Aarewasser

Aarewasser cheese is a sweet nutty creamy semi-hard or semi-soft cheese, washed with pure fresh spring water from the River Aare, the longest river entirely within Switzerland. It rises in the Alps and flows into the Rhine. The cheese tastes good even when young and some say it reminds them of fresh meadows in Spring. It is made with unpasteurised Simmentaler cow's milk, chiefly in Oberhünigen, Emmental, Berne Canton, Switzerland. Simmentaler refers to a breed of large usually buff or dull red and white cattle of Swiss origin that are used widely throughout the world for meat and milk.

Manchego

Manchego (queso manchego) is made in the La Mancha region of Spain from the milk of sheep of the Manchega breed. It is aged between 60 days and 2 years.

Manchego has a firm and compact consistency and a buttery texture, often containing small, unevenly distributed air pockets. Colour varies from white to ivory-yellow and the inedible rind from yellow to brownish-beige. The cheese has a distinctive flavour, well developed but not too strong, creamy with a slight piquancy and leaves an aftertaste characteristic of sheep's milk.

The designation queso manchego is protected under Spain's denominación de origen regulatory classification system and the cheese has been granted Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status by the European Union.

A queso manchego must satisfy these requirements:

• produced within designated parts of the provinces of Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca and Toledo, all in the La Mancha region.
• made only with the whole milk of Manchega breed sheep, raised on registered farms within the area.
• aged for a minimum of 60 days (30 days for cheeses weighing up to 1.5 kg [3.3 lb]) and a maximum of two years.
• must be produced by pressing in a cylindrical mould that has a maximum height of 12 cm (4.7 in) and a maximum diameter of 22 cm (8.7 in).

Manchego cheese can be made from pasteurised or raw milk; if the latter, it may be labelled artesano (artisan). The only permitted additives are natural rennet or another approved coagulating enzyme and salt.

The moulds in which the cheese is pressed are barrel-shaped. Traditionally, manchego was made by pressing the curd in plaited esparto grass baskets, which left a distinctive zig-zag pattern (pleita) on the rind. Today, the same effect is achieved by the mould, the inside of which has a design in relief that imparts to the finished cheese an embossed pattern similar to that of woven esparto grass. The top and bottom surfaces of the cheese are impressed with a design of a head of wheat.

During maturation, manchego develops a natural rind. The regulations permit this to be washed, coated in paraffin, dipped in olive oil or treated with certain approved transparent substances but require that it must not be removed if the cheese is to be marketed as PDO.

Cheeses that meet the PDO requirements carry a casein tab that is applied when the cheese is in the mould and bear a distinctive label issued by the Manchego Cheese Denomination of Origin Regulating Council; this carries the legend queso manchego, a serial number and artwork depicting Don Quixote de La Mancha.

A cheese that is similar to manchego and made in the same region, but from a blend of cow's, goat's and ewe's milk, is sold as queso ibérico or ibérico cheese.

Almost 60% of Spanish cheese with Denomination of Origin is Manchego, which makes it the main reference of Spanish cheese. As most is exported, it is one of the most important ambassadors of Spain’s national gastronomy. La Mancha exported 5.9 million kg of this cheese in 2017, according to the Foundation for Manchego Cheese (Fundación C.R.D.O Queso Manchego).

Queso manchego has a variety of different flavours depending on age:

• Fresco: fresh cheese is aged for 2 weeks. It has a rich but mild flavour, not a true queso manchego due to its lack of ageing. Produced in small quantities, it is rarely found outside Spain.
• Semicurado: semifirm, semicured cheese aged for 3 weeks to 3–4 months, somewhat milder than curado.
• Curado: semifirm cured cheese aged for 3–6 months with a caramel and nutty flavour.
• Viejo: aged for 1–2 years, firm with a sharper flavour the longer it is aged; it has a rich, deep pepperiness to it. It grates well, but can also be eaten on its own or on tapas.

In Mexico and Spanish-speaking areas of the USA, manchego or queso tipo manchego (manchego-type cheese) is the name given to an industrialised cow's milk cheese similar in taste to Monterey Jack. It melts well and is used as both a table cheese and for cooking. Apart from the name, this cheese has nothing in common with the Spanish variety.

In Costa Rica, three companies produce a manchego-type cheese, which can come with a drawing of Don Quixote on the labels. One company also makes a manchego-type cheese with basil added. These cheeses can come dipped in paraffin wax, and some have the pleita pattern pressed on the side.

Jarlsberg

Jarlsberg is a mild cheese made from cow's milk, with large, regular eyes. It originates from Jarlsberg, in Norway and is produced in Norway, and by license, in Ieland and Ohio, USA. It is classified as a Swiss-type cheese.

It has a yellow wax rind and a semi-firm yellow interior. It is a mild, buttery cheese. The flavour has been described as "clean and rich, with a slightly sweet and nutty flavour". It is an all-purpose cheese, used for both cooking and eating as a snack. It has a characteristic smooth, shiny-yellow body and a creamy, supple texture. It is aged a minimum of three months and is distinguished by medium to large holes. Some variations are aged a minimum of 9, 12 or 15 months. It is usually produced in 10-kilogram (22 lb) wheels with an approximate diameter of 330 millimetres (13 in) and a height of 95 to 105 millimetres (3.7 to 4.1 in). The characteristic "eyes" are the result of the action of the bacteria (Propionibacterium freudenreichii) which naturally occurs in milk and is added back into the cheese during production according to a closely guarded secret formula.

The history of this cheese can be traced back to the middle 1850s. Anders Larsen Bakke (1815–1899), a farmer and pioneer in Norway's dairy industry, produced cheese in the village of Våle in what was then the county of Jarlsberg and Larviks Amt (now Vestfold), 80 km (50 mi) south of Oslo. The cheese shares similarities with Emmental, introduced to Vestfold by Swiss cheese makers during the 1830s. The cheese was first noted in the annual county report of Jarlsberg and Larviks Amt in 1855. After several years of popularity marked by a large volume of production Jarlsberg disappeared from the market.

Modern Jarlsberg cheese was developed in 1956 by Ole Martin Ystgaard of the Dairy Institute at the Agricultural University of Norway. Ystgaard's interest was sparked by the thesis of a dairy sciences student, Per Sakshaug, on the cheese historically made in Vestfold. It was named for a Norwegian nobleman, Count Wedel Jarlsberg, who owned land near Oslo in an area where an earlier version of the cheese was produced in the early 1800s, or for the eponymous county. The recipe was developed from formulae originating with Swiss cheesemakers who moved to Norway at that time.

"Jarlsberg" is a trademark first registered by Tine SA in 1972, and the exact nature and formula for the process of making Jarlsberg cheese is a trade secret. The largest producer of Jarlsberg is Tine SA. Tine is the largest Norwegian dairy product cooperative. Jarlsberg accounts for 80% of Tine's total exports. Tine's US subsidiary, Norseland, has sold 150 million 22 lb (10 kg) wheels of Jarlsberg in the US as of 2004.

Jarlsberg cheese was introduced in the US in 1964. Imports to the US in 1965 were 25 million pounds (11,000,000 kg). Since 1979 imports have been limited to 15 million pounds (6,800,000 kg). Jarlsberg is the most popular imported cheese in the US. As of 2004, 5-10 million pounds (2,300,000-4,500,000 kg) of Jarlsberg was made in Ohio. It is also produced in Ireland by Dairygold.

Annual sales of Jarlsberg in the UK are £6.9m as of 2013. Jarlsberg is also popular in Australia. Jarlsberg is used as the topping of the Grandiosa, the best-selling frozen pizza in Norway.