Gruyere

Gruyere is a hard Swiss cheese from the cantons of Fribourg, Vaud, Neuchatel, Jura and Bern, classified as a Swiss or Alpine-type cheese and named for the town of Gruyeres in Fribourg. It received appellation d'origine controlee status in 2001, converted to appellation d'origine protegee status in 2013, a designation that strictly defines both its production and its maturation for Swiss producers. The cheese is sweet but slightly salty, tasting creamy and nutty when young and developing more assertive, earthy and complex notes as it matures for five to twelve months, with small cracks and a grainy texture when fully aged, and unlike Emmental it has few if any holes; it is the most popular Swiss cheese both within Switzerland and across most of Europe.