I'm intimidated by cheese counters so I almost never go to any, no matter how friendly or good-looking the seller looks. So I'm often browsing the cheese shelves of local supermarkets.
I've discovered two firm favourites: Napfkohlerkaese (tasty hard cheese found in Migros) and St Agur (blue cheese sold in Migros and Coop). A close third one would be Truffelino (soft cheese with truffle-flavoured centre).
What are your favourite supermarket cheeses? (OK, I admit I'm as unsophisticated as bell-bottom trousers.)
I tend to really enjoy a bit of Saint Andre slathered onto a lovely baguette. It's buttery and delicious and can be found at my local Coop. I believe that Saint Andre is a French cheese. I would highly recommend trying it.
Oh Argus. I doubt many cheese sellers are as scary as me and at least the local cheese shops will let you try before you buy. I can't recommend any supermarket cheeses in particular but I do like that some Co-ops have a display of locally produced cheeses.
But my favourite Swiss cheese by a long way is Blaus Wunder BIO - you might find it in a larger supermarket and you will certainly surprise your Swiss friends who probably will not know that Switzerland even produces a blue. Search it out, it's (almost) as good as Stilton
Saint Andre is soft, buttery and salty. It has a tiny similarity to Brie, although it is still quite different. For me, it's definitely not sweet. It is a cow milk cheese...that uses cream, so it is possible that one could find the sweet cream flavor behind the salty...but, as I said, for me it's not that. I will say, however, that Saint Andre is typically served with pears and other sweet fruits. If you do a quick google search...you'll find a wealth of information about it. It seems that a lot of 'foodie' type people seem to write about this little masterpiece.
That's the thing - they'd offer an array to try. What if all taste good? What if all don't taste like anything? I'd be under pressure to choose one or two. It's enough to make one incontinent!
I like Emmental for specific things but I prefer cheeses that are more common in the US. Cheeses like Cheddar, Monterrey Jack and Provolone. I like American Cheese and the closest flavor I can find is Edamer and have yet to find a "replacement" for Monterrey Jack.
Meanwhile, I've come across some very nice Havarti and Muenster cheese at Aldi (I still can't get over the difference between Aldi here and in the US)... cheeses that I may have had on a deli sandwich in the US but didn't tend to buy just to have at home.
Maybe sometime I'll get up to Zürich on the right day to come taste some nice British cheeses though.
swiss chees is the best one.... there are some cheddar and stilton very good.
the best chees is from the cheesfactory on the countryside. I buy my chees at Migros/coop/Globus... but this is all normal chees.... when you will a good tasty chees then you have to go to a country cheesfactory.
There are some excellent stuff to be found directly in the bins of Migrosh or Goop.
Aged Gruyere is definitely one - and it comes on sales regularly. Emmenthal - nutty, sweet - is also nice, although I am partial to Gruyere.
Sbrinz is brilliant - not a Parmigiano, although it is comparable to Grana... - and the aged stuff is to behold, but you will rarely find the aged ones at the supermarkets.
For fresh cheeses, I suggest some of the local tommes. Here (Lausanne area) I find some brilliant Tomme Vaudoises - Paudèzes or else - cream, plain, pepper, bear garlic... they are all worth the buy.
I've always liked a well-aged Gruyère or Appenzeller, but some relatives recently introduced me to Chaux-d'Abel (from the Jura) and Sbrinz, both of which I found delightful. (Sorry, I'm not sure whether the Chaux-d'Abel can be "supermarket-bought" or not, but I'd like to think it can.)
I'll eat any cheese so long as it's not Emmentaler. I love any cheese (a lot) but for some reason can't find any affection for the humble Emmentaler. I've tried it in all its forms but I just can't get to like it.
Currently stocked up with Vacherin Mont d'Or, a racy Gruyere, a Luzerner Rahmkäse and some Austrian smoked stuff which goes pretty well with a glass of beer.
I'm quite happy to live in Switzerland. You've got some fabulous pieces of Cheese but you've got also access to some really good cheese from the countries around us
Switzerland is the Matrix of what should be Europe.