The Art of Cheese Making, Swiss Style

I want to do a lot of things (understatement), but I really want to make cheese! This is something that I’ve wanted to do for many years and truly have a passion for...it’s a combination of my creative side (like being a chef), my artsy side (I’m still perfecting my stick figure drawings) and my science side (ever evolving).  I have a huge respect for artisan cheese makers who take a few raw products and craft them into something as complex and living as cheese.  The process of making artisan cheese is so basic and has been going on for thousands of years, but it’s not something that can be replicated on an assembly line type of production and will quickly loose its sense of place or terrior.  

So a good friend and I decided to journey into the mountains and learn the basics of cheese making, the old school way...one copper kettle, wooden tools, a stone for a press, an open flame, and true old time Swiss cheese masters to guide us. 

Two well aged cheese masters who teach their art to crazy people like me and Alex 

Adding the renet, which makes the milk coagulate...a very important part of cheese making (ok, you wouldn't have cheese without this step)

Looking for a clean break. Looks more like jello milk.

Cutting the curd, not the cheese

Hey Miss Muffet...here are your curds and whey

Check out the wooden heat shield

Alex is working hard to make our cheese, but "this damn heat shield does NOT seem to be working"

That's the curd in the cheese cloth and the rest is the whey. Whey is high in vitamins, protein and minerals and this whey will be feed to local pigs. Otherwise the Swiss will use whey in carbonated drinks to add some healthy quality.A truly sustainable product.

A stone really is a unit of measurement, no joke.

This is where our cheese will age for the next four months

On the way home from the Emmentaler region we had to stop at a cheese shop to round out our experience...so the likely place, was a truly inventive and experimental cheese shop called Chas Glauser www.chaesglauser.ch located in the German speaking part of Switzerland. He is doing some incredible creative things with cheese. 

These fresh cheese are suspended over Calvados so they can absorb and soak up the liquor...adding an amazing flavor

I couldn't resist a picture amongst a huge wheel of Emmentaler (the inside looks like what most people associate with swiss cheese but this cheese is nutty and smooth, but is certainly not meant for a sandwich).

There are jars and containers all over the store with Herr Glauser's experiments. Yes, you can actually purchase these

Serious chemistry!

Malakoff- Cheese Bombs

I can understand that many people have never heard of malakoffs in other parts of the world but surprisingly even in Switzerland they are not well known. Maybe it’s because each of the 26 Cantons has their own food specialty and each specialty is so amazingly unique and delicious they don’t need to look elsewhere.  This in my opinion is one exception to the rule.  This delicious specialty of Canton Vaud and more specifically the Communes (towns) of Luins and Vinzel are incredibly tasty and need to be shared. 

When I sat down at the Auberge De Luins (www.aubergedeluins.ch) I was well aware of the Malakoff specialty, but I didn’t quite understand what they really were.  Everything I read and everyone I spoke to had a different interpretation of what the ingredients were and how it was prepared.

Before I could open my menu to see the different kinds of malakoffs and what special accompaniments I would be indulging in, my server came over, pleasantly greeted me and immediately asked if I would like a malakoff with salad.  I quickly said yes but then inquired about portion size, how many came with the meal, did I need other items, but before I could get my concerns out she stopped me and said, “I can only bring one at a time...they must be hot when served.”  I closed my menu and knew I was in good hands.  No where does it state that this was a buffet or all you can eat, or even looked like a stuff-yourself kind of place.  In the US they make every effort to capitalize on such an amazing lunch special, but we’re in Switzerland and most everything is very understated.  While waiting for my lunch, eight other tables filled up around me and to my surprise and joy the only thing the server asked was “malakoff salad oui?”  There were businessmen, retirees, even two street sweepers (I know this because I saw them get out of their trucks), and no tourists (ok, maybe one…moi).  These were all good signs that I was about to experience a quality meal ...one specialty to be ordered, no one was asking to see a menu, different people from all walks of life, and outside seating.

 Indeed all the people around me were spot on, because my hot gooey malakoff was perfect...no fan fare, no special sauce, nothing to hide what it really is (a beautiful gruyere cheese bomb) and they just kept coming.  I could only manage to eat three, but those with heartier appetites could add a few more to their plate.  The salad was a shredded cabbage with lemony mustard vinaigrette that was surprisingly refreshing...sure, the whole meal was white, um, make that very white, but the salad was the perfect complement to this glorious fried cheese concoction.     

In the bowl is Gruyere cheese, milk, eggs, mayo, white pepper, and bread crumbs

The mixture is placed on top of a toast round

Chef 

Fried in peanut oil, which is rarely used in Switzerland

No additional breading...only a few uncomplicated ingredients that keep it simple and tasty