This popular hard cheese has been produced for several hundred years near the small town of Gruyères in the canton of Fribourg, and is still produced today according to a traditional recipe in the village cheese dairies of western Switzerland. 400 litres of fresh raw milk are needed to produce a cheese weighing 35 kg. The cows that supply this high-quality raw material are fed on grass in summer and hay in winter. No additives can be added. During the maturation period, which lasts several months, the wheels are turned several times and washed with salt water. The humidity allows the formation of the fat that promotes ripening from the rind to the inside of the cheese. This gives Le Gruyère AOP its unique flavour.