Cheese production in Switzerland

Traditional cheese making

The Cheeses of Switzerland has a long tradition. Around 450 different types of cheese are currently produced. The Switzerland is and abroad. a. also for their cheese z. B. Emmentaler known.

In 2019, 195,114 tons of cheese were produced, mostly Le Gruyère AOP, followed by mozzarella , Emmentaler AOP and Swiss raclette cheese.

history

The cheese-making is in the Swiss Alps and in Jura since the Middle Ages an important source of income. Already around the year 1000 it is mentioned that Schabziger was delivered to the Säckingen monastery as a tithe by Glarus farmers . Gruyère was mentioned in a document in 1115, and around 1200 Emmental and Sbrinz .

During the Little Ice Age , the cultivation of grain at higher altitudes fell sharply and cheese temporarily became the main food of mountain farmers. From the 15th century onwards, cheese exports increased and also played a major role in the relations between central Switzerland and Zurich . In the 17th century, exports from Sbrinz on the Gotthard and Grimsel-Simplon routes to Lugano , Milan and Varese flourished in central Switzerland . In the Emmental , cheese production increased at the same time, due to the inheritance law of the Ultimogenitur , as a result of which the older brothers often devoted themselves to the dairy as cows .

In the 19th century, in addition to the alpine dairies, there were also cheese dairies in the valley, which were mostly operated by cooperatives . In his novel Die Käserei in der Vehfreude , published in 1850, Jeremias Gotthelf describes the development of such a cheese dairy in the Emmental together with the social changes that resulted in the peasantry. As milk buyers increasingly Wholesaler from the stepped plains on the so-called cheese masters . Swiss cheese became an export hit even outside of Europe.

Due to agricultural tariffs, exports fell sharply in the 20th century and came to a standstill in the First World War . The Swiss Cheese Union was founded as a self-help organization , which achieved a market regime under federal supervision for the main Swiss hard cheeses. As a result, Swiss cheese was managed by the state. After the Second World War , exports were subsidized, which in the 1990s resulted in costs of several hundred million francs a year, which were borne by the state treasury.

In the 21st century, Swiss cheese producers were forced to assert themselves in the free world market, which resulted in a greater emphasis on quality. Ten types of Swiss cheese received the AOC seal, and organic cheese production was increased. Numerous new varieties were created, often in small, local cheese dairies. Due to the bilateral agreements between Switzerland and the European Union , trade in cheese between Switzerland and the EU has been duty-free since June 1, 2007.

Although there has been a concentration of milk and cheese producers in recent years, there is also an opposing trend towards the production of specialties, especially in the organic sector. Many cheeses are still made by small and very small businesses, e.g. B. Alpine cheese from individuals in the alpine pastures , mostly using traditional methods.

Advertising campaign Swiss Cheese Lab à la Cremerie de Paris

In September 2012 the Association of Swiss Cheese Producers organized an unusual advertising campaign with an exhibition in Paris in the Cremerie de Paris exhibition center , which was a well-known cheese shop in the Quartier des Halles in Paris from 1870 to 1970 . The exhibition was accompanied by various events, including cheese cooking courses by the chef Jean Charles Karmann.

The exhibition was followed by numerous newspaper articles and a report by the famous Michelin Guide .

The exhibition was a novel way of promoting cheese through a somewhat unusual exhibition.

Swiss cheeses

→ Main article : List of cheeses from Switzerland

AOC and AOP

See also : "Cheese" in the article Swiss foods with protected origins

Some Swiss cheeses are protected as AOC ( Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée ) or AOP (Appellation d'Origine Protégée, German: GUB, protected designation of origin):

• Berner sliced ​​cheese AOC
• Emmentaler AOC
• Formaggio d'Alpe Ticinese (Ticino alpine cheese) AOC
• Glarner Alpkäse , AOP
• Le Gruyère AOC
• L'Etivaz AOC
• Sbrinz AOC
• Tete de Moine AOC
• Vacherin Fribourgeois AOC
• Vacherin Mont-d'Or AOC
• Valais raclette AOC
• Valais raclette sliced ​​cheese AOC
• Valais raclette semi-hard cheese AOC

Other Swiss cheeses

• Appenzeller
• Bündner mountain cheese
• Girenbader Chöpfli
• Schabziger
• (other) Raclette Suisse
• Tilsiter Switzerland
• Tomme Vaudoise
• Winemaker's cheese

No additives

The Swiss cheese manufacturers' industry code, which has been in force since November 2002, prohibits the use of artificial additives. The industry therefore voluntarily refrains from using artificially produced dyes and various antibiotic preservatives whose use - as in the EU - would also be permitted in Switzerland. According to the industry code, the following additives are not permitted in cheese production:

• Individual rennet materials produced using genetic engineering
• Additives to prevent incorrect fermentation: nisin (E 234), lysozyme (E 1105), sodium nitrate (E 251) and potassium nitrate (E 252)
• Additives for coloring the cheese dough: All synthetically produced coloring agents. Natural and nature-identical additives as well as colorings for the cheese rind are permitted.
• Additives as surface treatment agents: Natamycin (E 235)

Web links

Commons : Cheese from Switzerland  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Our Swiss cheese , website of Switzerland Cheese Marketing AG
• cheese.ch , website of the Swiss cooperative of soft and semi-hard cheese manufacturers
• Dominik Sauerländer, Anne-Marie Dubler : Cheese. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Swissmilk: Cheese Country Switzerland
2. ↑ Reto Blunier: Lowest milk production since 2007 . In: schweizerbauer.ch , February 12, 2020, accessed on February 13, 2020.
3. ↑ Bayerischer Rundfunk : February 3, 1815 - Start of commercial cheese processing in Switzerland , February 3, 2020, accessed on February 18, 2020
4. ↑ Federal Office for Agriculture : Consultation on agricultural policy from 2022 (AP22 +). (PDF; 3.5 MB) Explanatory report. In: admin.ch . November 14, 2018, p. 60 (Dairy Supplements) , accessed on January 1, 2020 . 
5. ↑ Swiss Cheese Lab exhibition in the Cremerie de Paris ( Memento of the original from October 3, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
6. ↑ Photos and video about the Swiss Cheese Lab exhibition in Paris - Swiss Cheese Association ( Memento of the original from September 21, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
7. ↑ exhibition of the Association of Swiss cheese in the Cremerie de Paris - Le Parisien
8. ↑ Article about the Swiss Cheese Lab - Do it in Paris ( Memento of the original from August 21, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
9. ^ Expo Swiss Cheese Lab in the Cremerie de Paris - Guide Michelin
10. ^ Protected Glarner Alpkäse , press release from the Federal Office for Agriculture, January 2014
11. ↑ www.schweizerkäse.ch: Without additives
12. ↑ Is Swiss cheese really better? in 20 minutes from July 22, 2016