The award-winning Stadlemann cheese factory in the town of Ganterschwil spent seven months developing the unusual-looking cheese known as Pink Queen after a customer in Hong Kong requested an authentic Swiss cheese – but in pink.
The Pink Queen is described as a mild cheese created especially with Asian tastes in mind.
“The biggest challenge was finding a natural colourant that didn’t alter the maturation process of the cheese,” cheesemaker Jürg Stadelmann told Swiss news site 20 Minuten.
Initial attempts with beetroot and strawberry didn’t work but finally a solution was found that didn’t affect the taste, Stadelmann explained.
What that solution is, the cheesemaker won’t say, out of fear competitors could copy the idea.
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Stadelmann went on to say there are currently no plans to make cheeses in other colours.
“We are just happy that the cheese came out well and met our quality standards,” he said.
In an interview with regional radio station FM1, Stadelmann said there had already been interest from restaurants in Switzerland who had told him the cheese looked and tasted great.
The cheesemaker told FM1 that there had been no reaction yet from the customer in Hong Kong as the cheese was still on its way there.
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