Many of you have visited - a beautiful region, and a beautiful medieval town. And most of you have tried the wonderful Gruyère cheese - also made legally in other regions, in Switzerland, like mine.
But today in Pontarlier- I find 'Gruyère France' on the shelf. Surprised, I check- and yes, it seems that despite the strict AOC and regulations (cahier des charges) - the French are allowed to make Gruyère ... in France. Providing it has holes, the size of a pea to a cherry. Which is plain daft, as holes are for Emmenthal, etc, and NOT Gruyère, due to the specific ingredients and process.
Bought a pack - it has about 4 holes, clearly made with a little tool as they are exactly the same size and only on the outside of the cheese ... and it tastes a bit like ... Emmenthal, and not very good.
Quite so. Sadly it's one of those, like cheddar, that had become ubiquitous before the protection laws were implemented. Never tried this one myself, mind, but take your word for it that it's not good.
All else apart, some of the Savoyard cheeses like Beaufort and Abondance are every bit as good as 'proper' Gruyère, so why not just promote then more? Or maybe it's a cynical attempt by the French to demonstrate that their own cheeses are actually better than Gruyère, by producing the interior stuff to devalue the name.
I love cheese, British, Swiss, French - but it seems all wrong to be allowed to produce Gruyère in a region which has nothing to do with ... well, Gruyère- despite what seems to be a very clear AOC.
The French as really vociforous about their AOCs- the village of Champagne in Vaud is not even allowed to put the village name on their bottles, and Mauler 'Champagne', here, made in the best Champagne traditional method with the same grapes, 6th or 7th generation from Alsace- are not even allowed to put 'Méthode Champenoise' on the bottles, etc, etc.
I could argue either way about AOCs and IGPs - but in this case it makes no sense at all- and the product is totally different in texture and taste nonsense.
DB - fair enough - but why call it Gruyère??? Oh and it was NOT cheap.
Many products which are named after a region don't require to have been produced in that region to be able to carry the name. Sometimes the name is completely open for use, other times like Gruyere and Gouda Cheese it only says something about how it is production method but nothing about location.
But you seem to find it acceptable to produce Gruyère in other regions of CH. To me, that's exactly the same.
That later change was also applied to French wines made using that method. Such products are now called Crémant, which is itself a controlled term - is that name used in CH too?
OK get that- but there is a very long history behind this, pre current regional borders- and the rules and regs 'cahier des charges' is the same, and the product the same texture, taste, etc- and the historical context was allowed by the AOC.
My point is that the French are absolutely and totally vociforous with their AOCs and IGPs - try and make 'Comté' here on this side of the border, for instance.
And as said, the village of Champagne, in Vaud, in Switzerland, has been so called for Centuries, and produce excellent white wines, and NO Champagne - and yet are not allowed to put the name of their village, even in small letters as producers, anywhere on the bottle.
There is nothing 'fake' about great New Zealand or South African wines - unless of course they call themselves 'Bordeaux', or 'Chevrey Chambertin', etc.
And either we have AOCs and IGPs- or we don't. What we can't have, is the latter but one way only- is my point.