Can a Swiss cheese be made outside Switzerland, say, in Norway? (I won't even ask about France.) If the answer is no, Jarlsberg is as close as you can get, looking and tasting like a member of the Emmentaler family . As great cheeses go, Jarlsberg is pretty simple, but it still blows the flavor socks of most grocery store varieties of "swiss" cheese like Kraft and Sargento. Slice it for bread or melt it over anything you want au gratin.

Name: Jarlsberg
Type of Milk: cow's, pasteurized
Type: semi-hard
Produced in: Norway
Date Purchased: 12/27/2006
Date Eaten: 12/31/2006
Purchased Where: United States, North Carolina, Chapel Hill, A Southern Season
Price: $7.99/lb.