Swiss cheese is a pretty superior cheese, no matter how you look it and so much more so, the Vacherin du Mont d’Or, the true king of cheeses. In the not so distant past, it was still possible to find cheese made from raw milk in Switzerland but nowadays it’s strictly forbidden due to the stringent Swiss health regulations – however, in France the cheese is still made with raw milk. Whilst cheese throughout the world is a glorious thing – from the rock hard salty-sweet churpi made from yak milk to the pungent and almost anti-social Boulette d’Asvesnes,  Mont d‘Or with it’s grey-

yellow rind and firm, creamy, very rich cheese is sheer poetry –  certainly not for dieters because with 40% – 50% milk fat, it’s one of the most fattening cheeses around.  Vacherin Mont d‘Or was once made in both France and Switzerland but today only the Swiss may call their cheese Vacherin du Mont d’Or whilst  the French are obliged to refer to their’s as Mont d’Or or Vacherin du Haut-Doubs. The cheese

from both countries are equally delicious and the only difference lies in border delineation which is why this great contribution to the international cheese platter now has three aliases – all loved equally by cheese lovers everywhere.  The Vacherin du Mont d’Or is a mountain cheese made during the cooler time of the year in the mountains between Switzerland and France.  The curd is poured into thin spruce hoops in which the cheese is washed and matured and from there into the final pine box that plays such an important role in its distinctive taste.  Then there is the Vacherin Fribourgeois, which is Swiss and can be found in the canton of Fribourg (where Gruyere is also made) – it’s strong, hearty and intense Swiss cow’s milk cheese with a firm texture. However, if you find one that’s young enough it’ll be semi-soft. The cheese has been called an “old fashioned” Vacherin because of the way it looks with its uneven, crumpled rind and the taste of the mountain grass upon which the cows feed, the nuts and the fresh hay. Delicious when melted, it makes a glorious fondue because the flavours become more intense – the Vacherin Fribourgeois makes an excellent fondue cheese. Then there is the Vacherin d’alpage – a rich Vacherin that’s as rare as chickens teeth and and pure bliss. It’s made by hand only in very remote

chalets from the milk of the cows grazing in the Alpine meadows. As Vacherin ages, the ammonia smell gets stronger because of the activity of the microorganisms in the cheese. The Vacherin du Haut du Mont d’Or is a wood infused, unpasteurised cheese with a soft and creamy texture – like the Mont d’ Or but with raw milk and, dare I say, incredibly desirable. The AOC rules (of the 28th of December 2007) decrees that the cheese only be made between the 15th of August (when the cows return from the mountains) and the 31st of March. The cheeses are wrapped in cloth, packed into protective ‘baskets’ made of spruce bark and then washed for three weeks  in brine.  The result is a cheese with burnt yellow crust, tinged with peach and with the cloth  markings quite visible. Normally the crust isn’t eaten and the creamy cheese that sticks to it, eaten with a spoon.  However, the cheese is pricey and most people eat the crust, which, when baked in the wooden box, maybe with a small splash of excellent white wine,  is delicious.