Gruyère is a hard Swiss cheese that originated in the cantons of Fribourg, Vaud, Neuchâtel, Jura, and Berne in Switzerland. It is named after the town of Gruyères in Fribourg. In 2001, Gruyère gained the appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC), which became the appellation d'origine protégée (AOP) as of 2013.
Gruyère cheese
The affinage cellar in the Maison du Gruyère, in Gruyères
The landscape of the region of Gruyères, marked by milk economy
Rounds of Swiss Gruyère cheese on sale in a wholesale food market in France
Swiss cheeses and dairy products
Switzerland has a strong and ancestral dairy farming and cheesemaking tradition. The breeding of cattle, sheep and goats for milk is attested in the Neolithic period and, since Antiquity, cheese has been exported from the Alpine regions. The rugged nature of the country makes approximately 80% of the agricultural land unsuitable for cultivation, which is therefore mainly exploited for cattle and sheep farming. This mode of exploitation has forged a large part of the Swiss landscape, in the Alps, the Jura and on the Swiss Plateau.
An armailli transporting a wheel of cheese from the alp.
Landscape of Gruyère
Dairy cows in the Emmental
A Valais Blackneck in the high Alps