Story Flowering meadow

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Justin Marsh
6 years ago
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1 Le Gruyère A OP

2 The story

3 Story This unique cheese from western Switzerland has a flavour of delicate, typical mountain flowers and alpine herbs. The story has its origins in the year At that time, the milk from around the picturesque small town of Gruyères was processed by the cheesemakers into an distinctive product. Flowering meadow Local farmers deliver fresh milk to the dairy twice a day. They live in a distance of max. 3 kilometers to the dairy and have 8 to 20 cows. They know their cows mostly by name, pasture them on succulent flowering meadows in the summer and feed them sun-dried hay in the winter. This is the reason why the Gourmino wheel labels carry flowers all over the wheels. The milk is rich in nutrients and is the basis for the quality and unique character of each cheese. The guidelines of the AOP specifications are very strict. The basic conditions include a small production area, limited to parts of French Switzerland and a few cheese dairies in the canton of Bern, production in small village cheese dairies, as well as the exclusive use of natural, local raw milk.

4 Affinage

5 Affinage During the slow maturing stage, the wheels of cheese are regularly turned over and brushed with salted water. The humidity encourages the appearance of cheese smear, which is an essential agent of the rind to help in the maturation process of the cheese. After aging for three months in the area of origin and after the official quality assessment by the Le Gruyère AOP branch organization, the cheeses are sent to Gourmino. In Langnau im Emmental, the cheeses are selected according to their quality and aging development. Cheeses that are suitable for further aging (Surchoix and Réserve) are ripened at the aging location Reichenbach. Cheeses that are suitable for the mild segment are matured in Langnau. Affinage in the mountains nothing is as perfect as nature At the foot of Blüemlisalp, an impressiv mountain massif in the Bernese Oberland, the selected Le Gruyère AOP wheels ripen up to 24 months. Deep inside the mountain, nature offers us the perfect climatic conditions for the affinage of longer ripened cheeses, such as Le Gruyère AOP Surchoix (12 months) and Réserve (18-24 months). Supported by the knowledge of the affineurs, the cheeses develop their desired, natural and unique character.

6 Product details

7 Product details Raw ingredients Fresh raw milk from dairy cows left to graze naturally. Fat content: Weight per wheel: 48 % FDM approx. 35 kg (70 lb) Nutrition values (per 100 g): Water 36 g Protein 27 g Fat 32 g Minerals 5 g Calories 398 kcal Joules kj Age: Taste: Color of the rind: Texture: Age: Taste: Color of the rind: Texture: Age: Taste: Color of the rind: Texture: Le Gruyère A OP mild 5 months Fruity-mild Ivory colour Soft, slightly moist, not very crumbly Le Gruyère A OP surchoix 12 months Fruity-spicy Ivory colour Creamy curd, slightly crumbly Le Gruyère A OP réserve 18 months Strong fruity Ivory colour Creamy curd, slightly crumbly

8 Urs Leuenberger

9 I am Urs Leuenberger, master cheesemaker and head of operations at the Vorderfultigen mountain dairy. In the hilly Gantrisch region between Bern, Fribourg and Thun, I make 6-7 rounds of Le Gruyère AOP for Gourmino every day. My dairy farmers are all located within a 1 km radius and so I can look out from the cheese dairy and see their cows as they graze. Prior to this, I used to make Emmentaler AOP and was very passionate about making cheese everyday. Due to a merger of two dairies, I had to give up my own cheese dairy and after that I worked as a department manager at an industrial milk processor for 12 years. I am that much more happy now, that I am able to follow my passion for cheese making again, producing Le Gruyère AOP. Cheese production per year: 77 tons of Le Gruyère AOP Milk suppliers: 6 farmers Milk volume per year: kg

10 Michael Spycher

11 I am master cheesemaker Michu (Michael) Spycher and I have been the resident of Fritzenhaus mountain dairy since With my wife Monika and our four children I live next door to the dairy. In addition to Le Gruyère AOP, with which I won the USA World Cheese Champion title in Madison, Wisconsin, I also make the specialty cheese called Hornbacher. The farmers who deliver the fresh milk twice a day all live within a radius of four kilometers. Their cows graze on succulent flowering meadows so they give pristine, and very nutritious milk. I like to keep on good terms with my farmers. Together our aim is to maintain the rural structure and support the local dairies. In 2013, the farmers even helped me build the new cheese cellar, where I can ripen and care for the cheeses before they are transferred to Gourmino. Cheese production per year: 67 tons of Le Gruyère AOP Milk suppliers: 12 farmers Milk volume per year: kg

12 handcrafted by our master cheesemakers Urs Leuenberger & World Cheese Champion Michael Spycher affinage by Gourmino Switzerland. Naturally. Cheeses from Switzerland.

selected & proved Vallée Brebidoux EXCLUSIVELY BY GOURMINO

selected & proved Vallée Brebidoux EXCLUSIVELY BY GOURMINO Vallée Brebidoux EXCLUSIVELY BY GOURMINO The Story La Fromathèque not just a cheese dairy Because of both their interests in sheep s milk products, Yan and Bertrand decided to join forces to achieve a