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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Germany, the Allgäu

Allgäuer Emmentaler PDOAllgäuer Emmentaler

Allgäuer Emmentaler is a large, raw-milk hard cheese with round holes 1–3 cm across, made in the Allgäu since Swiss dairymen brought the method around 1821. The milk may not be warmed above 40 °C before renneting. The wheels or blocks spend at least four weeks in a warm fermentation cellar at 20 °C or more, where gas forms the holes, and ripen at least three months in all. Made in 7 steps over 4 months. The longest step, ripen at least three months, takes at least 3 months (Bundesministerium der Justiz 2081). In Emmental (a French lab-scale study, not this cheese): Lactobacillus helveticus and Streptococcus thermophilus as starters and In Emmental (same study): Propionibacterium freudenreichii, which grows in the warm room and uses up the lactate, and Lactobacillus paracasei do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 3 monthsSet[aemm-app1996][kasev-1b]Ripen at least three months
Temperatureup to 40 °CSet[aemm-app1996][kasev-1b]Collect raw milk, never warmed above 40 °C

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification fixes limits, not a recipe. A round wheel weighs at least 60 kg at making, a square block at least 40 kg.
Raw cow milk from the area · Delivered under the 1980 milk-supply rules for Emmentaler dairies; not warmed above 40 °C before renneting[aemm-app1996][kasev-1b]
Starter cultures and rennet · The specification does not name them[aemm-app1996]
Salt · For brining; the specification gives no amount[emm-ch]
Starter: cultures and rennet, not named in the specification

Total time across the recorded steps: 4 months

Start
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up to 40 °C

What changes: Starting material: raw milk from Allgäu farms, never heated above 40 °C

Step 1 of 7
Collect raw milk, never warmed above 40 °C
Time
Not documented
Temperature
up to 40 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria
Lactobacillus helveticus
S. thermophilus
P. freudenreichii

Only raw milk from the area, delivered under the milk-supply rules for Emmentaler dairies of 12 August 1980, may be used.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

It is Emmental made from raw Allgäu milk that is never warmed above 40 °C before renneting. The German rules ask for at least four weeks in a warm fermentation cellar and three months in all, less than the four months set for Swiss Emmentaler, and they also allow square blocks of 40 kg or more.

Milk
Raw cow milk from the Allgäu, not heated above 40 °C before renneting
Ripening
At least 3 months, including at least 4 weeks at 20 °C or more in a fermentation cellar
Size
Round wheel of at least 60 kg or square block of at least 40 kg
Holes
Mostly 1–3 cm, round, sparse to plentiful, evenly spread
Composition
Full-fat grade (45–49 % fat in dry matter); dry matter at least 62 %

Related ferments

Safety

The milk is raw and is never heated above 40 °C before renneting. The specification sets no safety limits; the cheese ripens at least three months, four weeks of it in a warm cellar.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

The registration file says Swiss dairy herdsmen (Sennhirten) brought the know-how for Emmentaler to the Allgäu around 1821, and that the area's geology and climate resemble the Swiss Emmental. It was registered as a PDO in 1997.

  1. [aemm-app1996] Bundesministerium der Justiz, Antrag auf Eintragung nach Verordnung (EWG) Nr. 2081/92, 'Allgäuer Emmentaler' g.U. (summary sheet, eAmbrosia attachment 60437)spec
  2. [kasev-1b] Käseverordnung (KäseV), Anlage 1b, geographical designations for Allgäuer Emmentaler and Allgäuer Bergkäse (consolidated text, last amended 24.11.2025)gov
  3. [emm-ch] Office fédéral de l'agriculture OFAG, Cahier des charges Emmentaler (AOP), annex 'Principaux paramètres techniques' (Swiss Emmentaler, used here as a nearby product)spec
  4. [falentin2010] Falentin H. et al. 2010, Specific metabolic activity of ripening bacteria quantified by real-time reverse transcription PCR throughout Emmental cheese manufacture, International Journal of Food Microbiology 144:10–19 (abstract)paper