European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 10, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Nicolas Jaquet left strengthens the Salt Bath solution where new cheeses spend a Day or More to begin Rind development. Right bacteria culture being prepared in the cheese is Laboratory. Ernst Moeri below skims foam from the cheese mixture As it pours from discharge pipes into Metal forms. Stripes photos by Tracy Baker Swiss discover where there s a will there s x a whey by . Kominicki staff writer Ernst Moeri can wrestle a 75-Pound wheel of cheese with the ease of a teamster but when it comes to the ritual of testing for taste and texture he has the practice hands of a Swiss watchmaker. First a series of stiff taps with a thick Finger head hunched Forward Moeri straining to hear his cheese. Then Correct spot determined a slight push and a few deft twists with a wooden Corkscrew like cheese tester. A tapered plug of ripening gruyere appears moist already Rich in taste Musty Aroma Rushing through the humid air of the cheese cellar. Another two months he says nibbling a Crumb. The plug is promptly replaced and the wheel its still developing Rind glistening slightly with Salt goes Back on the shelf. No cheese before its time in gruyere. Finding indistinguishable Points on a cheese Rind is by no Means the Only Talent needed to hold Down the title of master cheese maker an accomplishment that takes longer than becoming a doctor. And although he is head of production at the Swiss Dairy Union s springy Plant a showcase of modern production methods outside of gruyere Moeri is still a master of traditional cheese making. Forget the stainless steel pipes and Hydraulic pressing equipment. Each Day he Sticks his hand into a steaming vat of curdling milk studies a Palm Ful of chunk filled liquid and announces that the moment has arrived. The cheese is ready to be made. Legend has it that the first cheese maker however accidental was an arabian merchant who stored his Day s Supply of milk in a bag made from the stomach of a Goat. By the end of the Day the heat of the Sun teamed with rennet enzymes from the stomach lining had separated his milk into curds cottage cheese like grains and whey a watery liquid. Others propose that cheese dates Back to the Stone age. At any rate the process had no doubt progressed considerably by the 12th Century the first recorded mention of the cheese of gruyere. Today gruyere is the second most popular cheese in Switzerland ranking Only behind Emmenual the hard yellow cheese with Cherry size holes that most americans refer to As simply Swiss cheese. That All encompassing Label is one the Swiss Dairy Union is struggling to clarify. There Are More than 100 Swiss cheeses from Brinz Royal and Appenzell in the German speaking part of the country to Laclette and Vacherie from French speaking cantons. Alpine peaks and valleys have sheltered the production of dozens of others Over the centuries most Are named after the local town or the nearest Peak. The Cheeser at springy open daily to the Public Hopes to solve this identity problem by Selling the idea of cheese As Switzerland s ambassador to the world and promoting the idea that not All Swiss 8 stripes Magazine april 10,1986