf, containing the necessary enzymes) and at a temperature of +34 degrees this mixture is maintained until curd and whey are formed. Further, with special knives, cottage cheese is chopped to the size of a rice grain, which subsequently gives it a unique structure and taste. After that, the temperature is raised to +54 degrees and the mass is languished until tender, determining it by sticking and consistency. According to the technology, this time is about 45 minutes.

After obtaining the required consistency, the whey is drained, and the base for the future cheese is pressed in special molds with a brand name under a pressure of 900 kg for about 20 hours. Next, the cheese heads are soaked in saline solution of 22% concentration for about a day, while the product receives about half of the required salt. Now you need to wait for it to ripen. It should mature in conditions as close as possible to basements. After all, it is they who provide the cheese with such a consistency, structure and taste.

Air humidity is permissible within 95–97%, temperature - + 13– + 14 degrees Celsius. The heads must be periodically turned over and rubbed with salt. It is at this time that a brown crust-shell forms on the cheese. The heads are formed with a diameter of 55–65 cm, the weight of the cheese reaches 25–40 kg. Therefore, it goes on sale cut into wedge-shaped pieces.

In principle, such a product can be consumed in a month, but according to technology, it will still be possible to eat it after five months of ripening. The fact is that after five months of ripening, young cheese undergoes strict quality control selection and only then goes on sale. Most of them are left to ripen further. The older the cheese, the fatter and more nutritious it is.

In Europe, this cheese is often used with varying degrees of ripening in the preparation of many dishes. But nevertheless, according to the recipe, the real Gruyere is a hard cheese, the ripening period of which is more than one year.

Composition and calorie content

The elite and popularity of this cheese is determined not only by its recipe, but also by its composition. The value of this product is determined by the freshness and naturalness of the milk used in its preparation. This means that all enzymes and nutrients are not destroyed in such a way. heat treatment... That is, it contains milk, beneficial bacteria from lactic acid culture, enzymes from the calf stomach (abomasum) and salt.

However, this cheese is quite high-calorie and fatty. 100 g of the product contains 396 kcal, 27 g of protein, 31 g of fat, 0 g of carbohydrates, which means that it is quickly satiated with this product.

Benefit and harm

The composition of Gruyere cheese speaks of its benefits. These are enzymes, milk fat, trace elements, minerals, vitamins A, B, D, E, K, PP. It is noteworthy that such a product contains about 9 times more nutrients than in the milk that is used to make it. Cheese is rich in vitamins A, P, retinol, B1, B2, B4, B5, B6, B9, B12, D, E, K. And also its constant companions are macroelements: K Ca, Mg, Na, P and trace elements: zinc , phosphorus, iron, manganese, selenium, copper.

The naturalness of the product provided it with essential carbohydrates, nonessential and essential amino acids, saturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fats.

Thanks to such a rich content, such benefits of Gruyere cheese are obvious as:

• strengthens joints and bones;
• improves immunity;
• quickly restores the strength of the sick, elderly, athletes;
• replenishes energy reserves during physical exertion;
• fights depression, insomnia, nervous conditions;
• increases the level of hemoglobin in the blood;
• fights caries, strengthens teeth;
• increases pressure.

Due to the high level of calcium in the product, it is indispensable for smokers, whose absorption of calcium in the body deteriorates with age. And also it will be useful for lactating and pregnant women. It will help athletes recover from exercise and provide additional energy for the body. However, not all natural products are created equal for everyone.

This cheese is not recommended for people with high blood pressure, acute or chronic pyelonephritis, and those who are allergic to dairy products. It is not recommended for overweight people, because it is quite fatty and high in calories.

Important! Real Gruyère cheese is produced only in Switzerland, but due to the high price (from £ 30 per 1 kg), it rarely hits the table of the Russian consumer. The price in stores ranges from 200 to 400 rubles per 200 grams of the product.

Varieties and popular brands

Le Gruyère Switzerland AOC Alpage is very popular. The peculiarity of this variety is that it is made only from Alpine milk from free-range cows. It is produced in small quantities and in smaller heads. The Belarusian manufacturer Postavy Gorodok took a chance and developed an analogue of the Swiss elite product. Belarusian cheeses have long been known to consumers as high quality, natural and very tasty. And this time they used new high-tech equipment and old recipes in order to become innovators and conquer the Russian market.

Popular Russian brands did not dare to make this cheese, because the technology is very tough, and the aging period of the cheese is long and difficult. The main component in the production is milk, therefore at the plant it undergoes the strictest quality control, is not pasteurized, and this achieves a high similarity of the Belarusian product with the original. According to the reviews of the most demanding buyers of Belarusian Gruyère cheese, it is worth noting that it has nut-fruity notes, its consistency and structure is very similar to the original, has the same fat and calorie content as the original. And therefore deservedly takes first place in the survey of buyers.

Cooking applications

Gruyere cheese is fatty and high in calories, which is an indisputable advantage in the preparation of many dishes in cooking. There are many recipes with its use.

Fondue

The main Swiss and French delicacy using this cheese is fondue. They dip in processed cheese bread, vegetables, gherkins, potatoes, meat and more. They put any ingredient on long, thin forks and dip them in hot cheese sauce. So, to make fondue, you need the following ingredients:

• dry wine - 200 g;
• garlic - a few cloves;
• Gruyere cheese - 250 g;
• Emmental cheese - 250 g;
• vodka - 40 ml;
• lemon juice - 1 tablespoon;
• corn flour - 30-40 g;
• nutmeg and white pepper to taste.

