CoolCooksShare

The Swiss Pope of Cheese

Switzerland is the epicenter for many things globally that people do not generally think about. For instance 35% of the world’s wealth is kept in its banking system, the exemplar for discreetness.

Switzerland historically has been ground zero for political neutrality, representing a haven for both sides in many world wars. Even today the Swiss Chambers' Court of Arbitration and Mediation is recognized internationally as a fair and neutral third party.

Less well known is Switzerland’s role in the environment. Its tight regulation of waste sets the standard for all of Europe, and its citizens pay perhaps the highest price for disposal of all types of contaminants. This in turn means that Switzerland sets the standard for all types of packaging, much as California automobile emissions standards set the tone for the US.

Which leads us quite naturally to Swiss cheese and a man by the name of Rolf Beeler (BAY-lor). Beeler is an affineur – a finisher of cheeses. In the entire world there are only a few such people, mostly French. An affineur advises and coaches a cheese maker on aging their cheese, how often to wash and rotate them, and how to “season” them with various bacteria. Think of a top figure skating coach leading his or her charge to the Olympic gold medal.

Beeler advances this art further by “designing” the cheese before the goat or cow is even milked. He alters the animals’ diets by designating the fields they graze on, usually at very high altitudes, and exactly what they eat.

Beeler started this quest for perfection thirty years ago, walking the high mountain meadows of the Alps, talking to the cheese makers, and of course tasting every cheese in the land. Beeler today at age 55 is well known as the Cheese Pope - http://www.rolfbeeler.ch/

Beeler’s cheeses are found in the finest artisanal shops and fine restaurants all over the world – including The French Laundry and Gramercy Tavern. Beeler’s impact is not economic, but rather he is recognized for selecting and developing the world’s finest cheeses. His influence causes ripple effects in the world of cheese. For example, Beeler reinvented the classic Swiss Emmental – pushing its maturation cycle from 7 months to 18 months and washing the rind twice a week until it turned a dark nutty brown, the way it used to be made for centuries. Now the major cheese companies are doing the same.

Just twenty or so cheeses carry the stamp “Rolf Beeler Maître Fromage.” They are made from raw milks and as Rolf says, “I like the farmer to know the name of each cow.” Beeler contends that the Swiss have surpassed the French in the finest cheese making. There is only one way to find out…

Caring for Cheese

We have no problem with the concept of planting and cultivating a vegetable or herb garden, or caring for and cooling fine wines, but for some reason people think of cheese as an inert object. It isn’t. Cheese is about caring for and developing bacteria and they deserve the same attention that any fine food ingredient receives.

You pick cheese by what you enjoy naturally, but once home what do you do with it? Paradoxically “air” is both the enemy and the friend of cheese. Cheese is a living breathing organism, so standard airtight Saran wrap suffocates it. So use wax paper to lightly wrap cheese. Properly wrapped soft cheeses will keep this way for a week and hard cheeses for a month – in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator.

If blue and green surface molds appear, scrape them off. Keep blue cheeses segregated from other cheeses for this same reason. Cheese is best served at room temperature in most instances, so take them out an hour or two ahead of serving. And final warnings – never bake or freeze cheese.

Richard Wottrich