Swiss
Swiss (Emmentaler) cheese, which is a large, hard, pressed-curd cheese
with an elastic body and a mild, nut-like, sweetish flavor, is best known
because of the holes or eyes that develop in the curd as the cheese
ripens.
The eyes often are 1/2 to 1 inch in diameter and from 1 to 3 inches apart.
The cheeses are about 6 inches thick, frequently more than 36 inches in
diameter, and usually weigh between 160 and 230 pounds.
Switzerland is famous for this so-called King of Cheeses, and a large
part
of the milk produced in Switzerland is used in its production. It was
first
made, probably about the middle of the 15th century, in the Canton of
Bern in the Emmental Valley (which accounts for its native name Emmen-
taler). The industry was well developed and cheese was being ex****ted
by the middle of the 17th century. Only the best cheese is ex****ted, and
it is commonly called "Switzerland Swiss."
Swiss cheese is made in many other countries besides Switzerland,
includ-
ing France, Denmark, Germany, Bavaria, Italy, Austria, Finland, Russia,
Argentina, and the United States. Allga"uer Emmentaler, Bellunese,
Formaggio Dolce, Fontina, Fontine d'Aosta, and Traanen are local names
for similar cheeses made in Switzerland and nearby countries. Gruye're,
made mostly in France, is similar to Swiss but is smaller and cures some-
what differently. Danish Swiss is called Samso.
The first Swiss cheese in the United States was made about 1850 by
Swiss immigrants, and much of it is still being made by their descendants.
Among the hard cheeses, Swiss ranks second only to Cheddar in the
quantity produced each year. About half of the annual production of 100
million
pounds is made in Wisconsin, and Illinois, Idaho, Minnesota, Ohio, Utah,
and Wyoming are other leading producers. In the United States it is
often called Schweizer or Sweitzer.
Swiss cheese is one of the most difficult kinds of cheese to make.
Control
of the quality and composition of the milk, propagation and use of the
essential bacterial starters, and the details of manufacture are
complicated
procedures that require the services of a skilled cheesemaker, and its
success-
ful manufacture is a factory operation that requires special equipment.
Three species of bacteria are used as starters: Streptocuoccus
thermophilus,
called the coccus culture; a lactobacillus - Lactobacillus bulgaricus or
L.
lactis - called the rod culture; and Propionibacterium shermanii (a propi-
onic-acid-forming micro-organism), called the eye-former. The lacto-
bacillus and streptococcus produce lactic acid, which aids in expelling
the
whey, and they probably contribute to the breakdown of the curd during
ripening. The propionic-acid bacteria are largely responsible for the
char-
acteristic flavor and eye formation.
Although there are slight differences between the methods used for
making
Swiss cheese in Switzerland and in the United States, following is a brief
description of the general method:
Swiss cheese is made in round copper kettles that hold at least 2,000
pounds of milk, and frequently 3,000 or 3,200 pounds. The kettles are
double-jacketed or have a steam chamber in the bottom. Good-quality
fresh milk is essential. It is advisable to clarify and standardize the
milk.
Clarification increasese the elasticity of the curd in the cheese and
improves
eye formation. Standardizing the fat content of the milk assures cheese
of uniform composition; usually slightly more than 10 percent of the fat
is
removed.
As the milk flows from the clarifier into the kettle, steam is turned on
in the jacket or steam chamber under the kettle, and the milk is warmed
to setting temperature (88 to 94 F.). Stirring is begun, the starter is
added, and shortly thereafter enough rennet extract is added so the curd
will be firm enough to cut in 30 minutes (the first indication of
thickening
appears in from 20 to 22 minutes).
As soon as the curd is firm enough to cut, the surface is "turned under"
-
that is, the creamy top layer is skimmed off with a wide, flat scoop and
pushed to the back of the kettle, in order to mix this creamy layer with
the
rest of the curd. The curd is cut with a Swiss-cheese harp - from back to
front and from side to side - into long rectangular strips about 1 inch
square.
Then the curd is turned under from top to bottom with a scoop, so that
which was underneath will be on the surface, and the pieces are cut into
1 inch cubes. About 5 minutes after cutting is completed, the curd is
harped (cut and mixed) until the particles are about 1/8 inch in diameter.
