When you think of Swiss cheese, where do you encounter it? Most likely in fondue or omelets or slapped upon a Reuben.

But if you ask specialty cheese producer Emmi Roth, this mild, buttery cheese has another overlooked yet incredibly delicious application: pizza.

Chef Elizabeth Falkner partnered with Emmi Roth to launch a nationwide series of pop-up events to prove the power of Gruyère and Emmentaler on pizza. Since December, the Emmi Swiss Cheese Pizza Tour has served crowds at pizzerias and restaurants in Jersey City, San Francisco, Nashville and Minneapolis.

Chef Falkner’s trio of choice cheeses consists of Emmi Le Gruyère AOP, Emmentaler AOP, and Kaltbach Cave-Aged Gruyère AOP, which is aged 1 year in a sandstone cave in the Alpine Valley of Switzerland.

Her events have introduced taste buds to:

  • Swiss Onion Soup pizza (caramelized onions, thyme, and a blend of the three Emmi Swiss cheeses)
  • The French-inspired Alpine Marseilles pizza (tomato sauce, fresh herbs and the three aforementioned cheeses)
  • Falkner’s award-winning Finocchio 2.0 pizza (braised fennel, fennel sausage, fennel pollen and Le Gruyère AOP).

“I love explaining to people and other chefs that I’ve been making pizza for a long time, and I love all the Italian cheeses, but why aren’t we using some of these Swiss cheeses on pizza? It makes perfect sense, and they all have different qualities,” Chef Falkner said.

Chef Falkner incorporates special ingredients depending on where the pop-up event is, such as Asian cuisine staples during stops at Indian and Korean restaurants.

Chef Falkner kicked off the Emmi Swiss Cheese Pizza Tour with guest chef Dan Richer at Razza Pizzeria Artigianale in New Jersey. Richer said he never topped his trademark crispy wheat dough with Swiss cheese before collaborating with Falkner.

“One of the things about pizza is that you need cheeses that melt nicely, and all cheeses perform differently, but across the board every one of these Swiss cheeses melted incredibly well,” Chef Richer said. “I’d even go so far to say these Swiss cheeses melted better than any Italian cheese I ever used. They just are at the right moisture content and fat content, and the way the cheese is produced enables them to really melt perfectly.”

If you’ll be in Los Angeles on March 30 then see for yourself by attending the next pop-up event with Falkner and Chef Nancy Silverton at Pizzeria Mozza. Future tour dates will be released on Emmi Roth’s Facebook page.

Even if you don’t attend a pop-up event, you can still bake your own Swiss cheese pizza with Le Gruyère AOP, Emmentaler AOP and Kaltbach Cave-Aged Gruyère AOP. Contact your IPAP sales representative to order them, then study up on two Chef Falkner recipes: Tart Flambée Pizza and Le Gruyère, Brussels Sprouts, Pineapple and Jalapeno Pizza with Speck.

Are you a master of all things cheese and dairy?

Test your knowledge here. Answers appear below the Dairy Dive.

 

1. Which animal’s milk would best be described as pale yellow, smooth and full with large fat globules?

A) Water buffalo

B) Sheep

C) Guernsey cow

 

2. True or false: Salty cheeses tend to have higher melting points.

A) True

B) False

 

3. Which of these actions is difficult for a cow to accomplish due to its weight distribution and bone structure?

A) Stepping backward

B) Walking down stairs

C) Jumping

 

4. Which of these cheeses is the most acidic?

A) Feta

B) Brie

C) Monterey Jack

 

5. The Scandinavian cheese juustoleipa was originally produced using the milk of what atypical animal?

A) Reindeer

B) Moose

C) Bear

Recent headlines about cheese, milk and dairy products from around the web.

  • Dairy Farmers of America agrees to buy Dean Foods, America’s biggest milk producer, for $425 million (CNBC)
  • Wisconsin, International Cheese Makers Compete As Consumer Demand For Specialty Dairy Grows (Wisconsin Public Radio)
  • Students from India learn US dairy practices (Associated Press)
  • Raw milk causes sour feelings in Kansas as sales ban or warning label considered (Wichita Eagle)
  • When it comes to milk you should go full-fat, especially with kids (CNN)
  • Cheese plates conquered Instagram, and now we’re putting pancakes, french fries and everything else on boards (The Washington Post)
  • How to Talk About Cheese Like You Know What You’re Talking About (Food & Wine)
  • Can a Cheese Plate Change Your Life? (Eater)
  • Oatmeal, apples, and cheese could help protect you from a stroke, but too many eggs may have the opposite effect (Insider)
  • ‘Grocery store burglar’ ate pricey cheese and hid in rafters for weeks, WA police say (Tacoma News Tribune)
  • Candy, cheese soar to space station to satisfy crew cravings (Associated Press)
  • Cows Get Moooody During Puberty, Too (Smithsonian Magazine)

Quiz Time answers

1. Which animal’s milk would best be described as pale yellow, smooth and full with large fat globules?

C) Guernsey cow

2. True or false: Salty cheeses tend to have higher melting points.

A) True

3. Which of these actions is difficult for a cow to accomplish due to its weight distribution and bone structure?

B) Walking down stairs

4. Which of these cheeses is the most acidic?

A) Feta

5. The Scandinavian cheese juustoleipa was originally produced using the milk of what animal?

A) Reindeer