The Cheeses of the Swiss Alps
True Swiss cheese comes from the Alps, where cows graze the high summer pastures and the milk becomes cheese that can outlast a mountain winter. The American deli "Swiss," full of holes, is really Emmentaler, the oldest and largest of these cheeses. Around it stand the rest of the Swiss greats: Gruyère, dense and nutty; Appenzeller, washed in herbs until it turns pungent; Tête de Moine, shaved into delicate rosettes; and raclette, the one you melt by the fire. What they share is the alpine signature, a firm and elastic body and a flavor that runs from sweet cream to browned butter.
Provenance matters here. Most of these wheels carry the AOP seal, Switzerland's protected-origin mark, which ties a cheese to its region and traditional method much as France's AOC does. The makers are names worth knowing: Emmi and its cave-aged Kaltbach label, the affineur Gourmino, and Mifroma's cellar-aged raclette. igourmet cuts and wraps many of them to order and has imported cheese this way, direct from the source, since 1997, so what reaches you still tastes of the alpine pasture it came from.
Gruyère, Emmentaler, Appenzeller, and Raclette
If you only know one Swiss cheese, it is Gruyère: firm, dense, and deeply savory, with a sweet nuttiness that turns more caramelized as it ages. It melts without going greasy, which is why it belongs in a fondue and crowns a French onion soup. Emmentaler is the mellow one, mild and buttery, with the holes that made "Swiss cheese" famous; those eyes form from gas as the cheese ferments. Appenzeller is the bold one, scrubbed during aging with a herb-and-wine brine whose recipe stays a guarded secret. The result is pungent and fruity, with a tang you do not forget.
Raclette is the melting cheese, semi-firm and gently nutty, meant to be warmed until it slumps and scraped over potatoes. Tête de Moine, "the monk's head," is too intense to slice; instead you shave it into frilly rosettes with a tool called a girolle, which softens the punch and lets its aroma open up. When you want a cheese for grating and long keeping, the firm aged styles are the ones to reach for, a well-aged Gruyère dense enough to shave over pasta or a gratin.
Fondue, Raclette, and the Art of Melting
Switzerland gave the world two of its great communal meals, and both turn on melted cheese. Fondue is the national dish, and it blends Gruyère and Emmentaler, with Appenzeller often joining them, plus white wine and a splash of kirsch into a pot you gather around with cubes of bread. Our Swiss fondue set portions the classic cheeses in the right ratios, so the evening is mostly a matter of warming and stirring. Raclette is the other ritual: a half-wheel warmed at the table, the molten face scraped onto boiled potatoes, cornichons, and pickled onions.
What makes these cheeses melt so cleanly is the alpine aging behind them, which gives an even, elastic body that turns silky over heat instead of stringy or oily. Off the stove they are just as good on a board or in the kitchen: Gruyère in a gratin or quiche, Emmentaler in a grilled cheese or croque monsieur, raclette over roasted vegetables. A Swiss white, a dry Riesling, or a light Pinot Noir all pour well alongside.
Serving and Storing Swiss Cheese
Swiss cheese tastes best at room temperature, so unwrap it and let it sit for half an hour before serving to bring out the nutty, sweet notes the cold keeps hidden. These are firm, hardy cheeses that travel and keep well. To store them, keep each piece wrapped in the refrigerator; breathable cheese storage bags hold a cut cheese better than plastic wrap, letting it breathe without drying out. Well-aged Gruyère and Emmentaler will keep for weeks this way, and a hard piece that dries a little at the edge is still ideal for grating.
Also Worth Exploring
This collection is one corner of a much larger cheese counter, so the gourmet cheese collection is the place to wander next, more than 550 specialty cheeses from cheddars to blues. To set a full Swiss table, the Swiss food and ingredients collection gathers the fondue sets, raclette assortments, and air-dried Bündnerfleisch that complete the meal. And for everyday grazing, the crackers and crisps collection gives these alpine cheeses something crisp to sit on.
Swiss Cheese: Frequently Asked Questions
Swiss cheese, properly speaking, is any of the traditional cheeses made in Switzerland, a group that includes Emmentaler, Gruyère, Appenzeller, raclette, and Tête de Moine. In the United States, "Swiss cheese" has also come to mean the pale, holey sandwich cheese sold at the deli counter, and that one is specifically Emmentaler, or an imitation of it. So all Emmentaler is Swiss cheese, but Swiss cheese is a much bigger family than the holey block most Americans picture. The cheeses in this collection are the authentic Swiss originals, cut and wrapped to order.
Alpine cheese refers to the mountain cheeses of the Alps, made across Switzerland, France, Italy, and Austria from the milk of cows that graze high summer pastures. They are typically large wheels, aged for months, with a firm body and a flavor that moves from sweet and grassy toward toasted nuts and broth. Swiss cheeses are the heart of this tradition: Gruyère, Emmentaler, and Appenzeller are all classic alpine cheeses, and French cousins like Comté and Beaufort belong to the same mountain family. If you are looking for cheese from the Alps, this is where to start.
The main types are Emmentaler, the original holey "Swiss"; Gruyère, the firm, nutty fondue cheese; Appenzeller, pungent from its herbal brine; raclette, the great melting cheese; Tête de Moine, shaved into rosettes; and Sbrinz, a very hard grating cheese. As for brands, much Swiss cheese is sold under the name of a respected dairy or affineur rather than a supermarket label. Names to look for include Emmi and its cave-aged Kaltbach line, the award-winning affineur Gourmino, and Mifroma, known for cellar-aged raclette. The protected-origin AOP seal is your other guarantee of the real thing.