Over the course of centuries, cheese lovers all over the world have wondered what exactly is the reason behind Swiss cheese's holes, as it's the only type of cheese that actually goes through this phenomenon - and now, after years wondering, scientists are finally answering the question.
While the term is loosely applied to a series of cheeses ranging from Emmental to Jarlsberg, one of the conditions applied for it to be considered this type is Swiss cheese's holes, which are just as iconic as their bright yellow color.
Now, according to The Guardian, scientists from the country of cuckoo clocks have taken to investigate Swiss cheese's holes and why exactly they occur - and, contrary to what "Tom & Jerry" tradition would indicate, this has nothing to do with mice nibbling away bits of this milk-derived delicious and beloved food item.
BGR reports that the study about Swiss cheese holes comes from Agroscope, a State-run center for agricultural research in the central European country, and the scientists behind the conclusions determined the reason behind this interesting phenomenon: the reason these holes exist is because there are small particles of hay that fall into the milk during the cheese-making process, and that makes it develop holes.
In the past, it had been thought that the origin of Swiss cheese holes was carbon dioxide released by bacteria during the making of this treat, but it seems it wasn't the case after all.
According to Swiss Info, the researchers from the Agroscope Institute for Food Science and the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology observed the ripening process of the cheese over the course of 130 days through CT scan, and changed up the amount of hay throughout the experiment - realizing that they could actually control the amount of Swiss cheese holes depending on how much hay was present ... amazing!
