How to Pair Kaltbach’s Finest Cheeses

When it comes to the perfect cheeseboard, no selection is complete without a taste of Switzerland courtesy of some delicious Swiss cheese from the Kaltbach caves in the region of Lucerne, Switzerland.

There’s a wide range of options to choose from, from ever-popular Kaltbach Creamy to the classic Swiss cheese Gruyère, so there’s sure to be an option to suit everyone’s appetite. Each cheese in the Kaltbach range lends itself to both sweet and savoury pairings thanks to complex flavour notes perfected by generations of cavemasters.

In partnership with the team at Kaltbach, Speciality Food has created a selection of perfect pairings for independent fine food retailers and their customers to enjoy. Once you’ve mastered these, and familiarised yourself with the unique flavours within Kaltbach’s cheese range, why not create your own? This could be the perfect opportunity to build relationships with your customer base by holding Swiss cheeseboard-themed tasting events. Offer a wide selection of accompaniments – from fruit, chocolate and preserves to cheese biscuits and beverages – and allow your customers to explore their favourite pairings. You never know, this could lead to a new top-selling upsell option and lead you to rethink your cheese accompaniment selection, especially if you include some wildcard products.

Delicious pairing suggestions
Kaltbach Creamy
Kaltbach Creamy, with its flavoursome taste and smooth texture, is the ideal partner for sweet flavours such as raspberries, blackberries, pineapple and honey. The sweet sharpness within these partners cuts through the creamy texture with aplomb and affords the eater the perfect balance of sweet and savoury. Pomegranates offer another delicious partnership for this creamy Swiss cheese. Try serving a half cut pomegranate and bowl of pomegranate seeds alongside your Kaltbach creamy; the fruit not only tastes wonderful with the cheese but also makes a colourful decoration for your cheeseboard.

Drink with: light, bright beers and wines such as Berliner Weisse or a tart Gose, Chardonnay, Reisling or Chenin Blanc.

Kaltbach Emmentaler AOP
The flavour of Kaltbach Emmentaler AOP makes it a delicious partner for savoury dishes. Perfect with mushrooms, melted within potatoes au gratin, and even served within Indian dishes such as naan bread with chutney. Kaltbach Emmentaler AOP is also particularly delicious with nut butter. Opt for almond or cashew butter rather than peanut options, as the latter can often be too overpowering for the delicately balanced cheese. Also, try serving dried apricots and other fruits alongside your Kaltbach Emmentaler AOP – their rich flavour and texture make for a tasty and satisfying pairing.

Drink with: Cabernet Sauvignon, oaked Chardonnay or gin and tonic

Kaltbach Le Gruyère AOP
Meanwhile, Kaltbach Le Gruyère AOP – with its notes of dried stone fruit, black tea and spice – has possibly the most indulgent perfect partner: white chocolate. A perhaps surprising option but truly mouthwatering, the nutty, mouth-filling flavour of Le Gruyère AOP is deliciously tempered with the creamy vanilla sweetness of quality white chocolate. Its affinity to sweet flavours means that it’s also delicious partnered with honey and fragrant fresh or preserved figs.

Drink with: Le Gruyère AOP’s stronger taste allows it to stand up to punchier beverages. Try it with a red or white Burgundy, Syrah or Grenache, or even a single malt Scotch whisky.

The perfect base
When it comes to which biscuits to stock as accompaniments to Kaltbach’s range of fine cheeses, keep it simple in order to allow the expertly honed flavours of the cheese to shine through. Avoid strongly-flavoured biscuits as these could overpower the cheese; instead, opt for either non-flavoured options or some with a light sprinkling of salt and pepper – the salt will balance with the savouriness of the cheeses, while the pepper will help palates to pick up on the spicy notes particularly present in Kaltbach’s aged cheeses.

As a general rule of thumb, cheese with a slightly softer texture – such as Kaltbach Creamy – can be particularly enjoyed atop a more delicate biscuit, whereas a harder, more aged cheese will be able to stand up to a more robust option. A good example would be biscotti, as its subtle almond notes would play well into the nuttiness of a Kaltbach Emmentaler AOP.


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