Can American-made cheese be called Gruyère? Yes, a U.S. court rules.
by washingtonpost
Can American-made cheese be called Gruyère? Yes, a U.S. court rules.
by washingtonpost
3 Comments
**From reporter María Luisa Paúl:**
For over 900 years, farmers in an Alpine region between Switzerland and France have turned barrels of raw milk into wheels of smooth, nutty cheese known as Gruyère.
The tradition, combined with the location where it’s produced, have afforded the cheese name-protected designations in Europe. But a United States court ruled Friday that the Gruyère label could apply to any cheese — whether it’s made near the French-Swiss border or Wisconsin.
The reason: “Cheese consumers in the United States understand ‘GRUYERE’ to refer to a type of cheese, which renders the term generic,” judges at the Virginia-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit wrote in their ruling.
The decision, hailed as “a significant win for America’s dairy farmers” by the U.S. Dairy Export Council, followed a long-running legal saga between American cheesemakers and their Swiss and French counterparts — one that aimed to settle whether a cheese by any other location can still be Gruyère.
“Like a fine cheese, this case has matured and is ripe for our review,” the judges wrote of a battle for Gruyère that has curdled since 2015 — when Switzerland’s Interprofession du Gruyère and France’s Syndicat Interprofessionnel du Gruyère asked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to certify that the cheese hails only from the hilly European region.
It wasn’t an uncommon move. Since 1953, for example, Roquefort has carried a geographical indication mark to certify it’s “been manufactured from sheep’s milk only, and has been cured in the natural caves of the community of Roquefort, Department of Aveyron, France.” So does Parmigiano reggiano, as a way to prove it’s from certain Italian provinces.
In Europe, Gruyère has a long and storied history. Legend has it that Roman emperor Antoninus Pius died a cheesy death in 161 A.D. after eating too much Gruyère. The Interprofession du Gruyère says the cheese — that’s now a staple in fondue and onion soup — has been produced in the Swiss region since 1115. Farmers there have since followed the same process to create Gruyère, according to the group, using milk from cows that are fed only Alpine grass. That milk curdles in copper vats before the wheels are given salt baths and allowed to mature for months.
**Read more about the legal battle over Gruyère here, and skip the paywall with email registration:** [**https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/03/06/gruyere-cheese-court-ruling-american-french-swiss/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com**](https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/03/06/gruyere-cheese-court-ruling-american-french-swiss/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com)
Americans can call their “cheese” anything they like.
Now try again with a French court. Results may vary.