The result was a product with just the right elasticity and low enough acid and salt levels to favor the growth of the carbon-dioxide-burping microbe Propionibacterium freudenreichii, whose metabolic by-products give Swiss cheese both its nutty, sweet flavor and its holes.
Definition of ibex for English Language Learners. : a wild goat that lives chiefly in the mountains of Europe, Asia, and northeastern Africa.
The Nubian ibex is a relatively small, mountain-dwelling goat. There is a bit of confusion over its specific classification, with some identifying it as a subspecies of the Alpine Ibex (Capra ibex nubiana) while others consider it a distinct species (Capra nubiana).STATUS: Vulnerable.The Nubian ibex has been indiscriminately hunted. Poaching, habitat encroachment, and loss of water sources have caused it to be locally extinct in Syria and Lebanon. Even now the horns are placed on the corner of houses to ward off evil spirits.ABITAT: Nubian ibex can be found from Israel to the Arabian Peninsula, and in Africa from Egypt and Sudan east of the Nile to north to Ethiopia. They inhabit rugged desert and precipitous cliffs (altitudes of up to 8,500 feet). DIET: Herbivorous.