Emmentaler
Emmentaler is a hard cheese that originally comes from Switzerland and is now produced in various variants around the world. It contains 45 percent fat in the dry matter . In Germany it is also known colloquially as Swiss cheese .
history
Until the beginning of the 19th century, the cheese was traditionally made in the Emmental from raw milk and in loaves of 70 to 120 kilograms. Today Emmentaler is produced in most cheese-producing countries.
Since 1996, the Emmental de Savoie and Emmental français est-central varieties have been listed as products with a protected geographical indication in the Database of Origin and Registration .
It is often mentioned that the Swiss Cheese Union failed to protect the Emmentaler name. It should be noted that the basis for trademark protection in Europe was laid in 1882 - however, Emmentaler was already being produced outside of Switzerland at that time . The cheese union was not founded until 1920. Efforts at that time to protect the name were apparently unsuccessful. Today, the name Emmentaler or Emmental is used around the world for various cheeses, some of which - apart from the holes - differ greatly from the original.
An application by the Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture in 2004 to protect the designation “Emmentaler” as a designation of origin garnered objections from France to Finland , but the Swiss Federal Court decided in autumn 2006 that the Emmentaler should be classified as AOC - today AOP - ( protected designation of origin ) is entered. A project of the EU Commission has been running since 2010, in which the marketing and sales of the "Allgäu Emmentaler" are being promoted under the term Weltgenusserbe Bayern .
Due to its large holes, this cheese has found its way into expressions such as “holey like Emmentaler” or “holey like Swiss cheese”, which means, for example, that a regulation or a barrier is unsuitable due to numerous exceptions or gaps.
Manufacturing
Depending on the milk used
While silage-free raw milk (→ hay milk ) must be used in Switzerland, the Allgäu and the Bregenzerwald in Vorarlberg , other countries also use thermally treated (> 50 ° C) or pasteurized (72–75 ° C) milk for cheese production . About twelve liters of milk are required for one kilogram of Emmentaler.
Hole formation
The large holes and the aroma are typical of Emmentaler cheese. Both are created during fermentation by propionic acid bacteria , which attach to the fat in the milk, releasing propionic acid and carbon dioxide . The bubbles of carbon dioxide form the holes in the cheese. These arise from tiny hay particles that trigger the formation of gas. The number of holes can be regulated by adding hay dust, as experimental investigations have shown. This also explains why the Emmentaler cheese used to have more holes in winter - the cows stood in the stalls in winter and were fed with hay - and why better hygienic conditions led to a reduction in the number of holes per volume - came because of the better hygiene less hay dust in the cheese. In order to produce the characteristic Emmentaler cheese, in addition to milk, rennet and propionibacteria cultures, hay dust must also be added.
The shape of the holes can give an indication of the quality of ripeness. If they are not round, for example, but extremely oval and very small or large, it can be concluded that they have not ripened, such cheeses then often taste bitter or otherwise unpleasant. In particular, the Emmentaler made from raw milk can be stored for up to 18 months or more and develops a stronger aroma. Emmental cheese that has matured for a long time may have salt crystals or even a "tear" of salty water in the holes.
sorts
Switzerland
The name “Emmentaler” cheese is clearly defined in Switzerland and is reserved for cheeses made from raw milk .
- Emmentaler AOP and Emmentaler Switzerland are protected terms and refer to the original. This type has matured for at least 4 months and therefore longer and is also made from spicier raw milk, so that, depending on the maturation period, it tastes much stronger and hotter than imitations. It is available in different degrees of maturity, cave-matured and also from guaranteed organic cultivation . Only with raw milk, water, table salt, rennet and selected bacterial cultures, without additives, preservatives or GMOs , is Emmentaler AOP still handcrafted and traditionally made in village dairies.
Emmentaler AOP bears the cheese label on one side of the loaf, which is applied during production using a patented process and then fuses with the rind in a forgery-proof manner. The cheese dairy brand shows the "Emmentaler AOP" trademark several hundred times and the operating license number of the dairy that made the loaf. In this way, the Emmentaler AOP can also be traced back in sliced form and from the consumer to the village cheese (directory of the Swiss Emmentaler AOP dairies, see web links).
- Emmentaler Surchoix is matured for at least 4 months, is grainier in its consistency and stronger in its aroma.
- Emmentaler Switzerland Premier Cru matures in a damp (cave) cellar for at least 14 months and was the first Swiss cheese to win the title of best cheese in the world at the World Cheese Championships in Wisconsin (2006) , for which it was awarded a place in the Historical Museum was honored in Bern .
- Special maturations are available in local cheese dairies and specialty shops in Switzerland, especially in the Emmental. These are different Emmentaler AOP varieties that differ in their special affinage (maturation / care) and storage time.
France
- Emmental français est-central
- Emmental de Savoie
Germany
- Allgäuer Emmentaler is the name of a shorter (at least 3 months) matured and therefore milder, nuttier type with a protected designation of origin , which has been cheesed in the Allgäu since the 19th century . It was introduced in the Allgäu by the Swiss master cheese maker Johann Althaus .
- Emmentaler-style hard cheese (formerly “Viereck-Hartkäse”) is the name prescribed in Germany for cheese with typical holes made from pasteurized milk. In Germany, cheese made from pasteurized milk is usually sold in conjunction with the manufacturer's brand name.
Austria
- Höhlentaler is a delicately spicy variant from Austria , the rind of which is dusted with stone flour.
Turkey
Sepet Peyniri from the Turkish city of Balıkesir and its surroundings is a kind of Turkish Emmentaler with the typical holes and also the typical mild, nutty taste. The color is rather light beige compared to the Emmentaler made in Switzerland or Germany.
Hungary
Pannónia has not been called “Emmental” since 1981. The cheese had previously been sold under the name Ementáli sajt since 1908 . Pannónia only ripens for 8-10 weeks. It is more yellow and has bigger holes than the AOP Emmentaler.
Web links
- www.emmentaler.ch
- Directory of Swiss cheese factories for Emmentaler AOP
- Emmentaler in the database of Swiss culinary heritage
- Agroscope : Emmentaler Switzerland
Individual evidence
- ^ Entry on Emmental de Savoie in the Database of Origin and Registration (DOOR) of the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Commission .
- ^ Entry on Emmental français est-central in the Database of Origin and Registration (DOOR) of the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Commission .
- ↑ Daniel Lingenhöhl: How do the holes really get into the cheese? Spektrum.de, May 28, 2015, accessed on May 28, 2015 .
- ^ Dominik Guggisberg et al .: Mechanism and control of the eye formation in cheese. International Dairy Journal Volume 47, August 2015, Pages 118–127, March 20, 2015, accessed May 28, 2015 .