Gourmino Rahmtaler Raw Milk wheel 200 lb

Handcrafted by Swiss cheesemakers Marcel Züger and Markus Hengartner at dairies in the villages of Rohrenmoos and Illighausen, Rahmtaler Reserve is truly a piece of special cheese. The style dates back to the 16th century when, due to a surplus of butter in the Emmental region, butter production was curtailed such that the milk used for producing Emmentaler cheese was no longer skimmed. And when Emmentaler was made with full-cream milk, it produced a particularly creamy paste, and, thus, Rahmtaler was born.

The word ‘Rahm’ means ‘cream’ in German. Many kinds of cheese are made with skim milk, so when the cream is added back into the vat, as with Rahmtaler, it really adds a lot of richness to the paste. You really can taste the difference. The Rare Cheese Club offers a handful of double and triple crème cheeses in our featured selections, but they are all small, bloomy-rind, fresh cheeses. Rahmtaler Reserve is a different animal—a large format (200-lb wheels!), 12-15 month cave-aged cheese with cream added. It’s pretty rare stuff as there are only two dairies in the entire world making this traditional recipe for Rahmtaler, and affineur Gourmino select the best wheels for aging.