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The term "Swiss cheese" is a constant source of amusement for people from Europe... you know, like, there is only one type of cheese made in Switzerland...
by kleiba 1y ago
The term "Swiss cheese" is a constant source of amusement for people from Europe... you know, like, there is only one type of cheese made in Switzerland...
- loloquwowndueo 1y agoIt usually means Gruyère cheese.
- kgwgk 1y agoWhich has no holes. (The cheese known as Gruyère in Switzerland, I mean.)
- loloquwowndueo 1y agoWell - sure. Ever heard the phrase “contrary to popular belief”? :)
- kgwgk 1y agoBut US Gruyere cheese DOES have holes: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-133/subpart-B/section-133.149 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B...
- bigiain 1y agoWe must immediately start constructing all critical safety systems out of Gruyere. If there are no holes, then it's impossible for the holes to line up.
- JumpCrisscross 1y agoFrench-style Gruyère can has holes. (Swiss does not.)
- ofalkaed 1y agoAmerican Swiss cheese developed from Emmental cheese.
- riffraff 1y agoIt is odd, but people often confuse Emmenthaler and Gruyere. Even in Italian (just across the border!) it was not uncommon to hear expressions like "full of holes like groviera", and it seems in French it's the same based on the existence of this Wikipedia page https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradoxe_du_fromage_%C3%A0_trous https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradoxe_du_fromage_%C3%A0_tro... Language is just strange.
- kgwgk 1y agoThey also have their own “Gruyère” - different from the Swiss one and with holes - in France: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gruy%C3%A8re_fran%C3%A7ais https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gruy%C3%A8re_fran%C3%A7ais They also have a cheese similar to the Gruyère from Switzerland, but with a different name (the Gruyère part dropped from the name over time): https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comt%C3%A9_(fromage) https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comt%C3%A9_(fromage)
- rkomorn 1y agoI'm French and it apparently took more than four decades for me to TIL that we have our own Gruyère. I always assumed we were just calling Emmental the wrong thing. Then again most of what we call Gruyère is a somewhat industrialized store-bought thing that arguably tastes like neither Emmental not Gruyère (but at least it has holes, I guess). And to boot, I'm pretty sure we call "Gruyère" some of the products that are labeled as Emmental anyway. In retrospect, it makes sense we'd have our "own" given how finicky we are with names (of things we produce). Edit: turns out we've also bastardized Emmental anyway.
- HelloNurse 1y agoThere's also a tight branding and trademark component. I remember a major ad campaign when proper imported "Emmental" was rebranded as "Emmentaler" because the former name was becoming generic, and a related ad campaign about positioning and promoting Emmentaler as one of several kinds of "Swiss Cheese" along with Gruyere, Sbrinz and maybe a fourth one I don't recollect.
- dragonwriter 1y agoAs noted in the article, it is the cheese internationally known as Emmental, not Gruyère. Both Swiss and Gruyere cheese are regulated food names in the US Swiss (Emmentaler is an alternative name in the regs, but is a label of geographic origin in Switzerland) is defined at 21 CFR § 133.195, Gruyere at 21 CFR § 133.149.
- athenot 1y agoOnly in France. For some reason, the names for Gruyère and Emmental got swapped there.
- jahbrewski 1y agoCall me naive, but honestly never made the connection between swiss cheese and Switzerland.
- netsharc 1y agoI live in the country, and when I went to USA I found it amusing that a sandwich's ingredients include "Swiss". (No mention of "cheese")
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- sojournerc 1y agoIt's like saying "cheddar". Cheese is assumed
- shrx 1y agoThere could be more to it; some processed cheese products can't legally be named cheese.
- gerdesj 1y agoCheddar is a small town and a gorge in Somerset, UK. I live close by. Switzerland is an entire country with sodding great mountains and lakes, multiple towns, cities and a lot of worryingly loved leather clothing. How on earth can you reduce a nation that supplies the rather lovely Swiss Guard to the Vatican and rather a lot more (that word is working quite hard at this point and perspiring very heavily) to the entire world to ... cheese. I suggest you don't apply for any jobs in marketing. Your talents will be wasted, should any be found 8)
- netsharc 1y agoSo, what's for dinner this Thanksgiving?
- deleted 1y ago
- criemen 1y agoIn German, "Swiss cheese" is a term that's well known, and doesn't count that kind of amusement. For example, you could say that something "looks like swiss cheese" when it has a lot of holes in it, like very old clothing. It's often used slightly ironic, but that's not due to what you state.
