Mir goehnt i'd Chäsi!

Having been practically weened on Swiss cheese, it seemed rather absurd to me that I still couldn't answer the all important question of why Emmentaler cheese has holes. So, I set out to solve the mystery, which was rather easy, considering that I am staying not only in the Emmental region, but within spitting distance of an artisanal dairy that has been churning (ha ha) out the real wheel since 1741.

A quick tour from cow to cheese hole soon revealed the secret... wait for it.... propionic acid fermentation. So there you have it, an answer that turns out to be a big scientific yawn, nothing more than a trapped fart. Nonetheless, I'm still glad I have the answer and will happily share its tale.

As with many things, the how's and why's are irrelevant when the final product is so damned good. I left the dairy, (I want to say with fresh-made, but that should never really apply to cheese!), carrying a good chunk of organic as well as "Stein Alt" (read: so old that it should be gross) Emmentaler. It's tasty and is well received amongst the traditional breads and dried meats that make up typical Swiss snacks.

Here's a picture of some cheese ripening (that sounds sooo wrong for anything but fruit). Each of these wheels are about 95 kilos.

Hol(e)y Cheese!