Another Cheese Myth Falls
Trivia question: what is Switzerland’s favorite cheese? Emmenthaler? Gruyère?
Try again. John Tagliabue of the New York Times reports today that mozzarella has become the Swiss cheese of choice. And not only are the Swiss eating it in record quantities, now they even produce this traditional Italian treat.
The article profiles Mr. Hans Bieri and other cheese makers who have “turned tiny Schangnau, population 954, into the mozzarella capital of Switzerland, and mozzarella into the favorite Swiss cheese.”
Other Swiss cheeses continue to sell well, so Swiss cheese makers are not yet worried about seeing their own sales drop. But reaction is mixed in neighboring Italy: Imports of cow’s milk mozzarella to Switzerland have declined significantly. Genuine buffalo milk mozzarella (mozzarella di bufala) sales to Switzerland continue to increase—for the moment. This trend could reverse as Switzerland starts to produce its own variety of “Büffelmozzarella”