- ckdot 1y agoIn German „Swiss cheese“ simply means „Schweizer Käse“ or „Käse aus der Schweiz“ - but you’ll usually still find the exact type like Emmentaler on the label and packaging. So, as a German, it’s a bit amusing indeed.
- kleiba 1y agoExactly. I bet no store in Germany sells cheese simply labeled "Swiss Cheese" (as the product name) while in the US, that's common.
- cubefox 1y agoNo because "Swiss cheese" means "Emmentaler", not "Schweizer Käse". Quote from the article: > In the U.S., we call it “Swiss” cheese, while in Switzerland, it’s known as Emmental.
- kleiba 1y agoWell, that's the point of the OP, isn't it? Emmental cheese is one of over 500 types of cheeses produced in Switzerland, but by calling this one product ("the") Swiss cheese, you're kinda implying that these hundreds of other cheeses that are actually also produced in Switzerland do not exist. It's a bit like: "In Germany, they call this car a BMW, but here we call it German Car."
- NoPicklez 1y agoWell of course not, but at some point it became an icon. Similar to eating a Danish pastry, like the Danish only made one type of pastry... Of course cheese with holes in it isn't the only type of cheese they make
- dylan604 1y agoI'd rather be known for Swiss cheese than American cheese. At least Swiss is actually cheese and not a cheese product. American cheese is nasty. It baffles me people not only eat it, but also like it
- gerdesj 1y agoThere are largely three types of cheese in the US: Swiss, American and Cheddar. I live near to Cheddar (Somerset, UK) but I'm not going to get too outraged. All countries, without exception, do something unpleasant to an ingredient or dish that the rest of the world will cry foul over. It is the way of things.
- maxerickson 1y agoDid you form this picture of US cheese after visiting a hot dog cart?
- selectodude 1y agoFew things are more popular among Europeans than making up ignorant nonsense about how dumb and backwards Americans are.
- tomnipotent 1y agoMy favorite is that we don't have bakeries or endless varieties of fresh bread.
- JumpCrisscross 1y ago
- eru 1y agoIt's like British English, or Chinese cuisine.
- paradox460 1y agoAs is "American cheese"
- Steve44 1y agoIn the UK it's fairly common to use the term "Swiss cheese". Most people would know you are talking about Emmental or Gruyere and it would have the bubbles/holes in it. Although they are not the same cheese, they are quite close in texture and flavour and are fairly interchangeable to the point where I don't think a significant number of people could tell you which was which. There is also the Swiss Cheese Model which is when several unfortunate events all line up to cause a major incident.
- pezezin 1y agoI am from Spain and it is the same in my country. If you ask the average Spanish person about "queso suizo", they will picture Emmental or Gruyere with the stereotypical holes in it.
- panick21 1y agoIf they are close in taste then you have very mild versions and sup-par versions of them.
- enopod_ 1y agoEmmentaler and Gruyère close in texture and flavour and interchangeable? Oh boy, if you ever travel to Switzerland, I recommend you to keep your opinions on cheese to yourself. ;) Emmentaler has holes, is low in salt and has a taste which is on the bland side (I personally don't like it), whereas Gruyère has no holes, is saltier and has a much richer and "rounder" flavour. It comes in different stages of ripening, from young, which is soft in texture and mild, to old, which is hard and has a much stronger flavour. I personally like Gruyère mi-salé a lot, the semi-ripened one. It's close to a perfect cheese if you ask me.
- Freak_NL 1y agoI'll never understand how people can think 'Gruyère' and then imagine cheese with holes in it… A fun fact: the Dutch don't usually think of Emmentaler when you say 'Zwitserse kaas', but of these paper shakers filled with grated Schabziger: https://www.gourmandgazette.nl/2023/12/08/zwitserse-kaas/ https://www.gourmandgazette.nl/2023/12/08/zwitserse-kaas/ Those have been sold as 'Zwitserse strooikaas' for decades.
- IAmBroom 1y agoThere is more than one kind of cheese in America, but only one is called "American cheese" (and it isn't actually, legally cheese, BTW...).
- kleiba 1y ago"Today, cheese dairies and mountain pastures in Switzerland produce nearly 500 varieties of cheese, not counting fresh cheeses." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_cheeses_and_dairy_products https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_cheeses_and_dairy_produc...