Le Gruyère AOP (or simply Gruyere) is named after a Swiss village. It is traditional, creamery, unpasteurised, hard cheese. The natural, rusty brown rind is hard and dry. The cheese is darker yellow than Emmental but the texture is more dense and compact. Gruyère is sweet and little salty. When young, it is creamy and nutty but after maturation, the texture becomes earthy and complex with small cracks and grainy. 

It is above all the 100% traditional craft and expertise, passed down from generation to generation, that gives Gruyère AOP its inimitable flavour and impeccable quality. The procedure of production of Gruyère AOP is strictly specified and milk producers, cheese-makers and affineurs (maturers) follow it. 

The 8 stages of production of Gruyère AOP