Holes in Swiss cheese come from bacteria, Right? Think again.

I'm so glad it isn't CERN creating them.


I know, I know you are thinking "CERN has only been around a few years" But what if CERN really is producing the holes (black holes really) and somehow changing the space-time continuum so that we all think that there have been holes in Swiss cheese for as long as can be remembered? AHA! Got you wondering now haven't I? And where is all the missing Swiss cheese going to anyway? I smell a conspiracy here.

This is just too much!
Taking the "mystery" out of my swiss cheese??!! Really???? Is nothing sacred???? Had been missing the holes in the Lorraine Swiss, but I'd hoped they'd come back on their own? I didn't need to know the whys, just enjoy the cheese......
Man....this sucks......

We know TOO MUCH!!!!
Life is getting smaller......sobs!!!

originally posted by: Soylent Green Is People

originally posted by: Greathouse
a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

I pondered that theory also prior to my first assumption. Myself I just can't see or understand how a particle would form such a large barrier around itself. Or why it would obtain a circular form...

Here's my guess:

As the cheese dries as it forms, it shrinks and tightens. There is still enough elasticity in the cheese matrix for most of it to keep a homogeneous smoothness (without holes). However, where that homogeneity is disturbed by the presence of the hay dust, the matrix of the cheese is broken, and then forms round voids as the cheese matrix tightens up -- just as a small pinhole in an elastic surface (like elastic balloon material) will grow into a larger circle when that surface is stretched and tightened in all directions equally.

Cool guess, and it's really a shame that the article doesn't mention how exactly do those tiny particles of hay cause the holes to appear.

a reply to: Soylent Green Is People

yup

a reply to: Cinrad

I agree with you. This problem is known as the missing mass problem.

originally posted by: MystikMushroom
I read the post title and said, "No...the holes come from gasses...please tell me they come from gasses and not some parasites...!"

I love cheese, although I doubt I'd be able to eat this cheese:

Casu Marzu:

Derived from Pecorino, casu marzu goes beyond typical fermentation to a stage most would consider decomposition, brought about by the digestive action of the larvae of the cheese fly Piophila casei. These larvae are deliberately introduced to the cheese, promoting an advanced level of fermentation and breaking down of the cheese's fats. The texture of the cheese becomes very soft, with some liquid (called lagrima, Sardinian for "tear") seeping out. The larvae themselves appear as translucent white worms, about 8 mm (0.3 in) long.[2] When disturbed, the larvae can launch themselves for distances up to 15 cm (6 in). Some people clear the larvae from the cheese before consuming while others do not. The cheese, along with one of its Sardinian makers, Giovanni Gabbas, received attention on Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. Zimmern described the taste of the cheese as "so ammoniated" that "...it scorches your tongue a bit." The cheese is known to leave an aftertaste for a duration of up to several hours.[3]

Wikipedia

No thanks, I'll take my Swiss cheese ...

my grand father would get some every so often for himself unless his goombadis came over. he made his own wine too.

it was nice cheese. it's been 60 yrs at least since i had some.

i still haven't found Jarlsberg in the last 20 yrs in a store.

sometimes a high end hotel buffet will have it.

i'm a blue fan like gorgonzola.

Swiss cheese is made in a war zone and smuggled out by world class runners who die in the process of passing the cheese over the border, the holes are in the cheese are made with flying bullets. I thought everyone knew that.

I was hoping this was going to be the discovery of dark matter and missing neutrons. Anyways I like stories on cheeses.