Swiss cheese is any variety of

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

that resembles

Emmental cheese Emmental, Emmentaler, or Emmenthal is a yellow, medium-hard cheese that originated in the area around Emmental, in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is classified as a Swiss-type or Alpine cheese. Emmental was first mentioned in written rec ...

, a yellow,

medium-hard cheese There are many different types of cheese. Cheeses can be grouped or classified according to criteria such as length of fermentation, texture, methods of production, fat content, animal milk, and country or region of origin. The method most comm ...

that originated in the area around

Emmental The Emmental ( en, Emme Valley) is a valley in west-central Switzerland, forming part of the canton of Bern. It is a hilly landscape comprising the basins of the rivers Emme and Ilfis. The region is mostly devoted to farming, particularly dair ...

, Switzerland. It is classified as a Swiss-type or Alpine cheese. Some types of Swiss cheese have a distinctive appearance, as the blocks or rounds of the cheese are riddled with holes known as "

eyes Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conve ...

". Swiss cheese without eyes is known as "blind". Swiss cheese is now manufactured in many countries, including the United States, Finland, Estonia, and Ireland. It is sometimes made with

pasteurized Pasteurization or pasteurisation is a process of food preservation in which packaged and non-packaged foods (such as milk and fruit juices) are treated with mild heat, usually to less than , to eliminate pathogens and extend shelf life. T ...

or part-skim milk, unlike the original from Switzerland made with raw milk. The

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

uses the terms Swiss cheese and Emmentaler cheese interchangeably. In Australia, both terms are used, along with Swiss-style cheese, in some cases differentiating the two. The term Swiss cheese is sometimes used in India, although it is also often referred to as Emmental, which is the more common name in Europe.

Production

Three types of bacteria are used in the production of Swiss cheese: ''Streptococcus salivarius'' subspecies ''thermophilus'' (also known as ''Streptococcus thermophilus''), ''

Lactobacillus ''Lactobacillus'' is a genus of Gram-positive, aerotolerant anaerobes or microaerophilic, rod-shaped, non-spore-forming bacteria. Until 2020, the genus ''Lactobacillus'' comprised over 260 phylogenetically, ecologically, and metabolically div ...

'' (''

Lactobacillus helveticus ''Lactobacillus helveticus'' is a lactic-acid producing, rod-shaped bacterium of the genus ''Lactobacillus''. It is most commonly used in the production of American Swiss cheese and Emmental cheese, but is also sometimes used in making other st ...

'' or ''Lactobacillus delbrueckii'' subspecies ''bulgaricus''), and ''

Propionibacterium ''Propionibacterium'' is a gram-positive, anaerobic, rod-shaped genus of bacteria named for their unique metabolism: They are able to synthesize propionic acid by using unusual transcarboxylase enzymes. Its members are primarily facultative par ...

'' ( ''Propionibacterium freudenreichii'' subspecies ''shermani''). In a late stage of cheese production, the propionibacteria consume the

lactic acid Lactic acid is an organic acid. It has a molecular formula . It is white in the solid state and it is miscible with water. When in the dissolved state, it forms a colorless solution. Production includes both artificial synthesis as well as natur ...

excreted by the other bacteria and release

acetate An acetate is a salt formed by the combination of acetic acid with a base (e.g. alkaline, earthy, metallic, nonmetallic or radical base). "Acetate" also describes the conjugate base or ion (specifically, the negatively charged ion called an ...

propionic acid Propionic acid (, from the Greek words πρῶτος : ''prōtos'', meaning "first", and πίων : ''píōn'', meaning "fat"; also known as propanoic acid) is a naturally occurring carboxylic acid with chemical formula CH3CH2CO2H. It is a liqu ...

, and carbon dioxide gas. The carbon dioxide slowly forms the bubbles that develop the "eyes". The acetate and propionic acid give Swiss its nutty and sweet flavor. 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 eliminated debris such as hay dust in the milk played a role in reduced hole size in Swiss cheeses, or even "blind cheese". 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. In general, the larger the eyes in a Swiss cheese, the more pronounced its flavor because a longer

fermentation Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food p ...

period gives the bacteria more time to act. 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. In 2014, 297.8 million pounds of Swiss cheese was reportedly produced in the United States.

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. Baby Swiss was developed in the mid-1960s outside of Charm, Ohio, by the Guggisberg Cheese Company, owned by Alfred Guggisberg.

Nutrition

References

External links

Swiss Cheese Niche
microbewiki.kenyon.edu

biology.clc.uc.edu {{DEFAULTSORT:Swiss Cheese American cheeses Cow's-milk cheeses Cheese with eyes

Production

Variants

Nutrition

See also

References

External links