Celiac Disease

Making cheese has never been an easily regulated, scientific process. Usually, good quality cheese is a result of the dedication to make flavorful cheese by an experienced and perhaps a lucky cheese maker. Although following analytical tests of cheese characteristics may produce a good cheese, traditional cheese making has always been an endeavor of luck.

Creating a set of standards for cheese is not easy because every kind has its own unique characteristics, and the cheese that does not fit within that range will either taste bad or be inferior. For example, cheddar cheese is low in moisture and pH content, while a good soft blue cheese is the total opposite.

Regulations exist in order to assure the consumer that the cheese he will purchase is authentic. France, being one of the biggest natural cheese producers in history, started granting certain regions monopolies on certain types of cheeses. And because cheese is made for human consumption, extreme care is taken to make sure that the raw materials are of the highest quality, all the more if the cheese is intended for export it must meet particularly stringent quality control standards.

The Appellation of Controlled Origin or appellation d’origine controlee is a label that indicates that an agricultural product is from a specific region, maintaining a certain set of standards local to that region. Consequently, food from a certain region must also be produced in a particular way in order to qualify for an appellation of controlled origin there are national inspectors that visit and make sure that food producers comply with the given standards.

However, not everything in the market bears the appellation label. Qualifying for such a label means that the government feels that the raw materials from which the food is made is of high production quality. This label has been established so that consumers can be sure that the products that they buy are not cheap counterfeits or knockoff versions.

Wines and cheeses are usually the items labeled with an appellation of controlled origin, and one particular type of cheese that has this distinct mark is the Gruyere Cheese. This particular cheese is creamy and pale, with small holes and a slightly granular taste. Unlike most Swiss cheeses, the holes found on Gruyere cheese are about the size of a pea and are widely immersed within the cheese. Its taste is also different from the regular Swiss, but neither too strong nor overpowering. That makes the Gruyere cheese a very great addition to quiches, soups, salads, and pastas. You can have it sliced or grated, depending on your desired effect.

Always look for the cheese that exceeds production and state standards. Next time you host a wine and cheese party, make sure the cheese you serve is not run of the mill. So always check for the appellation of controlled origin seal. Get the Gruyere cheese today!

Check out other stories about Gruyere Cheese.

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