The Swiss nobleman on our plate is Gruyère cheese.

Gruyere (originally Gruyere) is a famous representative of Swiss cheeses. It is fattier than Emmental. You could say it’s a Swiss cheese classic. It has a bright yellow color, a dense, hard structure with holes of varying sizes or without them at all. It is prepared from cow's milk. The size of the cheese head reaches forty centimeters in diameter, and it takes at least six months to ripen. It matures in a damp cellar, where it must be constantly turned over and watered with salt water. This cheese is perfect not only as a cold appetizer, but also as one of the key components of culinary dishes.

Depending on the aging period, Gruyère acquires different flavors:

1. If it ripens for 5-6 months, the taste turns out to be sweetish,
2. If it ripens for 7-8 months, then the taste turns out to be semi-salty,
3. If it ripens for 10-11 months, then the taste turns out to be salty,
4. If it ripens for more than a year, the taste becomes rich and it is assigned the highest grade.
5. If it ripens for more than 1.5 years, then the taste is vigorous.

Gruyère cheese is very dense; a lot of milk is used to make it: from 100 liters you can get only 9 kg of the target product. Therefore, it is done in warm weather, starting in June and ending in September, when the cows receive a lot of fresh grass. This cheese has a slightly grainy structure, and the taste is nutty and fruity, although in fact the product consists only of milk and rennet.

Unlike Swiss Emmental, Gruyère is only allowed to be produced in the Swiss cantons of Friborg, Neuchâtel, Bern, Vaud, Neuchâtel and Jura. Its origin is strictly controlled.

Gruyère is also one of the cheeses used in the preparation of real Swiss fondue. And in the canton of Fraburg it is even customary to take tours of the cheese factory, where you can taste these culinary delights of various ages, and then purchase the ones you like. In Russia you can also buy this Swiss delicacy, but it is far from a cheap pleasure. The price will be about 50-60 US dollars per kilogram.