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Swiss cheese
Swiss cheese
	Swiss cheese
Source of milk	Cows
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The term "Swiss cheese" is one used of any variety of cheese that resembles Emmental cheese, a yellow, medium-hard cheese that originated in the area around Emmental, Switzerland. It is classified as a Swiss-type or Alpine cheese. The term is generic; it does not imply that the cheese is actually made in Switzerland. Some types of Swiss cheese have a distinctive appearance, as the blocks or rounds of the cheese are riddled with holes known as "eyes". Cheese without eyes is known as "blind".^[1]

"Swiss cheese" is now produced in many countries, including the United States, Finland, Estonia, and Ireland. It is sometimes made with pasteurized or part-skim milk, unlike the original from Switzerland made with raw milk.^[2] The United States Department of Agriculture uses the terms Swiss cheese and Emmentaler cheese interchangeably.^[3]^[4] In Australia, both terms are used, along with Swiss-style cheese, in some cases differentiating the two.^[5]^[6] The term Swiss cheese is sometimes used in India,^[7] although it is also often referred to as Emmental.

Production

Three types of bacteria are used in the production of Swiss cheese: Streptococcus thermophilus,^[8] Lactobacillus (L. helveticus or L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus), and Propionibacterium (Propionibacterium freudenreichii subsp. shermani).^[9] In a late stage of cheese production, the propionibacteria consume the lactic acid excreted by the other bacteria and release acetate, propionic acid, and carbon dioxide gas. The carbon dioxide slowly forms the bubbles that develop the "eyes".^[10] The acetate and propionic acid give Swiss its nutty and sweet flavor.^[11] A hypothesis proposed by Swiss researchers in 2015 notes that particulate matter may also play a role in the holes' development and that modern sanitation, which eliminated debris such as hay dust in the milk, played a role in reduced hole size in Swiss cheeses, or even "blind cheese".^[12]^[13] Historically, the holes were seen as a sign of imperfection and cheese makers originally tried to avoid them by pressing during production; the holes only became an identifier of the cheese in modern times.^[14]

In general, the larger the eyes in a Swiss cheese, the more pronounced its flavor because a longer fermentation period gives the bacteria more time to act.^[15] This poses a problem, because cheese with large eyes does not slice well and comes apart in mechanical slicers. As a result, U.S. industry regulators have reduced the minimum eye size with which Swiss cheese can receive the Grade A stamp.^[16]

Typical annual production of Swiss cheese in the United States is approximately 330 million pounds (150 kt).^[17]

Variants

Baby Swiss and Lacy Swiss are two varieties of American Swiss cheeses. Both have small holes and a mild flavor. Baby Swiss is made from whole milk, and Lacy Swiss is made from low fat milk.^[18] Baby Swiss was developed in the mid-1960s outside of Charm, Ohio, by the Guggisberg Cheese Company, owned by Alfred Guggisberg.^[19]

References

^ The Nibble. Cheese Glossary. See the asterisked footnote at the very bottom of that page Thenibble.com
^ Everything you need to know about Swiss cheese by Erica Marcus, Newsday, July 23, 2014, accessed March 25, 2020
^ Swiss Cheese, Emmentaler Cheese Grades and Standards, U.S. Department of Agriculture, accessed March 25, 2020
^ How to Buy Cheese, U.S. Department of Agriculture (1971), p. 15
^ How to Make Swiss Cheese, Country Brewer, accessed March 25, 2020
^ Valerie Pearson. Home Cheese Making in Australia: Simple Recipes You Can Make at Home, 2nd edition, unpaged, Chapter 4, "Eye Cheeses"
^ Why do some types of cheese have holes, Times of India, July 13, 2019, accessed March 25, 2020
^ "Validation of the Publication of New Names and New Combinations Previously Effectively Published Outside the IJSB: List No. 54". International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology. 45 (3): 619–620. July 1995. doi:10.1099/00207713-45-3-619.
^ Swiss Cheese Niche. Microbewiki.kenyon.edu
^ A bacterium used in the production of Emmental. Genoscope. 16 January 2008. Genoscope.cns.fr. See the "Activities in cheese" section.
^ Making Swiss Cheese. David B. Fankhauser, PhD. Professor of Biology and Chemistry. University of Cincinnati Clermont College
^ Swiss cheese hole mystery solved: It's all down to dirt. BBC (28 May 2015). Retrieved 31 May 2015.
^ Nicola Twilley (10 June 2015). "How Does Swiss Cheese Get Its Holes?". The New Yorker. Retrieved 10 June 2015. Switzerland's cheese-blindness epidemic seems to have been caused by excessively clean milk.
^ Scientific American Cheese Story, August 2010, p. 33
^ Swiss Cheese Niche. Microbewiki.kenyon.edu
^ Swiss Cheese.Professorshouse.com See the eighth paragraph.
^ Dairy Products 2020 Summary (PDF). United States Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service. April 2021. p. 37. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
^ Swiss Cheese. Recipetips.com
^ George Zimmermann, Carol Zimmermann (24 November 2009). Ohio Off the Beaten Path. Globe Pequot. p. 58. ISBN 9780762761678.