The cheese with the holes: Emmentaler

It's so iconic, it's known as "Swiss cheese" abroad: the famed Emmentaler may just be the world's favorite cheese. Named after its place of origin, Emmentaler has been made in the rolling alpine hills of the Emme river valley (or "Emmental" in German) in the canton of Bern for centuries. A "beautiful Emmenthaler cheese" was first mentioned in writing in 1557: a Bernese councillor presented it to a Basel doctor as a wedding gift. Like most Swiss cheeses at the time, it was probably made on a mountain meadow, where the cows could graze to their heart's desire; the abundance of milk produced was then preserved as cheese for the winter. In addition, the Emmental had a locational advantage: its lower altitude meant that summers were longer. This meant that more cows could be fed for longer, resulting in more milk – and consequently, more cheese. The Emmental was also well connected to international trade routes, and started exporting a large portion of its cheeses from early modern times onward. At that time however, the name only referred to its origin; the "Emmentaler" of today did not exist yet, and types of cheeses made varied depending on the cheesemaker and the amount of milk available. For many of the Emmental's dairy farmers (called "Küher"), the production and sale of cheese was a lucrative business.