cartoon cheese! (Emmental)

Member Name: kjl12

Product:	Emmental
Date:	29/06/05 (793 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: taste

Disadvantages: it has holes in it?

I've not tried a food review yet, and as all the major snack foods have been done recently (more or less seriously...) I'm going to have a go at a cheese review! Who says my life isn't full of Hollywood glamour...

So here it is, all you ever wanted to know about Emmental, but were afraid to ask. Or you just had a life....


**the background**

It has been made from 50 BC at least, and the name comes from the Emme valley in Switzerland ('Tal' meaning valley in German of course). But it's not like champagne and those other area specific names - it's made in France and Germany too.

** the look **

It really is your stereotypical cartoon cheese like in the Tom and Jerry cartoons (do mice actually eat cheese, anyway?). It's a sort of pale yellow colour with distinctive nut -sized holes in it. It spends a couple of months fermenting in a cellar and that's when the holes are formed. So there. And it's made in massive rounds called wheels which can weigh 200 pounds each. And 100 litres of milk make 80 kilos of cheese. Can you stand any more excitement?

**the taste**

The important bit. Emmental is one of my favourite cheeses as it has such a balanced flavour. Yes, I know how pretentious I sound, bear with it. It's fruity and sweet, but a bit nutty too. It's slightly sharp, but mellow too. It's not a really strong cheese, but it's not bland like a mild cheddar either. It makes a lovely tasting cheese sauce or fondue, but can equally be enjoyed on its own as a snack.

**uses**

Another reason I really like Emmental (I'm quite getting into this now - anyone up for a series of cheese reviews?!) is its versatility. It's really famous as a fondue cheese and it does that well, because of the slightly stringy, gloopy way that it melts (stop me if it all gets too technical..). But it's good too as a snack, as part of a cheese board, in a cheese sauce (makes a cracking Carbonara, actually) or as an alternative to cheddar on your cheese on toast. My favourite tip for it is a classic cheese and tomato sandwich, actually.

**availabilty**

Stocked by all of the major supermarkets this is now becoming a popular cheese - it even has a TV advert at the moment with that annoying 1950s couple in the kitchen who give the mouse a chocolate and keep the cheese. But my tip for the top, as always, is to head for Lidl as they do a really good Emmental at a fraction of the cost of the other supermarkets.

Thanks for reading!

Summary: