Can I Get a Gru-Yeah!

Every so often, even the most hardened cheese lover comes across a dairy delight that they haven’t tasted. You’ve tried your fair share of bries and camemberts, you’ve dabbled in aged cheddars and blues, you’ve gone abroad with feta and haloumi, and you had that ill-fated foray into plastic cheese in year two (even back then, you somehow knew that only a cretin would could enjoy a frugally-portioned slice of horror that had been sealed in its own plastic sarcophagus, sans refrigeration).

Sure you’ve done all these things. And yet, some of the most basic cheescapades have alluded you.

Enter Gruyère. The overlooked and underloved Swiss cousin that’s all like, “Yo guys! I came to the party! I brought this delightful dessert pie.” It’s time we took a moment to do the gru…

Background bio:

• A hard cow’s milk cheese, cooked to perfection.
• You down with AOC? Yeah you know me! This fella has Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée all over it, meaning that only cheeses made in Switzerland are true Grues.
• It’s similar to the French Comté or Beaufort cheese. Of course.

Serving suggestion (straw not recommended, thick rind TOTALLY RECOMMENDED!)

I’m tasting the South Cape Gruyère today, the antipodean relative of the real deal, and I must say it’s just lovely. Like any good—albeit young—Gruyère, it has a light and nutty flavour that lingers sweetly on the palate. Although it’s a little pungent on the nose, it’s incredibly smooth and moreish (so what if I ate most of the cheese before I even sat down to write about it?) and goes wonderfully with a little fruit.

Sure it’s not a true Gruyère, but could you really say your sparkling wine is from Champagne or your mustard is from Dijon? You could? Oh. Sorry. This is awkward.

Anyway, after tasting a few slices, I feel a little embarrassed. How could I let such a great staple of the cheese world go unnoticed for so many years? Well, this shall go on no longer. It’s official – Gruyère and me are meant to be!