Challerhocker

Challerhocker (pronounced "holler hocker"), is an aged cow's-milk cheese from a small creamery in Toggenburg, Switzerland, near Zurich. Made by Cheesemaker Walter Rass, the wheels are repeatedly washed with brine, so the exterior is slightly tacky and the texture is silky, dense, and creamy beyond words. Gruyère often has a sandy or granular quality, but Challerhocker does not. 

Challerhocker, which means "sitting in the cellar", is exactly what this cheese does for ten months, and represents the full extent of Swiss cheesemaking. Close in style to traditional Appenzeller, this semi-hard cheese has a robust aroma with an earthy, buttery flavor reflecting the recipe variation and flora of the cellar. Made from thermalized milk (a heat treatment less severe than pasteurization), they smell like roasted peanuts, caramel and aging meat. 

It doesn’t demand hearty accompaniments like cured meats or cornichons, though it would certainly pair well with those foods. Challerhocker would be just as pleasing with a chilled glass of white wine or, as Janet Fletcher suggests, sherry or Madeira.