Switzerland
Featured
Hard paste of this cheese is heavily spiked with tiny specks of fresh alpine herbs, lending it a lively green hue. The alpine herbs are organically grown in the Bernese Alps, a region rich in flora. Pure mountain milk from the region surrounding Lenk is used. The milk goes straight from the cow to the dairy! There is a breeze of fresh, green, herbaceous notes - even coolness - left on the palate at the very finish of this milky-creamy experience. Rare deliciousness!
Spitzebarg Goat cheese is made in Guggisberg dairy in Gohl - the unofficial capital of the Emmental region. Named after the hill in Gohl, Spitzebarg Goat has a smeared rind and a dense smooth paste that sometimes has tiny holes. It can be consumed between the young age of 6 weeks and up to 4-5 months, when the flavors are pronouncedly goaty, yet still noble and balanced.
Cresta ripens underneath the healthy soil of the same named forest. The natural stone cave has turned out to be the perfect aging room. Cresta is a seasonal cheese made only from October to May. During this time, the 5 herds of cows that produce the organc milk used in production graze on the meadows surrounding Sufers, a village with 130 inhabitants at an altitude of 4,2000 feet. This cheese has a fine and dry rind and a compact paste with a creamy mouthfeel. Full flavored…..with that little kick…..that makes well matured mountain cheeses so unique and charming!
To wash a cheese with beer during its ripening stage is not unique - yet 5 months of this noble affinage turn Hop On Top into a mighty fine cheese full of taste and character. The finishing touch makes this cheese truly special - the wheels are coated with the dried and ground remains of the beer barrel. Dark and coarse the cheeses turn, with a big nose of grain. Hop On Top is produced of thermalized milk from cows grazing in the “Entlebuch Biosphere” a vast area protected by UNESCO because of its wholesomeness and role model status.
This hard cheese is made of organic cow milk delivered daily by a dozen farmers spread throughout the Ajoye. The lush grasses and ubiquitious pine trees of this region are reflected in its rich and aromatic cheeses. With notes of hazelnuts, caramel, and cream - the finish is nicely balanced, long, and round. Le Bon du Jura has a reddish-brown rind from the 8 months of washing. With an ivory colored, firm yet smooth paste with few small holes - it is a perfect munching cheese and has great melting ability - perfect for Fondue!
This warm cheese dish originated in the Valais canton of Switzerland where farmers and herdsman would make a meal of cheese melted by campfire or hearth, potatoes and pickles. Historians conjecture that at some point the cheese got too close to the fire and the melted cheese dish was born. The cheese and the dish have been documented back as far as the year 1291 and at that time was called Bratchäs.
There has been much evolution of the dish since those early days. Today besides the requisite potatoes and pickles any number of foods are eaten with the cheese including fish, poultry, vegetables and sometimes even wild game.
Read more from GourmetSleuth.com: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/articles/detail/raclette#ixzz4vJ7ef97I