{"id":3470,"date":"2023-10-26T03:01:33","date_gmt":"2023-10-26T03:01:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/how-caroline-hostettler-became-a-swiss-cheese-matchmaker-with-her-adopt-an-alp-program\/"},"modified":"2023-10-26T03:01:33","modified_gmt":"2023-10-26T03:01:33","slug":"how-caroline-hostettler-became-a-swiss-cheese-matchmaker-with-her-adopt-an-alp-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/how-caroline-hostettler-became-a-swiss-cheese-matchmaker-with-her-adopt-an-alp-program\/","title":{"rendered":"How Caroline Hostettler Became a Swiss Cheese Matchmaker with her Adopt-an-Alp Program"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Caroline Hostettler<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Caroline Hostettler, a Swiss native, began her U.S.-based cheese importing business Quality Cheese<\/a> in 1998, she didn\u2019t necessarily have a cheese background, other than having grown up with the good stuff, plus a bit of journalism on the subject. Having relocated to Florida, however, she quickly recognized a serious gap in the availability of quality cheese in the States and was moved to do something about it. \u201cI had this moment in a deli where I heard a woman in front of me ask for Muenster cheese, \u2018sliced really thin,\u2019\u201d recalls Hostettler. \u201cAnd I was like, what did I just hear?\u201d she says, imagining the gooey, washed rind Munster from Alsace that could no more easily be \u201csliced thin\u201d than could fondue. When she witnessed the thin slices of what passed for Muenster on offer she thought, \u201cOkay, that cannot be it.\u201d<\/p>\n

About a year later, armed with a single, 10-kilo wheel each of Rolf Beeler\u2019s AOP Gruyere, Emmenthaler, and Sbrinz, \u201cI set out for two weeks to five cities \u2014 New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and New Orleans \u2014 and I had appointments with all the big name chefs,\u201d says Hostettler. \u201cI just presented them with three pieces of really, really good Swiss cheese. And when I came back home, I already had two orders on the fax machine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having begun her Swiss cheese crusade at a time when American artisanal cheese was still in its infancy, Hostettler\u2019s program grew quickly, so she eventually switched from being the distribution mechanism to being a sort-of matchmaker; the point of connection between restaurants or retailers and established distributors that could provide the kind of scale that Hostettler needed. \u201cI\u2019m now with Forever Cheese<\/a>,\u201d says Hostettler. \u201cThey specialized in Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian cheese, but they wanted to add Switzerland because it\u2019s a fundamental area for traditional cheese in Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Swiss Cheese Matchmaker & Adopt-an-Alp<\/h2>\n
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The Adopt-an-Alp<\/a> program began in 2013 as a natural extension of Hostettler\u2019s cheese supply business, which pairs U.S. sellers up with specific Swiss makers and cheeses, so that they can better help tell the stories behind the people and places. Sellers who opt in are guaranteed a portion of cheese from their adopted alp, some of which are extremely small in production. \u201cI realized over time that my business was always very connection driven,\u201d says Hostettler. \u201cI have really loyal, more than just business-like relations with all my producers.\u201d The idea for Adopt-an-Alp, then, was to extend this idea of connection to every player in the game, including those on the point-of-sale end, creating mutually beneficial relationships for both producers and sellers. \u201cI thought I should do something that builds these kinds of relationships, and with those relationships comes respect and understanding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Transhumance and its cost<\/h3>\n

Her program also encouraged a better understanding toward the price of artisanal cheese. \u201cCheeses like these are more expensive than industrial cheeses, and they should be,\u201d says Hostettler, so her desire was also to specifically manifest something that helped to justify the kind of price tag that these cheeses demand. The Alpine practice of transhumance<\/strong>, moving the herd several times yearly to allow for healthy grazing and on-site cheesemaking, costs considerably more than milking animals in a barn and shipping the milk to a factory. \u201cPeople rave about something and want to support something they find cool,\u201d she says. When consumers are privy to storytelling courtesy of their local cheesemongers, they are more willing to buy.<\/p>\n

