The region enchants us with its picturesque, wild and uniquely vast landscape. The people here are known for their proud individuality, which finds vivid expression in local culture. Be it the art of watchmaking, the breeding of Freiberger horses or the making of the famous Tête de Moine AOP cheese. In the Jura, traditions have always been valued and can still be experienced here.

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Originally, Tête de Moine AOP cheese was only produced by the monks within the monastery walls of Bellelay and only during the summer. When the monks were expelled from the monastery during the French Revolution, the surrounding farms and later on the newly founded village cheese dairies took over production of the cylindrical cheese. Today, the production area of Tête de Moine AOP cheese covers the mountains and summer pastures of the canton of Jura and the Bernese Jura, and the cheese is produced all year round.

The Rais family from Le Bémont runs one of 250 farms in the region and has been supplying fresh milk for the production of the famous Tête de Moine AOP cheese daily for 25 years. In addition, the family breeds Freiberger horses, the only Swiss horse breed, and offers boarding for retired horses, fondue carriage rides and accompanied riding excursions. Why? Simply because they are farmers with passion! And if anyone wants to stay a little longer, they can book the small but perfectly formed holiday apartment on the farm itself, which the family rents out. 

Consistently strict guidelines must be adhered to throughout the production process for a wheel of cheese to be allowed to carry the Tête de Moine AOP label. This start with the way the cows are fed. From spring to autumn, for example, the animals graze on the wide open meadows of the Jura. Thanks to the poor, calcareous soils, a wide variety of aromatic grasses and herbs grow here. In winter, the feed takes the form of hay and aftergrass. “And it is precisely these excellent quality grasses and herbs that give the Tête de Moine AOP this particularly aromatic taste,” explains Gabriel Rais. Speaking of which: It is one of the few Swiss cheeses to carry the AOP (Appellation d’Origine Protégée) protected designation of origin. This is a guarantee for consumers that every Tête de Moine AOP is authentic, comes from the Swiss Jura, is produced according to traditional methods and is strictly controlled. 

The name Tête de Moine literally means “monk’s head”. But how did the cheese get this name? The fact is that the monks of the Belllelay Monastery used to pay their taxes in cheese. According to legend, this was: one wheel of cheese per monk. Another story, however, says that the French who occupied the area at the time made fun of the monks’ hairstyle and compared it to the round shape of the cheese.

In all, there are seven village cheese dairies and two smaller farm cheese dairies that produce the delicious Tête de Moine AOP. Three of these are open to the public, and by visiting them you can learn more about the history of the cheese and in particular the production. One of these is the Fromagerie des Franches-Montagnes in Le Noirmont. Cheese has been produced and sold here since 1910. Today, the cheese dairy can be visited by solo travellers, families or groups. Of course, a cheese tasting is included in the ticket price. You can even add an aperitif with a glass of wine or apple juice. Outside, a playground and picnic tables invite guests to linger a while and enjoy the cheese. 

Why is this semi-hard cheese scraped and not sliced? Legend has it that the monks who made the cheese back then would occasionally sneak into the kitchen at night to steal a piece. To ensure that no one would notice, the story goes that they would only scrape off a thin layer using a knife. The fact is that scraping changes the texture of the cheese and allows the aromatic, melt-in-the-mouth flavour to develop even more effectively. The cheese can be scraped with a cheese knife or even more simply using the “Girolle” cheese curler. It makes scraping the cheese entirely easy, while also turning it into pretty cheese flowers – or rosettes, as they are correctly called.

Switzerland is a cheese lover’s paradise. Each year, people in Switzerland consume at least 22kg of the dairy product per capita. Swiss cheese is also prized around the globe: Join us as we tuck into 11 tasty facts about this popular dairy product.