Thank you Rene Welti of ECHO Trails for this great post! Rene is also a member of the LiL Team supporting Corporate Partnerships.
Here is a great way to combine one of Switzerland’s most favorite, scenic and easy to get to views and experience “cheese made on the alps” first hand.
Have you ever wondered what actually goes into making a cheese?
It is so easy to go to the grocery store cheese section, pick out and buy your favorite tasting cheese. I was curious and when Franz Toni Kennel, the 7th generation owner from the 1600m/4,800ft Mt. Rigi Cheese Alp Dairy “Cheserenholz” farmhouse said: “Sure, René you can overnight here and get up with me at 5.00 to make cheese”; I gave a resounding; Wow, OK; it’s a deal!
The late afternoon train to the Mt. Rigi Staffel station and the scenic 20 minute hike on the yellow signposted “Wanderweg” trail with Alpenglow on the 320 Swiss alpine peaks to Toni Franz was an ideal way to begin my night on the Swiss alp and start my cheese making experience. After arriving and unloading my pack; I was directed “Go with Denise to pick up the milk canisters arriving from the Kloesterli train station.” Denise, a Zurich city local signed up for the summer 24/7 all-rounder job because she always wanted to work on an alp.
The four-wheel drive up the mountain to the Mt. Rigi Kulm summit of 1800m/ 5400ft was fun and bumpy. We located the milk canisters on the open flatbed attached to the front of the Mt. Rigi cog wheel train. Together Denise and I lifted the ten 40 l. / 10 gal. canisters onto the truck as Denise gingerly maneuvered the 4-wheel truck back down the mountain. Once back at the dairy where the cheese is processed and aged, we unloaded the milk canisters into this huge 1300 l. / 450 gal. copper vat. Afterwards we began the lengthy and exact hygiene cleaning process so that everything we touched and used was super clean. The short version is that everything from the milk canisters, to the stainless steel utensils to the wooden boards that the cheese is aged on was cleaned numerous times with lots of water and different disinfectants
I was curious to learn how the financial side of making cheese on the alps works. Toni Franz is responsible to feed and house over 30 cows all from different owners. In exchange for these services, Toni Franz receives 8 liters per cow per day. By working the milk into butter and alp cheese he generates about 4 times the value as if he just sold the milk on the open market. “It’s all about the passion and not the time you put into things” as he answered one of my mundane city guy kind of questions.
My 5.00 a.m. iphone alarm shook me out of my nice scenic dream I was having that I no longer remembered. I was the first one to get up, wander outside and wanted to make sure they didn’t have to wake me; one point for the city guy. I could see light over the alp with the rays of the sun fanned over the alpine peaks making for a brilliant sunrise. After two more rounds of water spray nozzle cheese utensil cleaning, one of the local farmers arrived with his tractor carrying the Kaltbad station mornings canisters of milk that was then pumped into the big vat. Shortly afterwards it was time to go back up the mountain to pick up more goat milk and so Denise and I jumped into the 4-Wheel drive and successfully maneuvered up and down the mountain.
How do you finally get “the cheese end product” was still on my mind as I now looked at this ominous 1300 l. / 450 gal. copper kettle full of 28C / 84F heated milk. This is now where the science of chemistry, a farmers know-how and experience all interact. After various calf-stomache enzymes, (rennet is the scientific term) and bacteria are measurably added to the vat all at the right temperatures, the milk curdles, consolidates into lumps, and the separation of solids and liquids begins. I learned that 87.4% of the waste-waters are re-cycled as high protein pig feed. No wonder why Switzerland has great tasting pork dishes such as Cordon Bleu.
After the Master-Cheese maker does his magic, the vat contents are pumped into a stainless steel container where the cheese coagulates, solidifies, is sliced and placed into round plastic containers giving the cheese it’s shape. There is a press lowered onto each plastic container forcing the water out of the cheese. Later the cheese rounds are then placed on a wood board and then carried into a saltine tank for further water discharging. Salt is also placed on top of the cheese rounds to extract the water. After a day in the saltine brine the cheese rounds are placed on super clean wood boards and placed in the cheese cellar for aging.
