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Heating the initial milk
Full vat of milk after heating and the addition of rennet A big day today. We were up early at 6am to get a taxi to take us to Bussalp to watch cheese being made. We had done this 10 years ago but it is always good to see things done the old way. In this case, the way it had been done for 400years. Our guide was not a man who had actually done the job except as a child, but he had had a life of being involved in climbing, mountaineering and running the Jungfrau hotel. He could speak five languages so was more than good for the job. He was also 80, like Fritz the last person who took us.
The taxi took us up to Bussalp which is a road that branches off Terrasenweg (where we stay) and heads off way up to the tops of the mountains opposite Mannlichen. It was fairly mucky up there after the rain yesterday and was a typical farm scene. Farm building to house animals, humans and cheese. Bussalp is one of 7 Alps around Grindelwald and there are 355 animals farmed here by various farmers. All those who reside in the Alp must put in 16hours of work in the
year towards the upkeep of the Alp. It's usually a family affair with all going up to mend fences or maintain buildings, following which is a big party and then they all go home by bus.
The particular farm that we visited was typical. It showed cheese being made the way it always had been. The cows had to be grazed on foliage only with no supplements to be called Alp Kasse. The farmer produced 400 litres of milk per day from his 24 cows (spring flush). The milk was in a huge copper cauldron and heated on an open fire with the smoke going out through the roof shingles. After heating and cutting it was stirred constantly until the temperature reached 50 degrees. It was then scooped into muslin and put into a ring mould where it would sit to drain the whey. It was then pressed by an amazing contraption weighted with stones. After all the liquid was pressed out it went to the cheese house where it was immersed into a salt solution. It is then trimmed, stamped and brushed with a salt solution which happens each day. It was a fascinating morning which ended with
Finished one day old cheese
Cheese after taking from the hoops ready for stamping and brining us walking up to a restaurant (of course!!)(in the sticks) for coffee and then getting the bus back to Grindelwald.
We lunched at the house then walked down to the town to get the gondola to First. It was fine in Grindelwald but not up in the mountains where the cloud level hung about the tops. The First gondola is one of the best. It glides over homes and gardens, then pastures and on up to streams, waterfalls and rock. At First, 2168m, we walked the 50 minute walk to the Bachalpsee (lake) in cloud. Snow still remained but was melting fast making the waterfalls magnificent. Bachalpsee was disappointing because on a clear day it is blue and calm. This time the clouds hovered low with ice still floating on the lake. It was still lovely despite the low cloud.
After arriving back in Grindelwald on the gondola we bought groceries and bussed home. Out for dinner tonight at the Panorama Hotel just along the road.
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