Best Swiss Pasteurized Milk Cheese Types
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.
Swiss Tilsit or Royalp Tilsit is a Swiss cheese produced in the Emmental Valley. The cheese is made from pasteurized or raw cow's milk. The pasteurized version is mild, while the raw one has a stronger flavor and it's called Farmhouse Tilsit.
The third version is made from pasteurized milk and the addition of cream. The cheese is aged for 5 months, making the aromas strong and pungent. Underneath the washed rind, the texture is firm, springy, elastic, and full of eyes. The flavors range from mild and creamy to piquant and spicy.
Translating to sitting in the cellar, Challerhocker is a Swiss cheese that's aged for at least 10 months in the region of Saint-Gallen. It was created by Walter Rass, who based the recipe on Appenzeller, but made some changes such as the temperature the curd is cooked at, aging time, and the fat that is left intact, e.g. it's not skimmed off of the milk.
The cheese is made from cow's milk, and during the aging period, the rind is regularly washed with brine, which is the reason why it has aromas of roasted peanuts, caramel, and aged meat. Its texture is dense, smooth, and silky, while the flavors are reminiscent of leeks, brown butter, and salted caramel as a finish.
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Bratkäse is a traditional full-fat semi-hard cheese from the Unterwalden region of Switzerland, encompassing the cantons of Obwalden and Nidwalden. Each wheel weighs between 750 grams and 1.1 kilograms (1.6-2.4 lbs) and has a mild, slightly tangy flavor.
Historically, bratkäse was prepared by heating it over an open fire until the surface became soft enough to be scraped off, a method that gave the cheese its name, as "bratkäse" translates to "fried cheese." This technique is reminiscent of the preparation of raclette cheese, and bratkäse is sometimes considered a smaller, milder cousin of the traditional Valais raclette.
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