Gruyère cheese, the protagonist of the rally
Don't be alarmed, but this gastro rally is going to be very 4x4. Very Camel Trophy, very Paris-Dakar, very Quetzal route. And it is that life in the most neutral country in the world also has its wild points , although the most dangerous animal of its fauna is the swan. Oh, and the most numerous is the cow . Switzerland, behind Hindu India, is the region that most respects this horned pecora on the entire planet. A beast that reigns at will in the pre-alpine landscapes and from whose udders flows the key ingredient of its two great delicacies: milk chocolate (which we will talk about in another gastro rally) and the cheese , Being the Gruyere the most famous in the world.
After India, Switzerland is the most cow-loving country in the world.
That said, no matter how sophisticated the Swiss gastronomic liturgy may seem, to discover its essence you have to climb hills like Heidi and feel like a Farmer Looking for a Wife contestant (identifying with the figure of the wife, of course). In the entire region of La Gruyère and its surroundings, people live directly or indirectly from the countryside. That's why we started in a 19th century farm to merge with rural life, to caress with every pore that apocryphal religion that surrounds the world of cattle. In the farm essertin, in Treyvaux, her owner has conditioned the old mansion that she inherited from her ancestors to rent the ground floor at a good price. Christine also offers the curious company of her goats, ponies, horses and her friendly donkey. Come on, just and necessary to feel like a peasant without being one at all. You have to keep looking after appearances...
The adventure begins at slopes of the Moléson, the most emblematic mountain in the region. On her skirts is the cheese route , a path for all kinds of public that winds its way looking for the old cabins where Gruyère cheese was born and that today maintain the same recipes. It is a route that becomes quite a challenge when you agree to participate in the game and get all the dairies to stamp a kind of passport for you. In the end, a diploma certifies that you are a true cheese-lover explorer . Sparse reward as "happiness is on the way". Or that's the consolation.
For the less adventurous there is always the option of going directly to the d'Alpage cheese factory , the most touristic and mediatic in all of Moléson where you return to the 17th century (but with rubber katiuskas) to receive a first-hand lesson in the history of Gruyère cheese and, incidentally, a small tasting of the most classic recipes, including the mythical fondue moitié-moitié.
The Master Cheesemaker of d'Alpage
“Too much talk about Gruyère cheese but not much about the town of Gruyères!” some might say. Before arriving at the place that gives its name to the region that in turn gives its name to this cheese, we will have to continue starving based on documentation and curiosities. For this there are two inescapable points. **The first is the Gruérien museum **, a space dedicated to the folklore of the region that is located in Bulle , administrative capital of Gruyère.
This contemporary building draws on the chamber-sucking magnetism of the castle to attract visitors and teach them a little about what life was and still is in deep Switzerland. From his visit is extracted the worrisome cow worship and its huge bells of its inhabitants and the importance of the Poya, a festival that takes place every 10 years and that celebrates the moment when the cattle go up to graze the alpine meadows fleeing the heat of the summer months. Fiesta, what is called a Gandía Shore party, is not.
Gruérien Museum, ode to cheese
The second stop is made at the gates of the Maison du Gruyère , the interpretation center of the D.O. Where the peculiarities of this type of cheese and the reasons for its success and its internationalization (its easy transport and its resistance to hustle and bustle) are explained. Yes indeed, the entry includes three pieces of three different classes of Gruyère, distinguished by the months of healing. A small demonstration that it is a food that adapts quite well to the most varied tastes. There is no excuse.
And now, finally, we get to Gruyeres (village), the most pleasant stop of this rally. After dodging the hordes of tourists and the occasional Alien, it's time to sit down at the table. In any of its restaurants you can enjoy the famous fondue. It is difficult to choose, but in this case the appearance is not deceiving: the traditional ** Le Chalet is the winning bet**, with its waitresses dressed in typical costumes and its hefty portions. A more elaborate bet is found in Charmey. In the restaurant La Table, David Sauvignet he expresses himself clearly with ambitious dishes but with a simpler dessert that honors him: a table of various cheeses that he invites himself to taste, from the mildest to the 20-month-old Gruyère that fills the mouth with flavor and puts a fair end to this rally.
*You may also be interested...
- Traveler's Guide for a cheese lover
- Design-scented cheeses
- How to enjoy a good fondue
- Gastro Rally of Idiazábal cheese
- All Gastro Rally
- Everything you need to know about Switzerland
- All articles by Javier Zori del Amo
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