gruyere

Generality

Gruyere is NOT emmental (or emmenthal) and has no holes (holes) in the paste.

Gruyere is a Swiss dairy product typical of the Gruyère district (with capital Bulle) in the canton of Friborg; it is also produced in other Swiss territories - such as the French cantons of Vaud and Neuchâtel - in the area of ​​the former duchy of Savoy, in France, in the Italian alpine areas and in Bavaria.

Despite being often confused with Emmental, the Gruyère cheese, on a chemical and aesthetic level, seems much more similar to a "lean" fontina, as it is produced with partially skimmed raw cow's milk and without propionic fermentation; the curd cheese is cooked. In addition, the gruyere forms are significantly smaller, around 30kg for 60-70cm in diameter and 9-12cm in height, while emmental ones reach around 80-100kg in weight.

Gruyere nutritional composition - Reference values ​​of the INRAN Food Composition Tables

Nutritional values ​​(per 100 g of edible portion)

Edible part 100, 0g water 32, 1g Protein 30, 6g Lipids TOT 29, 0g Saturated fatty acids 17, 64g Monounsaturated fatty acids 9, 31g Polyunsaturated fatty acids 1, 73g Cholesterol - mg TOT Carbohydrates 1.5g Starch 0.0g Soluble sugars 1.5g Dietary fiber 0.0g Power 389, 0kcal Sodium 332, 0mg Potassium 80, 0mg Iron 0.5mg Football 1123, 0mg Phosphorus 685, 0mg Thiamine 0.01mg Riboflavin 0, 45mg Niacin 0, 10mg Vitamin A 400, 0μg C vitamin 1.0 mg Vitamin E - mg

The Gruyere cheese has pressed and hard, light, uniform paste, with tiny holes that have nothing to do with the emmental holes.

The taste is salty and pleasantly spicy. Common gruyere contains about 39-40% of fats on the DRY SUBSTANCE, while the lean ones are harder, lighter and sometimes bitter.

Other cheeses similar to gruyere are Port Salut (produced in Mayenne) and Friborg, also produced in Italy (in Lomellina).

Nutritional characteristics

Gruyere is a derivative of highly energetic milk, rich in fat (slightly less than emmental) with a prevalence of saturated and high biological value proteins (slightly more than the aforementioned); the cholesterol intake should be quite high, even if the INRAN tables do not provide sufficient data for the specific estimate. The lipid content of gruyere makes it unsuitable for dietary treatment for hypercholesterolemia; moreover, considering the energy contribution to say the least "important", I do not recommend collectively close consumption and / or in large portions, especially in the case of overweight or obesity.

From the saline point of view, the gruyere contains a high fraction of calcium (necessary for the growth and prevention of osteoporosis) as well as phosphorus (also necessary but generally present in sufficient quantities in the diet).

Like all seasoned cheeses, even the gruyere contains high amounts of sodium attributable to the salting necessary to guarantee its long conservation; this feature totally excludes him from the low sodium content diet desirable in the presence of arterial hypertension or pre-hypertension.

With regard to vitamins, Gruyere contains a significant concentration of those belonging to group B, among which riboflavin (vit. B2) stands out; vitamin A is also interesting.

I suggest consuming gruyere cheese no more than once or twice a week and in medium portions between 60 and 80g.