瑞士
——芝士王國

瑞士
——芝士王國

David Bowden travels to the home of famous cheeses to discover medieval villages surrounded by lush green pastures beneath a backdrop of the snow-capped mountains of the Swiss Alps.

For a small, land-locked country, Switzerland delivers more than its size suggests in terms of cool things to see and do and enticing products to eat and drink.

Switzerland is undoubtedly one of Europe's coolest travel propositions; a European country that many foreigners want to visit. It's hard not to be mesmerized by snowy peaks, expansive farmlands and scenic glacial lakes. A green and clean image ensures the availability of superb produce and gourmet delights prepared by some of the world's most experienced and classically-trained chefs.

Swiss cheese is sourced from contented cows grazing on lush green grass制作瑞士芝士的鮮奶源自悠然咀嚼肥美鮮草的奶牛。

瑞士是著名的芝士故鄉(xiāng)。在積雪蓋頂?shù)娜鹗堪柋八股矫}下，戴維·博登發(fā)現(xiàn)了一些坐落于蔥郁草場之中的中古鄉(xiāng)村。

Cheeses and cured meats are available throughout Switzerland在瑞士所有地方都能品嘗到芝士和腌肉。

While the culinary world would be far less interesting without Swiss cheeses and chocolates, Switzerland contributes many other wonderful gourmet products. R?sti and fondue are as famous as the towering peak of the Matterhorn while in the Valais, raclette is a specialty cheese served heated (semiliquid style) with potatoes, bread and pickled onions. However, it is often the lesser-known regional favourites that make travelling through Switzerland so rewarding.

Combine all this with the country's unique and luscious wines and a gourmet tour of Switzerland is something everyone must do at least once in their life.

With over 450 unique types of cheese, dedicated cheese lovers or turophiles won't go hungry in Switzerland; surely the unoff i cial land of cheese. They can sample cheese produced from cows or goat's milk, hard cheese to soft cheese and those that are gentle on the nose or those that are extremely pungent. Three of Switzerland's most famous cheeses are Emmenthaler, Gruyère and Appenzeller and it was the districts where these three cheeses are made that formed the basis for my food and wine trail around Switzerland.

An historic dairy in Emmental一間歷史悠久的艾蒙塔制酪場。

KlNG OF CHEESE

After touching down in Zurich it's very straightforward to get onto Switzerland's famous railway network as the train station is at the bottom of the airport concourse. Trains regularly head to the southwest and the capital Bern. Located on a big loop in the Aare River, the capital dates back to the 12th century with much of the old city protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Bern is the closest city to the rolling rural hills where Emmentaler cheese is produced. Having long been a lover of nutty Emmentaler cheese (it has a hint of hazelnut) it was with great excitement that I caught a train and bus the next morning to the village of Affoltern im Emmental (Affoltern i. E.) one hour away from Bern.

Here it is possible to experience four generations of cheese production including the Küherstock dating back to 1741 through to the modern day show diary, restaurant and shop. Not only is it possible to taste a range of Emmentaler AOC (Appellation d'Origine Contr?lée) cheeses but visitors can also make a wheel of cheese. The region is what most would assume Swiss farmland to be like– expansive rolling hills, mooing cows and lush emerald green grass.

Farmers of the Emme Valley in the Canton of Bern have the making of Emmentaler cheese down to a fi ne art as their forefathers mastered the skill of producing the 'cheese with the holes in it' a long time ago and it is still made the same way. Its production has been dated back to the 13th century.

There are many ingredients that go into a wheel of Emmentaler cheese including milk produced from cows grazing on lush herb-rich grasses, the natural treatment without pasteurisation of the milk (that is, fresh untreated milk) and special natural rennet and bacteria cultures which encourage fermentation.

During the minimum 120-day maturation period, propionic acid fermentation causes carbon dioxide to form within the maturing cheese. However, the rind on the outside of cheese prevents this gas build up from escaping and enables the famous holes to form naturally. Emmentaler has been described as: 'like a baby; soft, warm and alive'.

There isn't just one Emmentaler cheese but several and mostly based upon the age of the cheese.

(left) Cheese being made（左）制作芝士。

(right) Chateau de Gruy è res（右）格魯耶爾城堡。

MEDlEVAL GRUYèRES

Many may be familiar with the rich nutty fl avour of Gruyère cheese but maybe less familiar with the district where it is produced. After consulting my guidebook to discover that Gruyères was a medieval village strategically perched on top of hill, it appeared to be an ideal stop on my rail journey around Switzerland.

