Appenzeller

I was visiting a friend and he knows I enjoy cheese. He brought out two bottles of Port, Rosenborg Blue Cheese, Swiss Appenzeller and Swiss Mont Vully. I brought German Cambozola and Greek Kasseri.

After taking a few pictures (he knows I’m a blogger) we did some serious tasting and enjoying. But this post is specifically about the Appenzellar. I’ll be posting about the Cambozola and Mont Vully later.

This is a picture of the Appenzeller.

Appenzeller

Appenzeller cheese is produced in Northeast Switzerland. It is made from cow’s milk and is a hard cheese. An herbal brine is applied to cheese during curing to promote the rind. There are 75 dairies producing Appenzeller. This is a pretty good photo because it shows the small holes and the golden rind. It smells strong but it does not taste as strong as it smells. It melts nicely on the tongue and is smooth. It had taste characteristics similar to the Mont Vully. It was mildly salty, earthy, nutty and lightly fruity. I could not decide if I preferred the Appenzeller or the Mont Vully. They are a bit different but I liked them both in a way I find hard to describe.

The Appenzeller is sold in three varieties.

Classic – in a silver wrapper aged 3-4 months (that is what we tried)
Surchoix – in a Gold wrapper aged 4-6 months
Extra – in a Black wrapper aged six months or longer

The official Appenzeller page is here.

The Appenzeller is a great cheese and a good addition to a cheese plate. It is very different from the cheddar cheeses many people are used to tasting. It is a bit strong and may not appeal to everybody. It did pair very nicely with the Graham’s 2003 Port.