Tête de moine

 

Tête de Moine — Switzerland’s Cheese That Bloomed Into Currency

Tête de Moine, literally “monk’s head,” hails from the high pastures of the Swiss Jura, where it was born in the 12th century within the walls of the Bellelay Abbey. From the beginning it was reserved for special occasions — not everyday peasant fare — because it had to be made from exceptionally rich raw cow’s milk, obtained only from herds grazing on the most aromatic mountain grasses and wild herbs. Its AOP today still enforces that purity: no silage, no additives, just pristine alpine pasture.

What makes Tête de Moine fascinating is that it wasn’t just food — it was power. For centuries the monks and local farmers used this cheese to pay taxes, settle rent, appease lords and even resolve feuds. Wheels of cheese literally acted as diplomatic currency.

And then there is the ritual. You never slice Tête de Moine. You shave it. A clever Jura engineer formalised the tradition in the 1980s by inventing the Girolle — a rotating scraper that turns the cheese into delicate edible “flowers”. Those rosettes aren’t just beautiful — in that form the cheese opens up aromatically and melts in seconds on the tongue.

Mildly nutty, deeply alpine, elegant in texture and steeped in history, Tête de Moine is not just a cheese — it is Swiss terroir, monastic legacy and culinary theatre all in one blossom.

Here is a great Swiss cheese recipe:

Swiss fondue with chanterelles mushrooms