Etivaz

Every year, once the snow has melted, sixty-nine producers return to their Alpine chalets high up in the Swiss Alps for the summer.  With their cows grazing the lush, diverse mountain pastures, these small family farms set about creating a mountain style cheese the way it has been done for hundreds of years.

Each cheese is made by hand in these small Alpine chalets: the milk is warmed and the curd heated in copper cauldrons hanging over open log fires, which imparts a saline, smoky note to the cheese, and accentuates the classic, supple, sweet butterscotch-and-caramel nutty notes of the best Alpine cheeses.  The cheese is made naturally using homemade starter cultures, to truly capture their terroir.

At barely a few days old the cheese wheels are transported down the mountain to the aging cellars in the mountain village of Etivaz, where the farmer-owned cooperative takes care of ageing and selling the cheeses.

Frederic and Irene Chabloz, one of the prized Etivaz producers who make this cheese, are part of this cooperative.  Their chalet is set 1550 metres above sea level, they farm just 24 traditionally-bred Swiss cows, and they make only two small wheels of Etivaz each day.  The Chabloz family product stands out as a true and excellent example of how good Etivaz can be.

Read the full story of Etivaz here, or watch its video below.

This product will have two weeks’ shelf life from the date of delivery.  Conveniently, at checkout you can choose a delivery date even well in the future if you would like your cheese delivering for a specific event.