This usually requires about 15 minutes.
Then the curd is "foreworked" - that is, stirred slowly, either continu-
ously or at intervals - for 30 minutes to an hour or more as it acquires
firm-
ness. When it is sufficiently firm, steam is turned on and the curd is
heated,
usually in 30 minutes, to a temperature between 120 and 127.5 F. It is
stirred continuously while it is being heated, and stirring is continued
for
at least 25 minutes and sometimes for an hour or longer after the final
cooking temperature is reached. This is called "stirring out." As soon
as the particles of curd can be broken apart easily without sticking when
compressed in the hand, the curd is ready to be dipped. Some cheese-
makers add several gallons of cold water at this point. Stirring is
discon-
tinued, so the curd will settle, and some of the whey is drawn off.
The curd is enclosed in a large, coarsely woven dipping cloth, and it is
hoisted slowly over the kettle with a block and tackle, and the excess
whey
drains into the kettle. The bag of curd is then lowered into a circular
wooden or stainless steel hoop, which rests on a circular pressboard on a
drain table. The curd is pressed gently down into the hoop, the edges of
the cloth are smoothed over the curd, a circular pressboard is laid on top
of the curd, and the curd is pressed from above with a screw- or
lever-press.
About 5 minutes later, the hoop is removed; a clean light cloth and a
clean, heavy burlap cloth are substituted for the dipping cloth; the hoop
is replaced; the cheese is turned over and another pressboard is placed on
it; and it is pressed again. This process is repeated at definite
intervals
for
24 hours.
Then the cheese is removed from the press and, still in the hoop, it is
taken to the so-called cold room (temperature about 55 F. and relative
humidity 80 to 85 percent), where it is salted in brine. The cheese may be
removed from the hoop and placed in the salt tank at once; or, still in
the
hoop, it may be placed on a shelf to cool for a day or so before it is
salted.
It is left in the brine for 2 or 3 days, the time depending on the size of
the
cheese, the amount of salt absorbed, and the rind formation desired. It is
turned over and sprinkled with salt daily. Then it is placed on a circular
board on a shelf in the cold room for a week or 10 days; it is washed,
turned and sprinkled with dry salt daily.
Then it is transferred to a clean board on a shelf in the warm room
(temperature 65 to 72 F. and relative humidity 80 to 85 percent), where
the principal ripening process takes place. The cheese is washed with
salty water, it is turned and placed on a clean board, and salt is rubbed
on
the surface every few days. The eyes begin to form when the cheese is
about
3 weeks old; eye formation is controlled to some extent by regulating the
temperature of the room. The cheese usually remains in the warm room
for 4 to 6 weeks; then it is returned to the cold room for further but
slower
curing, or to a storage room where it is held at about 40 F.
Much of the cheese made in the United States is marketed after curing
for 3 to 4 months (the minimum period is 2 months). Most of the
cheese ex****ted from Switzerland is cured for 6 to 10 months and has a
more pronounced flavor.
A cheese weighing between 185 and 210 pounds can be made from a
2,500-pound kettle of milk. Several cheeses are packed in a round, wooden
box for ****pment; the box may contain more than 1,000 pounds of cheese.
Swiss cheese is also made in rectangular blocks, about 28 inches long and
8 inches square, that weigh 25 to 28 pounds.
So-called rindless Swiss cheese is made by a somewhat modified method.
The milk (in some instances as much as 10,000 pounds) is set in a rectan-
gular vat, and the curd is pepared in the usual way. The curd and whey
are transferred to a so-called press vat. Then, in a procedure similar to
that
used in making Herrgardsost, the curd is pressed under the whey into a
flat, rectangular block. The block of curd is subdivided into sections,
each
of which makes a cheese. Each cheese is placed in a cloth-lined box and
pressed, then removed form the box, salted in brine, and dried. Then it
is wrapped in film and placed in a box to cure.
Analysis (Domestic Swiss): Moisture, 39.4 percent (not more than 41
percent); fat, 27.5 percent (not less than 43 percent in the solids);
protein,
27.4 percent; and salt, 1 to 1.6 percent.
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Cheese Varieties and Descriptions USDA Handbook No. 54, December 1953
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