Bonjour mes amis! In Gruyères, Feb. 19, someone suggested we should travel to a village called Château d'Oex to tour a family run fromagerie, where we could view all the steps in the process of making cheese. Once we arrived in Château d'Oex, we found that the fromagerie was no longer a cheese-making facility but was instead a restaurant. A very nice Swiss lady in the restaurant directed us to L'Etivaz, a fromagerie in a small Alpine village 30 kilometers away. It is amazing the people you meet who are always willing to help out. So, back in the car, we set out to find L'Etivaz. We found a small Alpine village, and a fromagerie where the owners took us on a tour of their facility. They explained that L'Etivaz is a cheese somewhat like Gruyère yet there are specific perimeters associated with L'Etivaz cheese. First, the cows providing the milk, graze between 1000 and 2000 meters on natural grass. The cheese is produced over an open-wood fire on a daily basis between mid-May and mid-October. This cheese is produced "on-site" in the Alpine mountains and brought weekly to the Cooperative for salting and curing. This process lasts several months as the cheese ages. The cheese is turned weekly. We had a tour through the aging facilities. We bought some 2010 and it was delicious! Our drive back to Chambéry was absolutely breathtaking! Enjoy the pictures. I have to wonder if Europeans appreciate their scenery as much as we do!!
Mme. Wallace
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