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Why does Swiss cheese have holes?

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Re: Why does Swiss cheese have holes?

#161

Post by brainwad »

ricudis wrote: post #110
rootusrootus wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fun fact - in Switzerland the holes are not permitted. Bonus fact - Switzerland imports more cheese than it exports.

And how would they know if my cheese has holes, given that there is a non-zero probability that a random cut over a piece of cheese goes through no holes at all? They would have to make so many cuts that the cheese becomes grated. And grated cheese most definitely doesn't have holes!

They know the density of holeless cheese, and can compare to the sample. If it's underweight it probably has holes?

Re: Why does Swiss cheese have holes?

#162

Post by pythg »

I believe one of the first publications explaining the phenomenon dates back to 2015. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095869461... It details the formation of the holes, their size, etc. I remember sending it at the time as a contribution here, thinking the topic was worth interest. Unfortunately, it fell through the cracks. I had also submitted it for approval to the Ig Nobel committee (it diverges somewhat, strictly speaking, from the philosophy of the prize). I received a reply saying it would be reviewed.

Re: Why does Swiss cheese have holes?

#163

Post by palata »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #64
palata wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Swiss cheese" is not... a "Swiss" cheese. It's just the name of a cheese, but that cheese does not come from Switzerland.

> that cheese does not come from Switzerland The canton of Bern makes an absolutely excellent Emmantaler. It’s the original Swiss cheese as brought to America by 19th-century Swiss immigrants to Wisconsin.

Emmentaler is a cheese originally from Switzerland, though many other countries now make a cheese that they call like that.

"Swiss cheese" is supposed to be similar to Emmentaler (or inspired from it?). But the fact that Swiss Emmentaler counts as Swiss cheese does not mean that Swiss cheese counts as Emmentaler, or is from Switzerland at all.

Re: Why does Swiss cheese have holes?

#164

Post by cubefox »

criemen wrote: post #18
kleiba wrote: post #2

The term "Swiss cheese" is a constant source of amusement for people from Europe... you know, like, there is only one type of cheese made in Switzerland...

In German, "Swiss cheese" is a term that's well known, and doesn't count that kind of amusement. For example, you could say that something "looks like swiss cheese" when it has a lot of holes in it, like very old clothing. It's often used slightly ironic, but that's not due to what you state.

No because "Swiss cheese" means "Emmentaler", not "Schweizer Käse". Quote from the article:

> In the U.S., we call it “Swiss” cheese, while in Switzerland, it’s known as Emmental.

Re: Why does Swiss cheese have holes?

#165

Post by watwut »

rootusrootus wrote: post #70
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why on Earth would they intentionally export only their garbage cheese? This usually happens when one population is discerning and the other is not.

I don't know what to make of that statement. It is arrogant, at least. Are you trashing just the 340 million people in the US with this comment, or everybody not-Swiss?

Why does "being less discerning" equals "inferior" in your eyes? People from different cultures like different things and care about different things.

Re: Why does Swiss cheese have holes?

#166

Post by watwut »

hulitu wrote: post #143
Insanity wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honest question.. where? Most bread seems to be high in additives and promoted as a “healthy food”, like additional vitamines etc. And even when buying natural bread without these added “benefits”, it often has high levels of sodium (up to like 200mg per slice). Bread is one of the easiest, most plain things to make, yet finding high quality bread isn’t straightforward in the States. But I do really want to know whic…

> Bread is one of the easiest, most plain things to make, yet finding high quality bread isn’t straightforward in the States Finding high quality bread isn’t straightforward anywhere in EU. It either has sugar or additives or it is cooked at a too low temperature to be useful.

> or it is cooked at a too low temperature to be useful

In what way is that bread "not useful"?

Re: Why does Swiss cheese have holes?

#167

Post by Copenjin »

shermantanktop wrote: post #137

> In the U.S., we call it “Swiss” cheese, while in Switzerland, it’s known as Emmental. What? I struggle to see how this sentence makes any sense. The two products can both have holes, I guess? But grocery store Swiss cheese in the US is a waxy bland cheese product with a slight tang, whereas Emmentaler is complex, funky and quite assertive by comparison. I doubt the fans of either product love the other.

Like "parmesan" the cheap versions you find easily has no relationship with the actual thing, even if decades ago maybe the actual thing was initially imported with no local alternative.

Re: Why does Swiss cheese have holes?

#169

Post by [deleted] »

gus_massa wrote: post #47
riffraff wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many small holes collapsing into a few large ones, perhaps? You can sometimes see where two holes merged.

That's a good idea, but if the holes collapse I expect more variation in size. My guess is that the CO2 diffuses until it finds a nearby hole. Did someone put a whole cheese in MNR to track the holes? (I guess an ultrasound image device is cheaper. Is it possible to use a CT adding contrast to the cheese?)

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