Best Swiss Soft Cheese Types
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
Tomme Vaudoise is a traditional cheese hailing from Switzerland. The cheese is made from raw cow's milk and it's left to mature for 8 weeks. Underneath its highly aromatic bloomy rind that's marked with tiny indentations from aging on racks, the texture is rich, yielding, and oozy.
The aromas are fresh, while the flavors are fresh, grassy, and slightly tangy. It's recommended to pan-fry the cheese and place it on top of a salad, use it in pasta dishes, and pair it with a glass of dry white wine.
Tomme de la Vallée is a soft, bloomy-rind cheese from Switzerland's Vallée de Joux. Crafted from cow's milk, it has a creamy texture and delicate flavor. This cheese is part of Switzerland's tradition of tomme-style cheeses, which vary by region and production methods.
Similar to other tommes, it is typically enjoyed young, offering a mild taste that pairs well with crusty bread and light wines. Its small, round shape and soft interior make it a versatile addition to cheese boards and culinary dishes.
Tomme neuchâteloise is a soft, creamy cheese with a bloomy rind, originating from the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. This small, flat, disc-shaped cheese typically measures 8 to 10 cm in diameter and 1.5 to 2 cm in height, weighing around 100 grams.
Made from cow's milk, its texture becomes soft and even runny as it matures over a short ripening period of 7 to 14 days. Some variations incorporate ingredients like cumin seeds to enhance flavor. Traditionally consumed young, tomme neuchâteloise can be enjoyed on its own, with crusty bread, or prepared as tomme panée—breaded and fried, sometimes wrapped in bacon.
Tomme de Rougemont, also known as tomme fleurette, is a soft cheese made from raw cow's milk, featuring a delicate white, bloomy rind. Produced exclusively at the Fromagerie Fleurette in Rougemont, located in the Pays-d’Enhaut region of the Swiss Alps, this cheese reflects the rich alpine flora of the area.
The dairy sources its milk from local cows that graze on natural meadows and alpine pastures, contributing to the cheese's unique flavor profile. Best enjoyed chilled, tomme de Rougemont serves as an excellent choice for an aperitif or as a conclusion to a meal.
Mascarplin, or mascarpel, is a traditional ricotta-like cheese crafted from goat's milk, primarily sourced from breeds such as Camosciata delle Alpi, Grisons Striped, Grigia, and Colomba. These goats graze on meadow grasses and local hay for six to ten months annually.
The production process involves heating the goat's milk to temperatures above 90°C (194°F) and adding "maestra," a whey culture from the previous day's production, to induce curdling. Historically, dried and fermented fruits, berries, or roots were used for this purpose.
Belper mürggel is a Swiss soft cheese made from raw cow's milk and invented by Peter Glauser. Its name derives from the Bernese German term "mürggel," referring to a loaf of bread with a substantial crust, which the cheese resembles in appearance.
The cheese is notable for its edible rind, which can develop various hues, including light blue or grey-brown, due to the presence of white and blue molds. This rind contributes significantly to the cheese's distinctive flavor profile. The cheese has a fat content of at least 45% and is gluten-free.
Belper hirn is a Swiss soft cheese made from cow’s milk, named after the town of Belp in the canton of Bern. The name translates to "Belp brain," referring to its shape and the mold layer that develops during ripening. The cheese ages for 1 to 6 weeks, with the mold layer forming over time.
In the early stages, the inside remains fresh, while the mold begins to develop. By four weeks, the mold is more pronounced, and after six weeks, it is fully formed. Traditionally made from raw cow’s milk, Belper Hirn has a soft texture and is primarily known in the Belp region.
Formaggella is a semi-hard, medium-sized cheese produced from goat's milk, cow's milk, or a mixture of both, with a texture that can range from fresh soft to semi-hard, depending on the production method and aging process. The name derives from formaggio (lit. cheese), with the diminutive "-ella" suggesting a traditionally lower status compared to long-aged alpine cheeses.
A Swiss-Italian expression about strabismus (cross-eyed people) references "an eye that looks at the board of formaggella," referring to the wooden boards in kitchens where the cheese was stored to dry and kept safe from mice. Formaggella has a cylindrical shape, with a diameter of 10-20 cm, a height of 3-5 cm, and a weight of 400g to 2kg.
Formaggio della paglia is a soft cheese known for its strong, tangy flavor and its unique straw packaging, which aids in its maturation process. Historically, it was produced using whole cow's milk or a mixture of cow's and goat's milk. The cheese has a cylindrical shape, typically measuring around 25 centimeters (10") in diameter and 7-8 centimeters (3") in height, with a weight of 4-5 kilograms (8.8-11 lbs).
The rind is gray-brown, while the interior paste is straw-yellow. The production process involves heating the milk to a moderate temperature, adding rennet to coagulate it, and then cutting the curd into relatively large pieces. The curds are then placed into molds without pressing and salted either in brine or dry.
Best Swiss Soft Cheese Producers
AWARDS

World Cheese Awards - Super Gold
2023

World Cheese Awards - Gold
2024, 2023, 2021
BEST Kaltbach Cheeses
Best Swiss Soft Cheeses
Kaltbach Creamy is a Swiss cheese product crafted by the Emmi Group. It is known for its remarkably smooth and creamy texture, which is a result of its unique aging process within the natural sandstone caves of Kaltbach. The cheese is semi-hard, characterized by a subtly tangy flavor and hints of nuttiness.
Its distinctive creaminess sets it apart from other cheeses, and it features a beautiful dark rind that is a direct outcome of the aging process in the caves. Kaltbach Creamy is versatile in its use, ideal for both cooking and direct consumption as part of a cheese platter.
AWARDS

World Cheese Awards - Gold
2021
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. 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.