Wine, lemon juice and garlic pressed through a press should be placed in a special fondue bowl and heated. Cheese should be grated and added to the wine when it is quite hot. It is forbidden to boil. It is recommended to use a wooden spatula for stirring. Wait until the cheese melts and then add flour stirred in vodka to the fondue. Stir everything slowly and simmer for about three minutes. Finally, add nutmeg and white pepper. The dish is ready.

The main thing is to observe consistency and proportions. If, nevertheless, the dish is too liquid, it is worth adding a little more flour or starch, and if it is thick - white wine. Cooking should be done in utensils with non-stick coating... The fondue is served hot, so to maintain the temperature, cookware with cheese sauce heated with a candle or a heating pad from below.

Cheese soup with croutons

The French, on the other hand, consider Gruyere cheese indispensable in their classic cheese soup. It perfectly emphasizes the taste and retains the required consistency. For cooking cheese soup with croutons you will need the following ingredients:

• red onion - 400 g;
• leeks - 120 g;
• beef, chicken or other low-fat broth - 1 liter;
• dry wine - 100 ml;
• vegetable oil- 15–20 ml;
• garlic - 1 clove;
• butter- 20 g;
• Gruyere cheese - 50 g;
• bay leaf, thyme, salt, pepper to taste;
• bread croutons.

You need to cut the red onion into thin half rings and the leek into thin strips. It is worth chopping the garlic with a knife or through a press. The thyme leaves must be torn off the stem. Pour vegetable oil into a bowl with a thick bottom, add butter to it. The fire should be small. When the butter is melted, add the red onion, after 5-7 minutes add the leeks. And leave to languish for about 30 minutes.

Next, add garlic, thyme and wine. When the mixture warms up a little, add warm broth. Wait for a simmer, add spices and salt. After boiling, the heat should be reduced to low and cooked for 20-25 minutes. It remains to get the heat-resistant soup bowls, pour the soup into them, put the croutons on top, sprinkle them with cheese and send them to the oven for 5-10 minutes. And that's all, a piece of France will be at every home.

Important! Due to its excellent melting properties and strong viscosity, Gruyere cheese is often added to all kinds of pastas, dressing salads with it, baking pizzas with it, creating recipes for all kinds of casseroles. He is a frequent visitor cheese platter due to its rich and bright taste.

Gruyère cheese (fr. Gruyère) is a traditional Swiss cheese produced in the district of Gruyères (canton Friborg) in Switzerland. This cheese gets its name from the region where it is produced.

Swiss cheese Gruyeres has been produced in the Gruyeres district since 1115. Gradually, the secrets of its production spread beyond its borders in French-speaking Switzerland, but recently Gruyere cheese received an official certificate of control of origin (AOC for short from the French Appellation d'origine contrôlée), which guarantees the quality and authenticity of any Gruyere cheese with the AOC mark.

Such a certificate can only be obtained by agricultural products produced exclusively in a specific area in compliance with regulations and strict rules.

So real Swiss Gruyère cheese is produced only in the cantons of Friborg (in the district of Gruyères), Vaud, Neuchâtel and Jura, as well as in some areas of the canton of Bern. Gruyère cheese received the AOC certificate in 2001 and now the full name of the cheese sounds like Gruyère cheese AOC or AOP (this new abbreviation has appeared since 2011) - when you buy it, pay attention to the presence of these letters on the packaging or on the cheese wheel itself.

Gruyere cheese looks like a circle with golden crust with a diameter of about 50 cm, a height of 9-12 cm and a weight of 25 to 40 kg. The calorie content of Gruyere cheese is 413 kcal.

Gourmets and connoisseurs, as well as professional cheesemakers, call Gruyère cheese a Swiss cheese classic. In fact, this type of cheese can be ranked among the "gold fund" of Swiss cheese making.

Gruyere cheese is distinguished by its appearance and consistency from other similar types of product. The Gruyere cheese mass is dense and almost homogeneous.

It is very rare in Gruyere cheese to find natural holes or, as the people call the result of natural fermentation, "cheese holes".

Gruyere cheese is widely used in cooking. The product is served as an independent snack or dessert. In addition, it is Gruyère that is called the cheese for the famous national Swiss dish Fondue.

Translated from French, the name is worldwide famous dish Fondue sounds like "melted". Fondue is just the case when the name can be used to determine the way a culinary product is prepared. Typically, Gruyere cheese is placed over an open fire in a special fondue container called catnelone.

In addition to Gruyere cheese, garlic, nuts, wine and, in some cases, strong alcoholic drinks... Gruyere cheese is distinguished by its aromatic, spicy and nutty taste at the same time.

Since 2001, Gruyere cheese, like many other authentic Swiss trade marks cheeses are included in the list of products with controlled origin.

How to replace Gruyere cheese in recipes?

If according to the recipe you need Gruyere cheese, but it is not available, then it can be replaced with cheeses that are similar in composition.

Of course, you will not get the exact same flavor as with Gruyere cheese, but it will be very similar. Closest to taste