Appenzeller® is the Swiss cheese your cheese board or grilled cheese needs
In the search for the very best of the best, CHEESE is fortunately a very essential part of our existence; at least of the drinks-and-cooking part of it. And so, in our eternal quest for the best cheese board plus the existential question ‘how can I incorporate cheese into pretty much every meal?’ we came across this incredibly good Swiss cheese…
We made delicious cheese biscuits with it, and the more we learned about its background, the more fun it became. Because with its rich history and the checks that consistently guarantee top quality, this little cheese is a real winner: Appenzeller®. A hard (yet creamy), raw-milk cheese in which you can immediately taste the impressive natural surroundings where it originated.
Fresh air, sturdy cheese
Have you ever been to the Swiss mountains? You have no idea how clear and fresh it is there: if you take a few deep breaths, you feel as if you’ve made up for at least one evening of cheese fondue and wine. So clean, and with such ultimately impressive vistas; it really couldn’t be otherwise than that top-quality cheese is made there. And it is in those green, rolling mountains in northeastern Switzerland that this little cheese originated.
Almost a thousand (!) years ago, the parish of Abbacella (literally ‘abbey cell’) was founded there, from which the current name Appenzell is derived. And as early as the thirteenth century, there were mentions of the cheese made here.
More or less a state secret
The production process is somewhat more mechanical nowadays, but it still takes three hours to make each cheese, and the cheesemakers follow strict rules to ensure consistent quality. The cows graze in those green mountain meadows and are given no silage feed or antibiotics. Like other cheeses from Switzerland, this cheese contains no additives or preservatives. Pure nature, delicious! What makes Appenzeller® unique is its maturation in a special mixture called Sulz: a brine made from white wine, herbs and spices. The secret recipe has been passed down for seven hundred years, and apparently only two people know the exact blend! I assume those two are never allowed to travel together, a bit like the President and Vice President of the United States…
For (almost) every cheese fan
If you’re a bit of a cheese lover, you really should get some because with its unique mountain flavor, it’s a fantastic addition to drinks and snacks, in a fresh salad, or deliciously melted in, for example, a cheeseburger or one of those substantial Cubano sandwiches. Appenzeller® comes in different stages of maturation, from young and mild (doux) to medium-matured (surchoix) and older and more intense (extra) – recognizable by the different colored labels.
It pairs well with light wines and distinctive non-alcoholic drinks such as strong black or green tea, cloudy apple juice, or kombucha (although the latter does contain a very small amount of alcohol due to fermentation). Simply served in cubes on a board or incorporated into savory biscuits or muffins.
If you’re pregnant, you’ll have to wait a little longer because it is a raw-milk cheese. Everyone else: hurry to the store. Is it almost time for drinks and snacks yet?!
Also read:
- Useful list: these cheeses are safe to eat when you’re pregnant
- Parmesan vs. Pecorino: what are the differences?
- Chocolate snow in the mountains due to a defect at the Lindt factory
