Appenzeller vs Tête de Moine
Appenzeller
Facts
- Milk
- Cow
- Texture
- Semi-hard
- Type
- Washed rind
- Rind
- Washed rind
- Country
- Switzerland
Appenzeller is a firm cow's milk cheese from Switzerland, in the family of Alpine wheels with small eyes. Makers wash the rind with a herbal brine while the cheese cures, and that wash gives a strong smell and a spicy edge. The paste is smooth, pale yellow, and dotted with a few small holes. A younger wheel tastes milder and nuttier, and a longer-aged wheel turns sharper and more robust. It is a cooking cheese and a board cheese, not a fresh slicing cheese.
Tête de Moine
Facts
- Milk
- Cow
- Texture
- Semi-hard
- Type
- Pressed
- Rind
- Washed rind
- Country
- Switzerland
- Place
- Bellelay
Tête de Moine is a semi-hard cow's milk cheese from Switzerland, sold in small cylinders with a firm brownish rind. The French name means monk's head. After thin curls are scraped from the top, the cylinder can look a little like a small rounded head, which matches the image in the name. The paste is smooth, aromatic, and ready to soften on the tongue. It is a board cheese first, and thick slices work in a pinch, but shavings show the flavor best.