Author Topic: The difference in Emmental and Gruyere  (Read 11944 times)

tnbquilt

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The difference in Emmental and Gruyere
« on: March 09, 2013, 08:12:36 PM »
I am wondering what the difference in Emmental and Gruyere is. I have looked all over the internet and found different things. I think that from what I have found Emmental is a low fat cheese and Gruyere is a full fat. Both cheeses get the propionic added to them, but the Gruyere does not have the warm aging period so that the eyes do not form. One place I found said that Emmental is not a washed rind cheese but Gruyere is. I thought it was pretty common to wash an Emmental so I didn't see that this point was valid. The other point that I found was the aging time. Gruyere said to age it 10 months to a year, and most Emmental recipes say something like 4 months to a year. I know that the longer you age it, the better it gets, but mine never lasts past 6 months.

The actual recipes for making the cheese sounds the same to me, the heat temperatures, the curd size, the cooking times, the difference seems to be in the milk fat and the way that you age it.

Alpkäserei

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Re: The difference in Emmental and Gruyere
« Reply #1 on: March 14, 2013, 10:14:05 PM »
renneting time and early aging are different.
gruyere is a slightly softer cheese, it is coagulated a little longer than emmenta
many emmental cheesemakers also add water to the vat which gives it a slightly different texture and a delicate sweetness
then emmental is aged in a warm room to grow large eyese, developing a stronger propranic flavor.
gruyere is sometimes brined longer, and has a noticeably saltier taste than emmentaler

High Altitude

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Re: The difference in Emmental and Gruyere
« Reply #2 on: March 20, 2013, 05:14:17 PM »
The Gruyere recipe I used (Mary Karlin) does not have PS....is that weird?

WovenMeadows

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Re: The difference in Emmental and Gruyere
« Reply #3 on: March 20, 2013, 06:00:28 PM »
I suspect some recipes call for adding PS to a Gruyere make partly in order to more fully mimic the natural alpine conditions where PS seems to be everpresent. But the later affinage is really what determine to what extent that PS flavor comes through, by giving the cheese a warm period for eye development, or not (leaving the cheese "blind").  I believe Alp has elsewhere noted from his experience of alpine cheesemakers that the favoring of PS characteristic of an Emmental is the exception rather than the norm - most strive to not develop the PS present and its associated flavor and eyes.

Because of the elasticity of curd needed to capture the PS gases and make eyes, Emmental calls for a skimmer milk. (Washing the curd helps with this as well.) Gruyere I typically see calling for part skim as well, though probably can better take a higher fat level than can Emmental.

I also seem to see Emmentals going both ways for rind treatment - natural and waxed. On the other hand, waxing a Gruyere type seems out of the question!

High Altitude

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Re: The difference in Emmental and Gruyere
« Reply #4 on: March 21, 2013, 02:33:14 AM »
Interesting info  :). And agreed, one should never wax a gruyere!

Alpkäserei

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Re: The difference in Emmental and Gruyere
« Reply #5 on: March 21, 2013, 04:30:52 PM »
Old Gruyere had no eyes and no desired PS growth. It seems you will get some degree of PS if you use raw milk, as long as your making process allows its survival (ie you dont over acidify) Modern gruyere makers tend to encourage it a little bit, this is likely a reflection of the transmission of production from the mountaintop small dairies down into the valleys to the larger cheese makers.

Swiss Emmentaler is made with unmodified full milk. Processing in any way is forbidden. The specs call for 45 to 55% fat in the dry matter of the finished cheese, or at least 27 1/2% fat in the cheese itself (including water content).


Never wax a rind! Unless of course it is part of the original tradition of that cheese (maybe dutch cheeses and some French are this way?) A washed rind is a bit more work, but it is worth it.

High Altitude

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Re: The difference in Emmental and Gruyere
« Reply #6 on: March 22, 2013, 07:01:05 PM »
Once again, good info Alp...thanks!  I shall not worry about the lack of PS in my gruyere (which by the way has no rind...I scrubbed it too much early on because it was developing molds and I was just plain "scared" as it was my very first make!).  I'm just hoping I can at least use it for a grating cheese because I'm sure it won't be edible in any other form  ???.

tnbquilt

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Re: The difference in Emmental and Gruyere
« Reply #7 on: March 24, 2013, 03:58:45 PM »
Thanks for the comments.

I made a Gruyere, and I did not use the PS, and I am currently washing the rind every day with water salt and white wine.

I will look back at my recipe for the set times in the Gruyere and the Swiss. I read so many recipes when comparing the two that I don't remember what they said.

alld01

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Re: The difference in Emmental and Gruyere
« Reply #8 on: June 18, 2016, 09:19:49 AM »
The Gruyere recipe I used (Mary Karlin) does not have PS....is that weird?

Realise this thread is a little old, but looking to try to make my first Gruyere.   According to MK's recipe, it seems that she heats the 1/4" cut curds for 1 hour without stirring.   Or at least, she doesn't mention stirring as it is heated up until after one hour.   Is that correct?   It doesn't seem right to me, especially comparing recipes with some of the other Alpine cheeses.   

Guidance from those more experienced is very much appreciated! 

Kern

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Re: The difference in Emmental and Gruyere
« Reply #9 on: June 18, 2016, 07:25:46 PM »
I think that if you heat 1/4 inch cut curds without stirring you'll have them knit together in the bottom of the vat.  Stirring helps prevent this, distributes the heat more efficiently and bathes the curds in the whey as they are stirred.  I've never seen a recipe where the curds aren't at least lifted every so often to keep them from matting together.  BTW, your avatar is quite cute.   8)

wattlebloke

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Re: The difference in Emmental and Gruyere
« Reply #10 on: June 19, 2016, 03:11:15 AM »
Hi Alld01, and welcome.

If you are using MKs book, which does have lovely pictures and nice cheese recipes, I suggest you go online to her website and find the errata she has identified in her recipes. There's 2-3 pages of them from memory. Link to a PDF is at the bottom of this  page:

http://www.artisancheesemakingathome.com/questions.html

I can't remember if the Gruyere recipe had that particular error picked up yet, but you seem to have found it :)

alld01

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Re: The difference in Emmental and Gruyere
« Reply #11 on: June 26, 2016, 01:37:07 PM »
Thanks so much Kern & Wattlebloke - both tips really helpful.  I took Kern's advice and did stir the curds; and although the Leerdammer wasn't in the corrections that you sent through, it's great to know they are there.  I will be using that as a reference for other cheeses in her book.   
Thanks very much for the help fellas, much appreciated - cheers :)