Best Swiss Natural Rind Cheese Types
Gruyère is a cooked and pressed cheese made from raw cow's milk. On the exterior, the cheese has a grainy yellow to brown rind, while the interior is ivory to pale yellow in color. The Swiss version (AOP), a hard cheese with a salty and nutty flavor usually has no holes, while the French version (IGP) is required to have them, ranging in size from a pea to a cherry.
Gruyère must mature for at least 120 days in cellars so that it develops delicate aromas of caramelized apples, hazelnuts, and brown butter. It melts well, making it ideal for classic fondues, or, alternatively, sliced and consumed on its own and paired with a glass of light red wine.
THE BEST Gruyère Cheeses
Tête de moine (lit. monk’s head) is a cylindrical, semi-hard Swiss cheese made from cow’s milk. The cheese is kept on spruce wood boards for at least 2,5 months before consumption. It is believed that the cheese was first made by monks in the Bellelay monastery in the community of Saicourt.
In the past, they used it as a means of payment. Interestingly, tête de moine is not cut, but scraped or shaved with a special tool called a girolle. During the process, the surface of the cheese comes into direct contact with air, which alters the structure of the paste and helps to release the aromas.
L'Etivaz is a traditional cheese produced in Canton Vaud. It is said that l'Etivaz is made just as Gruyère was made a long time ago, without compromising its original flavor profile. The cheese is made from raw cow's milk from the summer months.
It is heated in copper vats over an open wood fire, and some of the ashes might fall into the open vats, resulting in just a hint of smokiness when eating the cheese. L'Etivaz is very fragrant and its texture is dense and creamy, while the flavors are fruity and nutty with a hint of smokiness.
Pair with
Sbrinz is a Swiss extra-hard cheese made from raw cow's milk. The cheese has a natural rind, and it's texture is dense and flaky. The aromas are slightly spicy, while the flavors are full, intense, tangy, spicy, and nutty, with notes of butterscotch.
Sbrinz is traditionally aged for at least 18 months, and the more it ages, the more aromatic it becomes. It can be consumed in 3 ways: when it's aged for 18 months, it is sliced or shaved into thin rolls, from 24 months and up it's broken into smaller pieces called möckli, and finally, it can be grated and used in a wide array of dishes.
Pair with
Vacherin Mont d'Or is a traditional cheese hailing from the area on the border of France near the mountain d'Or. The cheese is made from thermalized cow's milk, and it's available only from October until April, making it highly seasonal and somewhat rare.
It shouldn't be confused with Vacherin du Haut-Doubs or just Mont d'Or cheese – that one is made exclusively with raw cow's milk in France. Vacherin Mont d'Or is wrapped in spruce in order to contain the slightly liquid and melting interior.
Due to its mild flavor and melting and creamy texture, it's recommended to eat the cheese with a spoon when it's at room temperature.
THE BEST Vacherin Mont d'Or Cheeses
Emmentaler is a semi-hard Swiss cheese made from unpasteurized cow’s milk. It must be matured for a minimum of 4 months, though some varieties can be aged longer. The cheese is characterized by its pale yellow color, smooth texture, and marble-sized holes (eyes), which appear during maturation.
Although the final flavor profile depends on maturation, the cheese is usually nutty and tangy, with aromas that are reminiscent of fresh hay. Emmentaler is traditionally served sliced or cut into cubes, but it also incorporates well into various dishes, and it is one of the most common cheese varieties used in fondue.
Pair with
VARIATIONS OF Emmentaler
THE BEST Emmentaler Cheeses
Edelweiss Creamery
Emmentaler
American Cheese Society Judging & Competition Awards - 1st Place 2017, 2016, 2010, 2008
Produced in Belp, hence the name, Belper Knolle is a unique Swiss hard cheese that's shaped into a small ball. The word Knolle translates to tuber, referring to its shape and style – it's mostly used as a grating cheese.
The cheese is made from raw cow's milk, and it was created in 1993 by Herr Glauser. It's infused with garlic and Himalayan salt, then rolled in ground Oberland black pepper. Belper Knolle is typically aged in caves for about 10 to 15 weeks, the latter one becoming firm, flaky, crumbly, and extremely hard in texture, which is the reason why it's almost impossible to slice it, so use it shaved or grated instead.
Pair with
Le Maréchal is an artisanal French cheese hailing from Vaud in Switzerland, where it's produced by the Rapin family. The cheese is made from raw cow's milk and it's aged for a minimum of 130 days. Underneath its herb-rubbed edible rind, the texture is dense and creamy.
The aromas are buttery, herbaceous, and barnyardy, while the flavors are intense and herbaceous with notes of roasted almonds and salted caramel. The cheese also melts well, so it's often used in fondues or raclettes. It's recommended to serve Le Maréchal with olives and figs.
Schabziger is a traditional cheese produced in Glarus. It dates as far back as the 8th century when it was made in a monastery. The cheese is also Switzerland's oldest protected brand – in 1463, there was a council meeting and the locals had decided that the cheese should be stamped with a seal representing its authenticity – and the same seal is still being stamped on Schabziger today.
This lime-green, zero-fat cheese is made from cow's milk and the skimmed milk curds are aged for 8 weeks, after which they're ground and combined with ground fenugreek seeds. The cheese is then pressed into a small cone called stockli, which is wrapped in silver foil.
Pair with
Piora is a Swiss cheese originating from the Piora Valley, hence the name. It's made from raw cow's milk coming from a combination of two milkings done in consecutive days. The cows feed on rich fodder on the pastures, resulting in rich aromas of the cheese.
It's pressed in molds for half a day, and then the cheese is left to age for 4 to 5 months. This mountain cheese has a smooth and hard texture underneath its natural rind, while the flavors are slightly sweet, herbaceous, milky, and well-rounded.
Best Swiss Natural Rind Cheese Producers
AWARDS
World Championship Cheese Contest - Best of Class
2024, 2022
BEST Brülisauer Käse Cheeses
Best Swiss Natural Rind Cheeses
AWARDS
World Championship Cheese Contest - Best of Class
2024, 2022
TasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. For the “Top 27 Swiss Natural Rind Cheeses” list until March 22, 2025, 1,271 ratings were recorded, of which 1,031 were recognized by the system as legitimate. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.