The AnyCheese Holiday Gift Guide

Cow Milk Cheeses from Switzerland

Discover cheeses made from cow milk in Switzerland, from historic recipes to contemporary creations.

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Emmental

Emmental is a yellow, medium-hard Swiss cheese from the Emme Valley, known for the natural holes that run through it. The taste is savoury but mild. It is eaten cold in chunks or slices and melted into dishes such as …

Country: Switzerland
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Hard or medium-hard
Flavor: Nutty, sweet

Appenzeller

Appenzeller is a hard cow's milk cheese from the Appenzellerland region of northeast Switzerland. Its wheels are washed with a herbal brine as they cure, which builds a golden rind, a strong smell, and a flavor that runs from mild …

Country: Switzerland
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Hard
Flavor: Piquant, tangy

Raclette

Raclette is a Swiss cheese and the dish made from it: the cheese is heated and the melted part is scraped off, usually onto boiled potatoes. It comes from the canton of Valais, where the cheese carries an AOP.

Country: Switzerland
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Semisoft, smooth
Flavor: Mildly acidic

Gruyère

Gruyère is a hard Swiss cheese from the cantons of Fribourg, Vaud, Neuchâtel, Jura and Bern. It is sweet with a salty edge, creamy and nutty when young, sharper and earthier with age, and it melts well enough to carry …

Country: Switzerland
Milk Type: Cow’s milk
Texture: Dense, moister
Flavor: Nutty, complex

Sbrinz

Sbrinz is an extra hard cow's milk cheese from Central Switzerland, made in only 42 dairies. It ripens for at least 16 months and is usually grated over pasta or broken into small pieces to eat with wine.

Country: Switzerland
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Extra hard
Flavor: Unique

Sap Sago

Sap Sago is a hard, skimmed-milk cheese from the Canton of Glarus in Switzerland, seasoned and tinted green with blue fenugreek. It is grated as a seasoning rather than eaten in slices, and its 1463 origin stamp makes it the …

Country: Switzerland
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Hard

Tête de Moine

Tête de Moine AOP is a semi-hard cow's milk cheese from the Swiss Jura, first made by the canons of Bellelay abbey in the 12th century. It is not sliced but pared into thin rosettes with a Girolle.

Country: Switzerland
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Semi-hard
Flavor: Nutty

Raclette du Valais

Raclette du Valais is a semi-hard cow milk cheese from the Swiss Canton of Valais, sold in wheels of about 6 kg (13 lb). It holds an AOP and is used above all for melting in the dish that shares …

Country: Switzerland
Milk Type: Cow's milk, Eringer breed
Texture: Semisoft, smooth
Flavor: 'Slightly lactic', 'milky', 'mildly acidic', 'fresh butter', 'floral', 'vegetal'

Royalp Tilsit

Royalp is the export name for Swiss Tilsiter, a semi-hard cow's milk cheese with a red-smear rind made in eastern Switzerland since 1893. The pale yellow paste is supple and moist, and the taste runs from mild and lightly spicy …

Country: Switzerland
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Semi-hard, smear-ripened
Flavor: Creamy, mild, piquant, spicy

L'Etivaz

L'Etivaz is a hard raw cow's milk cheese from the canton of Vaud, Switzerland, made only during the summer Alpine grazing season in copper cauldrons over wood fires. It tastes close to Gruyère surchoix, fruity and slightly nutty.

Country: Switzerland
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Hard
Flavor: Fruity, slightly nutty

Saanenkaese

Saanenkaese is a Swiss cheese made from pasteurized cow's milk. It is known for its hard, processed texture, making it suitable for slicing and grating. The cheese has a fruity flavor, which provides a pleasant contrast to its strong aroma. …

Country: Switzerland
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Hard, processed
Flavor: Fruity

Forsterkase

Forsterkase is a semi-soft, artisan cheese made from unpasteurized cow's milk in Sankt Gallen, Krümmenswil, Switzerland. It has an ivory color and a mold-ripened rind that contributes to its pungent and stinky aroma. The flavor profile of Forsterkase is floral, …

Country: Switzerland
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Semi-soft, artisan
Flavor: Floral, spicy, woody

Vacherin Fribourgeois

Vacherin Fribourgeois is a Swiss semi-hard cheese from the canton of Fribourg, made with thermised milk and protected by Swiss AOP. It tastes slightly acidic and resiny, and it is one of the cheeses that gives fondue its character.

Country: Switzerland
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Semi-soft, artisan
Flavor: Buttery, nutty

Piora

Piora is a hard cheese made from unpasteurized cow's milk in the Piora Valley of Switzerland. It has an aromatic and rich aroma that reflects its alpine origins. The cheese is known for its firm texture, which makes it perfect …

Country: Switzerland
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Hard

Vacherin Mont-d'Or

Vacherin Mont d'Or is a soft, seasonal cow's milk cheese from the Jura region of Switzerland and France. It is bound in a strip of spruce bark, sold in a round spruce box, and often warmed in that box and …

Country: Switzerland
Milk Type: Cow
Texture: Soft

Austrian Alps cheese

Austrian Alps cheese, despite its name, is actually from Switzerland and is made from pasteurized cow's milk. This cheese is known for its nutty and spicy flavor, which offers a warm and inviting taste experience. The aroma is similarly aromatic, …

Country: Switzerland
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Flavor: Nutty, spicy

Le Gruyère AOP

Le Gruyère AOP is a hard cheese from Switzerland made from unpasteurized cow's milk. It has a fat content ranging from 49-53%, contributing to its rich and creamy texture. The cheese offers a sweet flavor, balanced with an earthy aroma …

Country: Switzerland
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Hard
Flavor: Sweet

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