Visitors to the town of Gruyères don't have to travel far to enjoy the delicious cheese as the Maison du Gruyère demonstration dairy, restaurant and gift shop is located immediately opposite Gruyères train station.

There, I was informed that the cheese's full name is Le Gruyère AOC which is a guarantee of an origin similar to the French wine system. Visitors can learn more about the cheese and see it being made in the information centre. Le Gruyère has been produced in and around Gruyères since the 12th century and cheese makers claim that its rich fl avour is the result of the hundreds of herbs that the cows graze on in the surrounding alpine pastures. It's safe to assume the current cheese producers have mastered the art of making this distinctive style of hard cheese.

Le Gruyère requires 700 litres of fresh milk to produce one 35kg 'wheel' of cheese and 48 wheels are made each day in the dairy. It is then aged in a cave-like environment while being regularly turned and rubbed with brine. Mild Le Gruyère requires fi ve months aging while the more mature style spends a year in the aging vault. A restaurant serves various styles of Le Gruyère AOC with fondue being the most popular dish served here. In some kitchens, especially in the canton of Fribourg, Le Gruyère AOC is combined in fondue with Vacherin Fribourgeois AOC cheese (moitié-moitié or 'half-half' is the classic version).

While the village of Gruyères is a walkable one kilometre up the hill, I waited for the bus to take me there. Visitors can explore the small village using the pedestrian-only, cobble-stoned square which several small streets radiate from.

In addition to visiting the 11th century Chateau de Gruyères that dominates the village's highest point a somewhat out of place museum is located near the chateau's entrance. Alien fans will not want to miss the H.R. Giger Museum which is home to the biomechanoid art of H.R. Giger who designed the iconic sculptures featured in the 1979 movie.

Restaurants, a few small hotels and several bars surround the square. There are more outlets than appear necessary for a small village population but during the day most outlets are all full of tourists. Later in the day, most of them head elsewhere for the evening as there is limited accommodation in the village. Small family-operated restaurants like La Fleur de Lys serve traditional Swiss food including local delights of Alpler macaroni and ham in a rich creamy sauce and desserts of meringue with fresh cream.

As the evening progresses, visitors will think they have the village all to themselves and on a star-lit evening there's no better place to admire the towering snowcapped peaks surrounding Gruyères while enjoying a post-dinner beverage or two.

Cobble-stone square, Gruyères格魯耶爾的鵝卵石大街。

Cheese shop, Appenzell阿彭策爾的芝士店 。

Traditional cheese making古法制酪。

AROMATlC APPENZELLER

Appenzeller is one of the better-known cheeses and is considered Switzerland's spiciest cheese. It is produced from pasture-fed cows in and around the small town of Appenzell (also famous for its local Appenzeller Bier and S?ntis Malt Whisky) in the far northeast of Switzerland near St. Gallen and the Austrian border.

The cheese has a distinctive taste that results from the herbal brine that is rubbed into the cheese during its maturation. Visitors can travel to the showcase cheese dairy in nearby Stein to watch it being made, join in a hands-on cheese making activity and to sample the cheese.

Visitors learn that after three months, the mildest form of Appenzeller is ready. This is followed with the Surchoix (or selection) after four months and the Extra after a minimum of six months maturation.

Visitors can buy some cheese in Stein, head back to Appenzell to obtain another tasty delicacy of mostbr?ckli (raw beef loin preserved in dry salt and seasoning, then smoked and dried), fresh bread and a few bottles of Appenzeller Bier for a picnic in an alpine meadow.

Appenzell is steeped in historic culture, traditional crafts and the picturesque town centre has colourfully painted houses and shops in the car-free main street. Traditional businesses feature antique wrought-iron signs proudly illustrating the type of business conducted in the shop, hotel or café.

Back in St. Gallen a gastronomic delight is the famous veal sausage from the city and called St. Galler Kalbsbratwurst. Prepared from the fi nest veal, a little bacon and fresh milk it is especially popular at barbecues accompanied by a crunchy Bürli roll.

Cheese is not just cheese in Switzerland, but a living slice of popular and gastronomic culture. It's little wonder that for a country with so many cheeses, most visitors to Switzerland are most likely to say ‘cheese' for the cameras.

