Swiss Cheese Union Swiss Cheese Union The Swiss Cheese Union (, ) was a marketing and trading organization in Switzerland, which from 1914 to 1999 served as a cartel to control cheese production. To this end, the Swiss Cheese Union mandated production be limited to only 3 varieties: Gruyere, Emmental, and Sbrinz, and bought the entire production and distribution of cheese at prices set by the Swiss Federal Council. It also coordinated the national and international marketing for these three varieties of cheese. The Swiss Cheese Union was successful in campaigning for cheese fondue and raclette becoming national dishes in Switzerland. Before that,
Idiazabal cheese Idiazabal cheese Idiazabal is a pressed cheese made from unpasteurized sheep milk, usually from Latxa and Carranzana sheep in the Basque Country and Navarre. It has a somewhat smokey flavor, but is usually un-smoked. The cheese is handmade and covered in a hard, dark brown, inedible rind. It is aged for a few months and develops a nutty, buttery flavor, eaten fresh, often with quince jam. If aged longer, it becomes firm, dry and sharp and can be used for grating. The Denomination of Origin for Idiazabal cheese was created in 1987 and defines the basic regulations for the product's