All 30 Swiss cheeses in the quiz
The big AOP classics and a few small local heroes. Which one are you?
Start the quizLe Gruyère AOP
A little nutty and better with every year.
Le Gruyère d’Alpage AOP
Spends summers in the mountains and has stories to prove it.
Emmentaler AOP
Open-minded. Has a few holes and is totally fine with it.
Appenzeller®
Has a secret. Will never tell you what it is.
Sbrinz AOP
Extra-hard and not impressed by trends.
Tête de Moine AOP
Turns every situation into something pretty. Usually by spinning it.
Vacherin Fribourgeois AOP
The other half of every good fondue.
Vacherin Mont-d’Or AOP
Only around in winter, and best eaten with a spoon.
L’Etivaz AOP
An old soul who does things the traditional way, on purpose.
Raclette du Valais AOP
Melts under pressure, and everybody loves it.
Raclette Suisse®
Always up for a party. Brings the grill.
Berner Hobelkäse AOP
Thin-skinned? Never. Thinly sliced? Always.
Tilsiter
Fits in anywhere and just gets on with the job.
Tomme Vaudoise
Small and soft, with a secret fancy side.
Formaggio d’alpe ticinese AOP
Mountain soul with a Mediterranean attitude.
Alpkäse
Spent the summer offline and feels great about it.
Bündner Bergkäse
Honest, and knows every hiking trail by heart.
Mutschli
Small and round. Everybody’s favourite.
Schabziger
A green cone, and proud of being weird.
Bloder-Sauerkäse AOP
The one only locals know about.
Formaggini
Tiny and always dressed for aperitivo.
Swiss Buffalo Mozzarella
Moved here, fell in love, never left.
Ziger
Light and humble, and secretly very useful.
Belper Knolle®
Looks like a truffle, acts like a rock star.
Swiss Sheep’s Cheese
A bit of a loner, but a very interesting one.
Swiss Goat Cheese
A curious climber with a stubborn streak.
Swiss Rahmkäse
Proudly old-fashioned and very smooth.
Cottage Cheese
Low drama, high protein.
Fondue Mix
Several cheeses in one pot, and a bit of a personality crisis.
Swiss Mascarpone
The reason dessert exists.
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Swiss cheese in a few words
Switzerland makes a lot of cheese. The Cheesefinder of Switzerland Cheese Marketing alone lists more than 550 of them, from huge alpine wheels to small fresh cheeses. Most are made from cow’s milk, but Swiss cheesemakers also work with goat’s, sheep’s and buffalo milk.
Switzerland Cheese Marketing sorts them by type. Extra-hard cheeses like Sbrinz are ready after about 18 months and get shaved or grated. Hard cheeses such as Gruyère and Emmentaler are the classics for fondue and the cheese board. Semi-hard cheeses like Appenzeller, Tilsiter and Raclette Suisse are ready to eat after about three months. Soft cheeses like Tomme Vaudoise and Vacherin Mont-d’Or ripen for just a few weeks, and fresh cheeses such as mozzarella or cottage cheese can be eaten right after they are made.
AOP stands for Appellation d’Origine Protégée, a protected designation of origin. An AOP cheese has to be made in its home region and follow a fixed set of rules for the milk, the method and the ripening. Twelve of the 30 cheeses in this quiz carry the label.