Uniformity and standardisation are a plague. Years ago there was an article here describing how Switzerland destroyed much of its rich cheese heritage because a powerful cheese lobby wanted everybody to standardise on Emmentaler and Gruyere.
Too bad I can't find that original article, which went into a lot more detail than Wikipedia.
Maybe a stupid question, but how can you remember all those different types of cheeses and what they taste like? I'd have to have an extensive notebook every time I went to the store if I wanted to manage 20 types of cheese.
(My typical fancy cheese buying system is to go to the store and buy something at random and hope I like it, which since I like cheese, often works out, but it means buying it again can be almost impossible)
We do the same but with cheeses.
ABBA’s Goudas Just Wanna Have Fun and Eminem’s The Real Slim Cheddy from 3Mile. Beatle’s Let it Brie!
Whatever. Knowing 20 of pretty much anything isn't some One Weird Thing. Get out more. Maybe try something new. You have my sympathy.
I'm not from one of the big cheese nations of Europe, when I grew up we had one kind of cheese for everything, but a couple of years ago I tried to broaden my palette, buy everything I could in local shops and supermarkets, and remembering twenty different kinds of cheese is not difficult.
What also helps is that these cheeses are significantly different, so Emmentaler, Camembert, Parmigiano Reggiano, Mozzarella, Bavarian Blu, Manchego, Pecorino, Gouda, Feta, etc, they all are very different, and most supermarkets in Europe have them all, so you can try out things easily.
I’ve tried buying most of these different cheeses in an upscale American supermarket and have been very disappointed. Even the ones imported from Europe, every variety just sort of tastes either gross or too similar. I swear Manchego tasted better 20 years ago the first time I had it in the US, maybe then big business got ahold of it. The best cheese I’ve ever tasted as an American was actually an expired Limburger cheese. It had such an amazing taste, I’m not joking. But it was at a weird outlet store that sells expired food and I never saw it again.
The only semi exception to this rule (although I still have to make sure it’s authentic!) is buying Parmigiano Reggiano, that stuff is a staple in our household.
Then again the best steak I’ve ever eaten was a 45 day dry aged steak, so I guess I just like funky flavors. Tasted like the most amazing cheese + amazing steak at the same time.
It's part of your culture because you discuss guns all the time, well in France, we do the same but for cheese.
Are you some kind of cheese nerd, or is this not all that unusual for a Swiss fridge?
First swiss often do fondue with 2 different cheeses, the usual moitié-moitié mix of Vacherin fribourgeois and Gruyère. Then sometimes you have 2 to 3 different raclette cheeses because you like different tastes. Then there are the cheese you might grate on your pastas (in my case I would usually use italian cheeses) and the different cheese you want to offer at the table in regular diners + the ones dedicated for the aperitives like Tête de Moine...It can add up quickly without being a nerd.
Of course you can fondue with any kind of cheese. I love using Dutch farmer's cheese in my fondue. In fact, my brother-in-law has recently started making cheese which is very suitable for it.
I'm Dutch, and I don't have 20 cheeses, but 5 different cheeses is very common, and more than 10 is not rare for us.
It always has a ridiculous "luxury" tax, ending up above 50€/kg, which is absurd for Italy...
...I'm guilty of using too much of it... it often also is my go to snack during late night fridge peeping... but hey, there are worse (and costlier) habits to entertain