When it comes to cheese varieties the French can claim 365 cheeses, Italy over 400, but the real champions seem to be the Swiss; according to some sources the little landlocked Alpine country has over 450 different varieties to offer. It might all be cheesy chest thumping (in all three cases) – after all the distinctions between some cheese sorts are feeble to say the least – but it gives an idea of the cheese-making tradition of these countries. One could ask why there is so little to choose from abroad. You can walk into a European metropolitan supermarket and you'll find tens of French and Italian cheeses (though almost always more of the former) but always the same three-four Swiss ones. Be it London, Berlin or Rome, you'll inevitably see Emmenthaler, Gruyere and maybe one or two between Appenzeller, Tete de Moine and Sbrinz on sale. Where are the other 445?
I suspected that, given Switzerland's size, the best stuff never really gets out of the 26 cantons. After all connecting a country with such a cheese-making tradition mainly with pretty tasteless supermarket Emmenthaler, or even worse its imitations. To test if my idea was right, what could have been better than a little cheese shopping directly on location, exactly what I did on my visit to Zurich a few month's ago. Thanks to my Swiss friend and guest Boris I had a destination, Dettling Kaese-spezialgeschaeft, and at least one cheese to look for, Freiburger Käse (aka Freyburger Vacherin).
If you're thinking gourmet boutique, you're miles away. Dettling is a little shop, with no showy displays of cheese upon cheese, rather little more than a minimalist cheese display, a little refrigerated section for milk and other fresh products and little else. The two old ladies in the shop and the atmosphere reminded me so much of my Italian neighbourhood grocery stores that I had to stop myself from talking Italian instead of German, both foreign languages here (at least German is closer to Schweitzerdeutsch than Italian is). At first I was slightly disappointed, the six or so cheeses on display did not exactly speak for the shop, and they seemed to have no Freiburger, but I have long learned that it is always worth asking for what you're looking for even if it is not there, especially in small old fashioned food shops: you might be surprised. And surprised I was; at my enquiry the lady disappeared into the walk in fridge, which I had at first mistaken for a rear exit, and one after the other a number of cheeses not on display appeared. Dettling might seem a simple grocery store, but it is a hidden gem where you can find some incredible Swiss cheeses, properly ripened cheese as only a real affineur could do.
Eugen Dettling
Käse-Spezialgeschäft
Fröhlichstrasse 49
8008 Zürich/ZH
+41 (0)44 422 35 57
Below are my notes on the cheeses I bought from Dettling, just a little teaser.
Sbrinz
Boris told me the Swiss think Sbrinz is the forefather of Parmigiano and Grana; I don't know if this is historically true, but there are definitely a lot of contact points between these cheeses. The Sbrinz I tasted reminded me in particular of the young Grana that is made in Trentino; the paste is grainy and crumbly, though slightly more elastic than that of Grana or Parmigiano, and the taste is rich, salty and slightly sour, with clear aromas of cream and mountain herbs.
Bergkaese from Ticino
Bergkaese is a general term for cheeses produced on the high alpine pastures during the short period cows spend there. At first look, with its yellow paste and grey mouldy rind, I put it into the category of cheeses, like Tomme de Savoie or Tuma Piemontese, i.e. mellow mountain cheeses with character. I could not have been more wrong. This Bergkaese might not have been the most seducing of the lot but it was definitely a taste roller-coaster: at first it is buttery and mellow, then more salty and piquant leaving at the end intense herbs and mushroom aromas in the mouth.
Gruyere
Among the lot Dettling's Gruyere is probably the only one close to the commercial product available worldwide, which speaks more for the quality of commercial gruyere than against Dettling's cheese. This gruyere had the typical firm but elastic paste of pressed cheeses and a rich creamy aroma with light salty and pleasantly bitter notes.
Freiburger
When I think of my ideal Alpine cheese, something very close to this comes to mind. Boris sure knew what he was saying when he advised me to give it a go. It has a rich buttery taste which is balanced by a slight saltines and the fine but intense aroma which lasts incredibly long. A real world-class cheese.
Emmenthaler
Would a properly ripened Emmenthaler finally dismiss my low opinion of this cheese? Or would I strike Emmenthaler off my cheese list forever? I was quite curious to see how this one would fare. Simply put, if all Emmenthaler imitations would taste like this, the world would be a happier place: rich and incredibly aromatic, with the typical bitter notes stronger but at the same time much more rounded than in any other Emmenthaler I had before. A real surprise.
The reason that Emmentaler outside of Switzerland is often lackluster is probably because of two reasons: the properly aged ones aren't sold, and there are so many Emmentaler (aka Swiss Cheese) imitations. I have seen Emmentaler that is so young and bland that it's like plastic sold in the U.S., such as at the famed allegedly gourmet supermarket chain Whole Foods.
Sbrinz is a lovely cheese - it's often served shaved into very thin slices, sort of like pencil shavings.
Posted by: maki | March 04, 2006 at 10:29 PM
Even for a Swiss person, this is really nice and interesting to read.
Next time you are in Switzerland, check out the city of Luzern and the following cheese store:
CHÄS BARMETTLER
HERTENSTEINSTR. 2
6004 LUZERN
SCHWEIZ
Tel. +41 (0) 41 410 21 88
Plus, the food market in Luzern takes place every Tuesday and Saturday. I always buy my Sbrinz from a old man, who makes his own cheese up in the mountains - can't be better.
