Instructions: A. Gruyere is the finest and best-known type of Swiss cheese. It has been made since the 12 th Century, when cheese was used as currency in Switzerland. It is yellow and firm, but softer and smoother than the next-best-known Swiss cheese, Emmental, and has smaller "eyes" (holes), about the size of peas. The production and naming of the real-McCoy Swiss Gruyere is strictly controlled (as with Champagne in France and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese in Italy), and the wheeles, which can weigh up to 77 pounds, have the word

"Switzerland" stamped all over them. But there are many imitations and descendants of this cheese. Beaufort and Comte (or Gruyere de Comte), from France, and Appenzell, from Switzerland, are Gruyere-type cheeses, and there are versions made in the US. Its a great eating cheese and also a great melter.

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