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An American federal judge has just decreed that the name “gruyère” has become a generic term. Professionals in the sector plan to appeal, but in the meantime, Gruyère cheese made in the USA is making its way onto plates across the Atlantic.
American justice has decided: the name “Gruyère” will no longer be reserved for wheels from Switzerland and France, but can be used by all producers, including Americans. In one of the most important Savoyard cheese dairies, Julien Goury produces 250 tons of Gruyère every year, with a protected geographical indication (PGI). A minimum of four months of ripening required, cows fed exclusively on grass and hay: the specifications are extremely precise and impossible to reproduce elsewhere, according to the producer. “Our cheese is anything but generic“, he is indignant.
On the other side of the Atlantic, in the state of Wisconsin, Gruyère has been made since the 1980s under the name “Alpine cheese”. It is a little more expensive than its French counterpart, and the manufacturing methods are the same. If the products are similar, there are nevertheless some differences, recognizes a cheesemaker. The Interprofessional Syndicate of Gruyere in France has not yet appealed the American decision, but should decide by the end of January.