Hymn to the Cow
What a wonder to transform grass and herbs into something as nutritious and versatile as milk, absolutely crucial for human development. Without cows, our civilization might not have been where it is today, inventions and science notwithstanding.
The raw milk
Milk tells its story of feed, land, grass and herbs, animal husbandry, and hygiene. It sounds straightforward, but how common is it for these flavors to make their way through to the finished cheese.
In Switzerland, they have the right conditions; a fantastic experience in producing cheese from raw milk, where the proportion is more than 70% of the total production, which can be compared to just under 10% in France. This requires a strongly decentralized structure, meaning a high percentage of smaller dairies with dairy farmers in close proximity, delivering freshly milked milk twice daily, often still in milk cans. Silage, i.e., milk acid-preserved hay in marshmallow-shaped bales, cannot be given as fodder because the fermentation process continues in the cheese, negatively affecting the quality.
Taste what the cow has eaten
Switzerland can boast fantastic pastures. The topography of the Alps ensures abundant rainfall, favorable sunlight, and all this not only makes it grow abundantly but also contributes to a very diverse fauna. Additionally, the seasonal variation introduces different herbs that offer distinct flavors. The alpine landscape with its hilly terrain provides an unbeatable competitive advantage, with many meters above sea level. As a rule of thumb, the higher the altitude, the more herbs in the meadows—this is where it happens. The unique alpine fauna is rich in natural antioxidants (polyphenols) and omega-3 fatty acids.
Regarding taste, the unpasteurized milk provides direct feedback to what the animals graze on; you should be able to taste what the cow has grazed.
In the realm of the good enzymes
It is in raw milk that the crucial enzymes get to live. In pasteurization, all original enzymes die and must then be replaced. What is the benefit of these delicate enzymes? After the added lactic acid bacteria have converted milk sugar into lactic acid, their enzymes, along with the original enzymes from feed and milk, form the flavor of the cheese. The diversity of flavor-giving enzymes in unpasteurized cheese allows it to be compared to a spring bouquet; full of different tastes, high and low, sparkling with joy. The equivalent for a pasteurized cheese could be a bouquet of long-stemmed red roses; beautiful but oh so uniform.