Why Swiss Cheese Has Holes in it?

No sandwich would be complete without some vegetables, though. Your sandwich will definitely gain some height when you pile on lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and pickles. After spreading on a bit of ketchup, barbecue sauce and mayonnaise, there's just one more thing you need: CHEESE.

Have you ever noticed how in cartoons(e.g. speedy gonzales), all the round wheels of cheese have holes in them?

The holes comes from a byproduct of some of the microbes added to milk to make Swiss chese. Particularly, there are 3 primary types of bacteria that are typically used to make Swiss cheese (these can vary a bit depending on the manufacturer): Streptococcus thermophilus; Lactobacillus helveticus; and Propionibacterium shermanii.

The first two types of microbes produce significant amounts of lactic acid, which is, in turn, devoured by the latter type of microbe, Propionibacterium shermanii. It is this Propionibacterium shermanii that is responsible for the holes in Swiss cheese. Through the process of consuming the lactic acid, the shermanii produce acetate, propionic acid and carbon dioxide as by-products.

The acetate and propionic acid&carbon dioxide as a byproduct, which is also gives the Swiss cheese much of its distinct flavor. The carbon dioxide forms bubbles within the cheese block or whhel which are left in as the cheese continues to ferment, rather than pressing them out, and gives Swiss cheese its distinctive holes.

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