Whats Makes Emmental a National Favourite

Jun 11 2025

A quintessential slice of life for a typical French family is a communal gathering around the kitchen table, with people sipping fine wine, telling stories and snacking on healthy slices of local cheese. And in most cases that cheese will be Emmental. Why? Because it is popularly regarded as the national favourite in France, and the French know a thing or two about cheese. That the people who make the best cheeses in the world regard Emmental as their favourite should be reason enough to accept that lofty verdict, but here we will discover a little more about the famous ‘holey’ cheese and try to get to the root cause of Emmental’s enduring popularity.
Emmental was first produced in the Middle Ages, when the only safe way to preserve milk was to make it into cheese. At this time it was used as a means of fending off widespread starvation during long, harsh winters, and while Emmental was originally made in the Emme Valley in western Switzerland, it was soon produced in France, and has since developed into the cheese that is produced in the most widespread regions of France. Emmental producers can be found in the Vosges, Franche-Comte and Savoy regions, as well as the Loire and Brittany regions. That in itself explains its popularity, but it’s only when you get to the nitty-gritty of its characteristics that you start to understand why it carries such favour.

The distinctive characteristics of Emmental cheese

As a pasteurised cow’s milk cheese with a hard/dry and golden rind, Emmental has a mild taste which appeals to most palates. The cheese is ivory yellow with a delicate texture and a fresh, lactic taste due to a high calcium content. Its main characteristic, of course, is the large and irregular holes, or ‘eyes’, which appear during the ripening process and make the cheese so distinctive. A rich aftertaste and a fruity aroma also add to the appeal, but perhaps the widespread popularity of Emmental comes from its versatility. Essentially, if a cheese can be used for everything, it is always going to be available on the table.

Emmental can be eaten as a snack, and hence works in sandwiches as well as on a cheeseboard. But it also has excellent melting properties, and hence it works in gratins, souffles, pasta dishes and fondues. You can also use it in baking, such as for tarts and in a savoury twist. However you use it, the flavour profile remains solid and consistent and that comes from the quality processes that go into the production of Emmental cheese.

Make Emmental a consistent feature on your table

Wheels of Emmental are selected with care, but before that the grass that the cows eat is controlled for consistency, and the wheels are pressed for 12 hours before being salted by brine immersion. The wheels are then placed in ripening cellars for several months where they are meticulously observed.

So in summary we can conclude that Emmental is a national favourite in France due to its: