Eye Cheese

   1. Edam cheese
   2. Emmental
   3. Gouda Cheese
   4. Gruyére
   5. Barrel
   6. Raclette
   7. Swiss Style
   8. Havarti

Different Types of Eye Cheese

Hard Cooked Eye Cheese (Emmental / Emmentaler, Gruyére, Tilsit)

Semi-Hard Eye Cheese (Raclette, Gouda, Edam)

Origin

French Alps and Switzerland

History

First produced in the monasteries and abbeys of the region, Eye Cheese became popular as they travelled well and could be sold abroad.

Eye cheese has been made in Australia since the 1890s when small quantities were available for the local Sydney market. The popularity of these cheeses was created by the European cheesemakers who settled in Australia.

In the 1920s Eye Cheese was made in southern Queensland. It was made in Tasmania in the 1950s while 1986 saw the establishment of a factory dedicated to making Eye Cheese in the Albury/Wodonga region.

Eye Cheese can be either:

Hard cooked cheese such as Emmental, Gruyere, Tilsit. Hard cooked cheeses are heated to around 52°C to remove moisture and harden the curd.
Semi-cooked cheeses such as Raclette, Gouda, Edam. These cheeses have been heated to around 38°C to release moisture and firm the curd.

Description

With their smooth satin-like texture, these cheeses have 'eyes' or 'holes' formed in the body of the cheese during maturation. The eyes are created by gas producing bacteria, Propionibacterium Shermanii, which generate carbon dioxide during a two to four week period in warm maturing rooms at around 20°C.

This process is technically known as 'propionic acid fermentation'. Regular turning of the cheese during maturation aids the even distribution of the eyes. Recipes using Eye Cheese are available in the Recipe section of this website. For example:

Raclette with Steamed Potatoes