For five generations, dating all the way back to 1896, the families that make up Jumi, have been producing the finest cheeses the Emmental Valley has to offer. With that tradition in mind, co-founders and childhood friends Mike Glauser and Jurg Wyss came together to create a new kind of cheese cooperative in 2006. While they maintain the experience and knowledge of previous generations, they’ve also helped to pave a different path that still honors timeless traditions.
From raw milk to delicious cheese… the famers live around the creamery – Chäsi Eyweid – in the valley of Emmental each one is just milking the amount of cows that they can feed with the food produced on their own farm, the biggest farm has just over 30 cows. In the Summertime, the cows are out on the pasture plucking grass, when the cold months pass and the land is covered in white, the ruminating beasts are fed dried hay. The cows are milked twice a day, then the milk, still warm, is brought to the cheese dairy with the help of tractors, horses or car. Only flawlessly clean milk from healthy cows can be used to make raw milk cheese. Cheese cultures are made from their own milk so there is beautiful milk and a natural culture to produce cheese. To get the wonderful aroma and unique flavor the cheese matures in the cellars of Zäziwil, and that`s how all the different types of cheese are made at Jumi.
Belper knolle is Columbia Cheese’s most innovative cheese, their pride and the signature of Jumi. The milk for this cheese is processed right after milking, without any artificial heating or cooling. The small cheese balls are shaped by hand, combined with Himalayan salt and garlic, and rolled in black pepper. After a week or so, the bulbs are brought to the cellar, where they mature for six to ten weeks before being sent off into the big, wide world. When finely sliced, its intense flavor is a fantastic accompaniment to pasta, salads, soups or fondue.
