L’Etivaz is a type of Swiss Gruyère that’s made according to more traditional, higher standards than regular Gruyère, and it’s sold in a number of better cheese stores. James Coogan, the cheese buyer at Eli’s Manhattan food market, says the cheese made in 2018 (the latest available) — nutty, earthy and with a slightly fruity aroma — is the best he’s tasted. For the first time, he’s recommending it for fondue and raclette. The L’Etivaz he sells comes from a particular alp, Tompey, in the canton of Vaud, which the store sponsors through a program called Adopt-an-Alp. The purpose is to maintain the traditional cheesemaking practice known as transhumance, or alpage. Over the course of a season, the cows are milked as they graze higher up the mountain as the weather warms, giving the cheese more complexity. To participate in the program, which offers 29 mountains for adoption, Eli’s Manhattan has agreed to buy several wheels of L’Etivaz Tompey every year. Each weighs about 60 pounds.
L’Etivaz Gruyère, $35.99 per pound, Eli’s Manhattan, 1411 Third Avenue (80th Street), 212-717-8100, elizabar.com; adopt-an-alp.com.
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