science

Swiss cheese (North America)

Swiss cheese (North America) is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Swiss cheese (North America) rather than just read about it. In short: The term "Swiss cheese" is used for any variety of cheese that resembles Emmental cheese, a yellow, medium-hard cheese that originated in the area around Emmental, Switzerland. It is classified as a Swiss-type or Alpine cheese.

Key takeaways

Swiss cheese (North America) belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Swiss cheese (North America) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Swiss cheese (North America) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The term "Swiss cheese" is used for any variety of cheese that resembles Emmental cheese, a yellow, medium-hard cheese that originated in the area around Emmental, Switzerland. It is classified as a Swiss-type or Alpine cheese. The term is generic; it does not imply that the cheese is actually made in Switzerland. Some types of Swiss cheese have a distinctive appearance, as the blocks or rounds of the cheese are riddled with holes known as "eyes". Cheese without eyes is known as "blind". "Swiss cheese" is now produced in many countries, including the United States, Finland, Estonia, and Ireland. It is sometimes made with pasteurized or part-skim milk, unlike the original from Switzerland made with raw milk. The United States Department of Agriculture uses the terms Swiss cheese and Emmentaler cheese interchangeably. In Australia, both terms are used, along with Swiss-style cheese, in some cases differentiating the two. The term Swiss cheese is sometimes used in India, although it is also often referred to as Emmental.

Production Three types of bacteria are used in the production of Swiss cheese: Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus (L. helveticus or L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus), and Propionibacterium (Propionibacterium freudenreichii subsp. shermani). In a late stage of cheese production, the propionibacteria consume the lactic acid excreted by the other bacteria and release acetate, propionic acid, and carbon dioxide gas. The carbon dioxide slowly forms the bubbles that develop the "eyes". The acetate and propionic acid give Swiss its nutty and sweet flavor. A hypothesis proposed by Swiss researchers in 2015 notes that particulate matter may also play a role in the holes' development and that modern sanitation, which eliminated debris such as hay dust in the milk, played a role in reduced hole size in Swiss cheeses, or even "blind cheese". Historically, the holes were seen as a sign of imperfection and cheese makers originally tried to avoid them by pressing during production; the holes only became an identifier of the cheese in modern times. In general, the larger the eyes in a Swiss cheese, the more pronounced its flavor because a longer fermentation period gives the bacteria more time to act. This poses a problem, because cheese with large eyes does not slice well and comes apart in mechanical slicers. As a result, U.S. industry regulators have reduced the minimum eye size with which Swiss cheese can receive the Grade A stamp. Typical annual production of Swiss cheese in the United States is approximately 330 million pounds (150 kt). Among U.S. states, Ohio is the largest producer of Swiss cheese.

Variants Baby Swiss and Lacy Swiss are two varieties of American Swiss cheeses. Both have small holes and a mild flavor. Baby Swiss is made from whole milk, and Lacy Swiss is made from low fat milk. Baby Swiss was developed in the mid-1960s outside of Charm, Ohio, by the Guggisberg Cheese Company, owned by Alfred Guggisberg.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Swiss cheese (North America)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Swiss cheese (North America) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Swiss cheese (North America) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Swiss cheese (North America) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Swiss cheese (North America)

In research: Swiss cheese (North America) appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Swiss cheese (North America) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Swiss cheese (North America) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics American cheeses, Cheese with eyes, Cow's-milk cheeses, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Swiss cheese (North America) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Swiss cheese (North America) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Swiss cheese (North America) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Swiss cheese (North America) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Swiss cheese (North America) in simple terms?

Why does Swiss cheese (North America) matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Swiss cheese (North America)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Swiss cheese (North America).