Posted by: Bettina | March 05, 2006 at 12:00 PM
Ciao Alberto,
Thanks for writing about this!! I have been living in Switzerland for seven years and I think I have tried every cheese I could get my hands on and as far as I am concerned the finest cheese in Switzerland is the aged Berg Käse, different from Alp Käse in that Alp Käse encompasses a much wider definition of cheese. Berg Käse is only from the very highest pastures and almost none of it ever makes it out of here. The best are a couple of years old. The flavor varied wildly but it is all exceptional. Every Fall we have Chästeilets (cheese festivals that are really worth the trip...here is more info:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/foodswitzerland/message/123
http://real.xobix.ch/ramgen/sis/2004/dividingcheese.rm?start=0:00:00.0&end=0:01:46.1
Posted by: Ed McGaugh | March 06, 2006 at 11:36 PM
Thanks for this post. We moved to Zurich from Paris about two years ago. I personally dote upon a good aged Gruyere. But still, we have been a bit disappointed by what to us seems like a lack of variety in cheeses here. We're not experts, and haven't researched this a lot, but basically it seems to us like it's mostly hard yellow cheeses here. True, they're more or less elastic, more or less sharp, and have different flavors, but in our view French cheese types vary much more in terms of consistency, color, shape, smell and flavor. Go to a nice restaurant in France and look at the cheese wagon, and part of the appeal is the visual variety it offers.
Posted by: Astrid | March 09, 2006 at 11:52 AM
Thankfully Swiss affineur Rolf Beeler has done a lot for the quality of export Swiss cheeses. In New York we have the luxury of the finest Hoch Ybrig, Gruyere, and Prattigauer, to name a few, thanks to the Beeler touch...
Any New Yorkers reading this should visit the Artisanal Bistro to buy the very best.
Posted by: Nadia | March 09, 2006 at 09:29 PM
Maki, I pretty much agree with the reasons for poor Emmenthaler, though I must admit that I've had some fantastic French fermier Emmenthaler. Not all imitations are that bad... not that the French would admit that their cheese is an imitation ;-). Definitely with you regarding Sbrinz!
Bettina, thank you for the kind words and for the tip. I'm not often in Luzern, but next time I'll definitely bring your tips with me.
Ed, thanks for the info, might be the chance to plan another Swiss trip! BTW, are you still in Piemonte?
Posted by: Alberto | March 10, 2006 at 05:14 PM
Astrid, I think one has to consider that which the French call terroir when thinking about cheese, just as one would do when thinking about wine. France has a wide varietiy of terroirs, which produce a wide variety of cheeses: you just need to think of Normandy pastures, Alpine ones, those in the Pyrenees and so on. Each has different pastures, a different socio-political history and a different farm animal tradition. With that in mind France's many different cheese kinds are not a surprise.
On the other hand, while the difference between Swiss cheeses might be minimal at times, it is surprising how many valleys have managed to develop a peculiar and unique tradition in a land which geografically does not have such huge differences. For me that is a sign of a profound love for cheese and I like that a lot.
Nadia, thanks for the tip for the NYers!
Posted by: Alberto | March 10, 2006 at 05:25 PM
You are right, the Swiss deserve credit for the variety they have. I'll try to become more knowledgeable about Swiss cheeses during my stay here in Switzerland!
Posted by: Astrid | March 11, 2006 at 10:57 AM
Great article. I always thought France had more ... maybe it's because I grew up with a Paris-born mother. ;) Thanks for all the info!
Posted by: Cate O'Malley | March 11, 2006 at 03:07 PM
>>Ed, thanks for the info, might be the chance to plan another Swiss trip! BTW, are you still in Piemonte?<<
Ciao Alberto,
We are back and forth between here and the Piemonte. Either way come on down!!!! We would love to see you again!!!
Edorovio
Posted by: Ed McGaugh | March 11, 2006 at 11:04 PM
>>On the other hand, while the difference between Swiss cheeses might be minimal at times, it is surprising how many valleys have managed to develop a peculiar and unique tradition in a land which geographically does not have such huge differences. For me that is a sign of a profound love for cheese and I like that a lot.<<
Valleys??? You have to come down for a local Chäseteilet and you will see the huge differences between cheeses made within 500 meters of each other.
Posted by: Ed McGaugh | March 11, 2006 at 11:20 PM
I never knew anything about Swiss cheeses other than emmenthaler of which, like you, I am not a big fan. Now I'll have to check some out! And it's so true about Artisanal in NYC--they have an amazing cheese selection, though I've only ever had their French cheeses. Next time I'll check out some of their Swiss ones.
Posted by: Lady Amalthea | March 13, 2006 at 01:14 AM
The Cheese are WOW!!!!!!!!!! I made cottage cheese sometimes lol
Posted by: Tony-Bachelor cooking | March 25, 2006 at 09:49 AM
One of the things I like about Whole Foods Market and Trader Joes here in the US is that I can get raclette--a cheese that I must have eaten once a week when we lived in Germany. When I'd go to Switzerland on vacation, I'd make sure to get raclette with whatever accompaniments were available--potatoes, bacon, pickle, mushroom. I'll have to try some different cheeses at TJ's - "expand my horizons" now that I've read your post. Thanks for all the great info.
Posted by: Cyndi | April 14, 2006 at 07:00 AM
Berg kase, Alp kase, Beeler Vacherin Fribourg, Sbrinz, Gruyere, Emmenthaler, Seelisberger, Wildmannli, Prattigauer, all the Barmettler and Beeler soft ripened gems and stinkers blah blah blah blog blog blog. No trips to Switzerland necessary (but deeply..i mean deeply.. dreamt about)All these at a tiny shop in a former girdle factory in Brooklyn NY. God bless the Swiss...and the savvy folks who get it to us...you're the best Charlotte. Do I still owe u that 70 bucks now...hah
Posted by: chuck e cheese | May 23, 2006 at 06:42 AM