Now THAT’S cheesy.
Home to 156,000 wheels of cheese, mostly gruyère and emmentaler, is the Kaltbach Cave, a tunnel-like cave in the Santenberg mountain. Inside this, the cheese is meticulously aged, as the cool conditions of the cave are perfect for ripening cheese.
Stretching over a mile, stacked shelves hold the cheeses at temperatures around 50 degrees Fahrenheit year-round, and the cool waters of the river (Kaltbach means “cold river”) that runs through the cave keep humidity levels at around 96 percent. The cave’s unique climate and the interaction of mineral deposits on the sandstone with the cheese create a distinctive flavor and aroma, and give the rinds their signature dark brown color.
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The cave was discovered in 1953 as a natural cheese-aging habitat when local cheesemakers ran out of storage space and began keeping them in the Kaltbach. In 1993, Emmi acquired the cave and has been storing and aging their finest cheeses in it since. The contribution of this tranquil cave in a Swiss mountain to the cheese boards of the world should go unnoticed no more.
For at least nine months, the cheese is stored inside the cave where it is carefully monitored until the cheese reach the right aromatic and textural maturity.
(Image Credit: Emmi Cheese USA/ Atlas Obscura)