Emmentaler AOC, the king of Swiss cheeses, owes its name to the valley in which the Emme, a river in the canton of Bern, flows, where cheese production was documented as far back as the 13th century. Today, Emmentaler is produced in around 122 village dairies with fresh, untreated milk from cows fed exclusively on grass and hay. 12 litres of milk are needed for a kilo of cheese. The addition of other ingredients or the use of genetically modified substances is prohibited.
The round cheeses have a diameter ranging from 80 to 100 cm and weigh between 75 and 120 kg. It can be purchased at different stages of aging: "Classic" with a sweet taste reminiscent of walnut (aged at least 4 months), "Reserve" with strong spicy hints (aged at least 8 months), "Grotta" with a full and vigorous taste (aged at least 12 months in a cave).
Its most typical characteristic are certainly the holes: from the size of a cherry to that of a walnut, they are formed during the aging process.
