[Steve44]

In the UK it's fairly common to use the term "Swiss cheese". Most people would know you are talking about Emmental or Gruyere and it would have the bubbles/holes in it.

Although they are not the same cheese, they are quite close in texture and flavour and are fairly interchangeable to the point where I don't think a significant number of people could tell you which was which.

There is also the Swiss Cheese Model which is when several unfortunate events all line up to cause a major incident.

[enopod_]

Emmentaler and Gruyère close in texture and flavour and interchangeable? Oh boy, if you ever travel to Switzerland, I recommend you to keep your opinions on cheese to yourself. ;) Emmentaler has holes, is low in salt and has a taste which is on the bland side (I personally don't like it), whereas Gruyère has no holes, is saltier and has a much richer and "rounder" flavour. It comes in different stages of ripening, from young, which is soft in texture and mild, to old, which is hard and has a much stronger flavour. I personally like Gruyère mi-salé a lot, the semi-ripened one. It's close to a perfect cheese if you ask me.

[Steve44]

> whereas Gruyère has no holes

TIL that Gruyere from France is different to Swiss and it must have holes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gruy%C3%A8re_cheese > The PGI documentation also requires that French Gruyère has holes "ranging in size from that of a pea to a cherry", a significant departure from the Swiss original. Peter Ungphakorn, a Swiss local and an international trade expert, comments that the French Comté cheese could be a closer match to the Swiss version.

And there is a good image of Gruyere with holes here, https://classicfinefoods.co.uk/dairy/5713-french-gruyere-pgi...

[Freak_NL]

I'll never understand how people can think 'Gruyère' and then imagine cheese with holes in it…

A fun fact: the Dutch don't usually think of Emmentaler when you say 'Zwitserse kaas', but of these paper shakers filled with grated Schabziger:

https://www.gourmandgazette.nl/2023/12/08/zwitserse-kaas/

Those have been sold as 'Zwitserse strooikaas' for decades.

[Steve44]

> I'll never understand how people can think 'Gruyère' and then imagine cheese with holes in it

I've put a lengthier response to the parent post, but look at https://classicfinefoods.co.uk/dairy/5713-french-gruyere-pgi... as that may solve our quandary.

[pezezin]

I am from Spain and it is the same in my country. If you ask the average Spanish person about "queso suizo", they will picture Emmental or Gruyere with the stereotypical holes in it.

[panick21]

If they are close in taste then you have very mild versions and sup-par versions of them.