The long way to Kaltbach (Daily Life and Environment 2011, by Markus Bühler) - Swiss Press Award

Sonntags Blick Magazin

Markus Bühler

The world's largest underground cheese storage facility: The sandstone cave in Kaltbach (Canton Lucerne) was already used for cheese aging in the 1950s. Emmi, Switzerland's largest dairy company, took over the facility in the early 1990s and has now expanded it to 2,300 meters. Drills were used to drill additional tunnels into the approximately 20-million-year-old rock and then left in place. The cheese (Emmentaler AOC, Le Gruyère AOC, and Raclette) is stored for up to nine months in a natural, constant climate of 94% humidity and 12.5 degrees Celsius. During storage, the cheeses not only acquire a dark brown to black patina, but the long, cool storage and care also impart a very aromatic flavor. The expanded cave will be opened at the end of October 2010. Over the course of a year, in addition to building the cave, I documented the production of the two most successful Swiss cheeses (Emmentaler AOC, Le Gruyère AOC) and their care and aging in the Kaltbach Cave. The journey begins on the glaciers of the Swiss Alps, whose water irrigates the cows' pastures, and continues to the landscapes where the cheese originates. The lives of the farmers and the production of milk are just as important a part of their work as the actual cheese-making process. Only 10 selected cheese dairies produce for the Kaltbach Cave. The result is a book about the world's largest underground cheese cave and the production of two unique cheeses that have been part of Swiss cultural heritage for centuries.