(left) Blocks of cheese（左）芝士塊。

(right) Cold cuts in Appenzell（右）冷切肉。

瑞士是歐洲絕佳的旅游勝地：白雪皚皚的山頂、廣闊無垠的農(nóng)田及風(fēng)景優(yōu)美的冰湖，把游客迷得目瞪口呆。翠綠、干凈的自然環(huán)境讓一群最富經(jīng)驗(yàn)、受過傳統(tǒng)訓(xùn)練的廚師得以創(chuàng)作出一流的佳肴。

瑞士有450余種芝士，是當(dāng)之無愧的芝士之國。芝士愛好者可以遍嘗牛奶、羊奶，硬、軟等各色芝士。瑞士最負(fù)盛名的是艾蒙塔芝士、格魯耶爾芝士及阿彭策爾芝士。正是這三種芝士的故鄉(xiāng)吸引我開始了瑞士的美食之旅。

艾蒙塔芝士：芝士之王

蘇黎世機(jī)場大廳的底層就是火車站，火車將定時發(fā)往瑞士首都伯爾尼——離艾蒙塔芝士產(chǎn)地最近的城市。

阿福爾特恩村離伯爾尼只有1小時路程，游客可以在這里的芝士工廠、餐廳和商店中體驗(yàn)芝士的制作過程，還能嘗嘗各色艾蒙塔AOC芝士，親手做做芝士輪。

伯爾尼州艾蒙山谷的農(nóng)人把制作艾蒙塔芝士當(dāng)成了一項(xiàng)精細(xì)工藝，他們的祖輩在幾百年前就掌握了這門手藝，傳承至今。

艾蒙塔芝士輪里含有鮮奶、天然凝乳酶及菌群。在成熟期內(nèi)，芝士內(nèi)部會發(fā)酵生成二氧化碳，氣體被芝士外皮擋住后，自然在內(nèi)部形成大孔。艾蒙塔芝士有“如嬰兒般柔軟、溫暖、生機(jī)勃勃”的美譽(yù)。

格魯耶爾芝士：中世紀(jì)的傳承

很多人都熟悉有著濃濃堅(jiān)果風(fēng)味的格魯耶爾芝士，但也許不太清楚它的產(chǎn)地。格魯耶爾是一座居于山峰之頂?shù)闹泄糯迩f，也是我在瑞士鐵路之旅的理想一站。

格魯耶爾芝士的全名叫格魯耶爾AOC芝士。12世紀(jì)起，格魯耶爾及其周邊地區(qū)就開始生產(chǎn)這種芝士了。芝士師透露道，格魯耶爾芝士的濃郁風(fēng)味要?dú)w功于奶牛在牧場食用的香草。

制作格魯耶爾芝士時，要定期轉(zhuǎn)動芝士，并在外皮上擦拭鹵水。淡味格魯耶爾芝士要在窖內(nèi)存放5個月，成熟度更高的品種要存放1年。

格魯耶爾的村中廣場周圍布滿了餐廳、旅館和酒吧。白天，商店里擠滿了游客，天色變晚后，大部分游客因找不到下榻的地方，都去往別處了。

夜晚，要想在星光熠熠的天空下，邊啜著飲料，邊欣賞四周聳立的雪峰，格魯耶爾是最適宜的地方。

阿彭策爾芝士：香濃之冠

阿彭策爾芝士被譽(yù)為瑞士口味最濃烈的芝士，其獨(dú)特味道來源于成熟期內(nèi)外皮上擦拭的香草鹵水。在施泰因附近的展示芝士工廠，游客可以觀看這種芝士的生產(chǎn)過程，還可參與制作、試吃。

在施泰因購買芝士后，不妨再回過頭去阿彭策爾阿爾卑斯山下的草地上來一次野餐，嚼嚼辣味肉干、鮮面包，喝上幾瓶阿彭策爾啤酒。

在瑞士，芝士不僅僅是芝士，而是通俗文化、美食文化中不可或缺的一員。瑞士的芝士種類如此豐富，難怪去那兒的游客都愛對著鏡頭喊“Cheese”來定格他們的笑容。

SWlTZERLAND - SAY CHEESE!

Text by David Bowden Photos by David Bowden & Getty Images Translation by Emma Xu

A hotel with flag of Switzerland.懸掛國旗的酒店。