Template:Short description Template:Infobox Cheese Template:Sister project Emmental, Emmentaler, or Emmenthal is a yellow, medium-hard cheese that originated in the Emme Valley in Switzerland. It is classified as a Swiss-type cheese.
HistoryEdit
Emmental cheese originates from the Emme Valley in Switzerland.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
It has a savory but mild taste. While "Emmentaler" is registered as a geographical indication in Switzerland, a limited number of countries recognize the term as a geographical indication: similar cheeses of other origins, especially from France (as "Emmental"),<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the Netherlands,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Bavaria, and Finland, are widely available and sold by that name. In some parts of the world, the names "Emmentaler" and "Swiss cheese" are used interchangeably for Emmental-style cheese.
ProductionEdit
Three types of bacteria are needed to prepare Emmental: Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus helveticus, and Propionibacterium freudenreichii. Historically, the eyes were a sign of imperfection, and until modern times, cheese makers would try to avoid them.<ref>Scientific American "Cheese Story", August 2010, p. 33</ref> Nowadays, however, eye formation is valued as a sign of maturation and quality and acoustic analysis has been developed for this purpose.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Emmental cheese is usually consumed cold, as chunks or slices,<ref>"Emmentaler AOP", Switzerland Cheese Marketing. Retrieved 26 October 2020.</ref> and is also used in a variety of dishes, particularly in gratins, and fondue, in which it is mixed with Gruyère, another highly popular Swiss cheese.
Ziger, a whey cheese, is a by-product of the manufacture of Emmental.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Protected varieties and nomenclatureEdit
Several varieties of Emmental are registered as geographical indications, including:
SwitzerlandEdit
Emmentaler was registered in 2000 as an appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) in Switzerland.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=CH_List>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2013, it was replaced by the appellation d'origine protégée (AOP) certification. The Emmentaler produced according to the AOC-registration needs to be produced in small rural dairies with raw cow's milk, adding only natural ingredients (water, salt, natural starter cultures and rennet); preservatives or ingredients from genetically modified organisms are not allowed. The cheese is produced in a round shape with a natural rind, and aged in traditional cellars for a minimum of four months. Emmentaler must be produced in cantons of Aargau, Bern (except Amtsbezirk Moutier), Glarus, Luzern, Schwyz, Solothurn, St. Gallen, Thurgau, Zug or Zurich, or in the See- and Sensebezirk of canton of Freiburg.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Outside SwitzerlandEdit
Emmentaler is also recognized as a geographical indication in the Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Jamaica, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia and Spain.<ref name=Origin>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Three cheeses containing the word Emmental are protected under EU law:
- Allgäuer Emmentaler, from Bavaria, Germany, has PDO status<ref name="DOOR1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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- Emmental de Savoie, from Savoie, France, has PGI status<ref name="DOOR2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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- Emmental français est-central from Franche-Comté, France, also has PGI status<ref name="DOOR3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In many parts of the English-speaking world the terms "Emmentaler" and "Swiss cheese" are both used to refer to any cheese of the Emmental type, whether produced in Switzerland or elsewhere. The United States Department of Agriculture, for example, uses the terms "Swiss cheese" and "Emmentaler cheese" interchangeably.<ref>Swiss Cheese, Emmentaler Cheese Grades and Standards, U.S. Department of Agriculture, accessed March 25, 2020</ref><ref>How to Buy Cheese Template:Webarchive, U.S. Department of Agriculture (1971), p. 15</ref>
Emmental-style cheesesEdit
Emmental cheese is very widely imitated around the world, often just called "Swiss cheese". Specific European types include:
- Grevé from Sweden
- Jarlsberg cheese from Norway
- Maasdam cheese from the Netherlands, with Leerdammer being one variety
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
Template:Swiss cheeses Template:Cuisine of Switzerland Template:Portal bar Template:Authority control