Sometime that morning I was asked: “Do you want breakfast?” and I of course nodded yes. I was offered a seat in the kitchen with a full gambit of one year aged, hard and soft cheeses, 3 different aged alp cheeses, home made bread & butter, jams and coffee. Man, breakfast never tasted so good!
It was around noon by the time the mornings work produced 24 cheese rounds with the day’s cleanup regimen starting all over again. How much is this worth I asked myself? I calculate it’s about CHF2,590+.- if you take a whole cheese average 4.5kg. weight, selling at @ avg. CHF 2.40 per 100 gr. x 24 cheeses.
The next time you bite into that next hunk of cheese, take a look at the label, read where it is from and know that many hours of labor and love have gone into giving you that special flavor and pleasure. I know for me eating cheese now takes on a whole new meaning and experience.
Sidebar about Chaserenholz:
How to find it:
From the top of Mt. Rigi Kulm by the big atenna you look South and on a clear day you will see a Swiss Flag visible by a rooftop. The rooftop is the Chaeserholz facility with indoor & outdoor restaurant, cheese selling window, dedicated cheese dairy building with cheese aging cellar, barn, Sleep in Straw & Dorm lodging facilities plus His & Her restrooms.
At the top of Mt. Rigi there is a poster board visual explanation and description. The three stories in also English copy is the history of the Mt. Rigi Kulm hotel, Mark Twain’s Mt. Rigi experiences and Chaeserenholz Alpine Cheese Dairy. You will see Franz Toni Kennel’s name listed; not bad for a 7th generation alpler.
On the English version of the Rigi, Queen of the Mountains brochure, it’s numbered # 9 on the map.
For people who want a bit of exercise, you take the Rigi train to the Kloesterli station, depart and walk from the 1300m to the 1600m Chaeserholz in about 1 ½ hours. Or if you want a more leisurely walk depart at the Staffel station and follow the “Wanderweg” signs on the more level path that takes about 30 minutes. The quickest is to walk down from Rigi Kulm and in a leisurely 20 minute walk you are there too.
Afterwards there are lots of ways to continue your Mt. Rigi hike experience. On my ECHO Trails Mt. Rigi tours, I normally hike to Staffel, then hike the summit rim to one of the best views on the mountain, Chaenzeli and then to Kaltbad for either a stop at the Spa and continue on cable car down to Weggis and then Lake Steamer to Lucerne.
What you find when you get there:
There are His & Her restroom facilities. This is a great place for lunch as all the sausages, cheeses, butter and bread are locally made. You can sit outside when the weather permits and tan. Or as in the winter, indoor, there is a heater and the three different cheeses for fondue is the best tasting in all of the Lake Lucerne Region.
You can purchase the alp cheese directly from the outside window. There is a cheese-pricing sheet posted right next to the outdoor window. The cheese prices range from 1.60 to 3.60 per 100 gr.
I recently had a larger group and reserved lunch in advance that included warm “ham leg”, homemade potato salad, bread and drinks that tasted out of this world. For groups one has to call in advance and make the respective arrangements; really worth it if you want something special.
The best part is the 180-degree alpine panorama and you hear the sounds of cowbells as the contented animals chew on their grasses, clovers and flowers producing an average daily 25 l. of milk.
What you can expect:
The place is open year round. The people are friendly and helpful. If you want to visit the dairy cheese making facility you need to ask and then slip on plastic booties to your shoes so the place stays hygienic.
When you leave, you have experienced something very authentic; one of a kind, now connected with makes the Swiss alpine experience so special.
Contact Information:
Franz Toni Kennel
Rigi 041 855 02 06
Chaeserenholz@bluewin.ch
Also ECHO Trails does the best guided tours of Mt. Rigi (ranked number #1 on Trip Advisor!)
www.echo-trails.com
