The Swiss family cheese makers Jumi have a Vintage Alpage which is a good example of seasonal cheese, as they only make this cheese in the spring when the new pasture is particularly rich and complex. In spring the feeding of the cows change from hay (silage free) to fresh grass. There is no better time of the year than this to produce a unique cheese.It is then matured for two years. The Vintage Alpage 2020 has just arrived on their stall at London’s Borough Market. It’s an alpine style, like the more famous Gruyère, so quite sweet, nutty with perhaps a hint of white chocolate, a grassy herbal note enriched by a Marmite-like umami flavour. The drier cellaring creates a crispier, dryer crunch than Gruyère or Comte.
