Holes in Swiss Cheese? Blame Not Rats But The Hay, Scientists Say
Overturning existing scientific notion, science claims to have uncovered why Swiss cheese has holes in it.
Swiss cheese holes have been talked about for hundreds of years but a rationale evaded until the early 20th century, when it was postulated that bacteria caused them. That theory stuck until now. In the latest study, scientists maintain that tiny pieces of hay caused holes, which have disappeared over the last two decades due to modern dairy practices.
According to BBC, Swiss scientists at Agroscope, a government agricultural institute concluded that hay flecks, even if microscopic, can collect in a bucket and affect the cheese making process, causing holes which get bigger as the cheese matures.
The conclusions were made after scientists added hay dust to milk and made cheese out of it over 130 days. They also found that hole-making process affects only some Swiss variants including popular Emmental and Appenzell.
With dairy farms transforming from open barn type to modern, hay accumulation in dirty buckets is a thing of the past. Swiss cheese in the present-day has far fewer holes, if any at all.