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Alpine Cheeses to Savor<\/h2>\n

Hostettler is passionate about all of the cheeses in her lineup, but she did call out a few that are extra special.<\/p>\n

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Vacherin Fribourgeois <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Vacherin Fribourgeois<\/a><\/h3>\n

The word \u201cVacherin\u201d most likely conjures up the suffix \u201cMont d\u2019Or\u201d for cheese aficionados, but that\u2019s not the only Vacherin on the block. Vacherin Fribourgeois, a rare and pungent Alpine, is the original Swiss fondue cheese, and one that is only made by a small handful of cheesemakers. Smaller and softer than what we traditionally think of as the major Alpine cheeses, with a distinct, unpalatable washed rind and strong aroma, the nutty and nearly chocolatey paste rewards those who know to seek it out.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Vacherin Fribourgeois that we have is outstanding,\u201d says Hostettler, \u201c It\u2019s really like the cheese used to be centuries ago. It\u2019s not that easy to sell in this country because of the smell and everything. It\u2019s a bit hard to understand, but for those who know how it is supposed to be are extremely happy with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Botchen-Chnubel<\/a><\/h3>\n
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Botchen-Chnubel<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A form of Alpk\u00e4se, the Botchen-Chnubel is named after its Alp, which also appropriately means \u201clittle bread roll.\u201d This petite cheese is another favorite of Hostettler\u2019s: \u201cIt\u2019s just one kilo that he ages in a ham net hanging from the ceiling,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd because the cheese is so small and ages fast, it\u2019s almost like a firm yogurt. It has that beautiful acidity, and when you bite into this cheese you think of a picnic on a sunny day, just something very serene and positive.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Berner Hobelk\u00e4se<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Berner Hobelk\u00e4se<\/a><\/h3>\n

Berner Hobelk\u00e4se, which literally means \u201cplaning cheese,\u201d begins its life as Berner Alpk\u00e4se, a firm, full-fat, spicy cheese made from raw cow\u2019s milk. \u201cI\u2019m also a big fan of the Berner Oberlander Hobelk\u00e4se,\u201d says Hostettler. \u201cThe cheese changes its name after three years of age, when you start shaving it into paper thin little rolls.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Creativity in Cheese Marketing<\/h2>\n
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Cheesemaker and goats<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Through Adopt-an-Alp, Hostettler has also incentivized U.S. sellers to tell their Alpine cheese stories in creative ways, frequently offering programs that award people with trips to see their adopted alps for especially ingenious marketing schemes. \u201cThere are amazing efforts that have been taken,\u201d says Hostettler, including cross partnerships with local libraries for readings of Alpine stories such as \u201cHeidi,\u201d to one store creating a raffle for a cheese tattoo with another local business. \u201cWe had one tiny store in Washington State that Co Op and they had one 6-case cheese cooler, and that\u2019s it. They built a tall paper mache mountain, and put it just in front of that case,\u201d says Hostettler. \u201cPeople could not get to the case without asking,\u201d she says, which opened up the dialogue, and encouraged some (light) mountain climbing.<\/p>\n

On the reverse, Hostettler also realized she had to flip the script, not only sharing photos and blurbs from the cheesemakers with the American sellers, but also giving feedback and telling stories to the cheesemakers as well. \u201cYou have to show the farmers what people around here do, and how they react,\u201d she says. \u201cSo now I get photos from displays, or from tastings, or all these events that the stores do when they receive their cheese. And the farmers are stoked. They are so happy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Caroline Hostettler When Caroline Hostettler, a Swiss native, began her U.S.-based cheese importing business Quality Cheese in 1998, she didn\u2019t necessarily have a cheese background, other than having grown up with the good stuff, plus a bit of journalism on the subject. Having relocated to Florida, however, she quickly recognized a serious gap in the … Okumaya devam et “How Caroline Hostettler Became a Swiss Cheese Matchmaker with her Adopt-an-Alp Program”<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1271,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[395],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-milk-and-diary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1271"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3470\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}