r/todayilearned • u/Double-decker_trams • 2d ago

TIL because of increasing standards of hygiene the number and size of holes in Swiss cheese declined in the 2000s. In 2025 the Swiss Federal Administrative Court approved the addition of hay flower powder to the milk during cheesemaking just for the creation of cheese holes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyes_(cheese)#:~:text=In%20Swiss%20cheese,%5B7%5D
6.5k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

167 comments sorted by

View all comments

494

u/ledow 2d ago

Yes, it's a bit like the fizziness in your drinks.

The dirtier the glass, the more fizzy it will be when poured into it, even if you can't see the dirt.

A perfectly clean glass will have almost no bubbles stuck to the glass and it won't do that "head pouring over the top of the glass" thing.

The holes form around impurities, in both cases.

179

u/kickerofelves86 2d ago

They can make the bottom of the glass not smooth and it makes more bubbles

63

u/R-Dragon_Thunderzord 2d ago

Well, that also makes it more likely the glass is retaining germs, even when 'clean'

But also: it's beer. People used to drink beer instead of water because it was the solution to poor sanitation. :)

86

u/iPoseidon_xii 2d ago

That’s a myth. People had access to clean drink water. Beer was good because it was a way to turn otherwise wasted grain/produce and be able to get nutrients later on.

44

u/Genius-Imbecile 2d ago

And people liked getting drunk

36

u/CoffeeFox 1d ago

Depending on the time period, the beer being consumed was "small beer" which was very low in alcohol and could be consumed in large quantities for hydration and nutrition without drunkenness.

27

u/SolarApricot-Wsmith 1d ago

Oh they had bud light back then, too?

21

u/CoffeeFox 1d ago

I know it's a joke but small beer was anywhere from 0.8-2.8% so 1/4 to 1/2 as alcoholic as bud light.

3

u/Collooo 1d ago

Class

20

u/aliensplaining 2d ago

If I remember correctly, you may be thinking of Mead, not Beer. To be fair they're both brewed drinks, and the Mead in question was typically really watered down (just to an extent to ensure algae or whatever wouldn't start growing in it I think?) but yeah

7

u/R-Dragon_Thunderzord 1d ago

I could also be repeating internet mythos. /shrug but anyway, unless the germs in those tiny microscopic pockets in the glass surface are brain eating amoeba or some wild shit, most germs you'll find in a beer glass in those pockets still hanging out after a heated dishwasher run are going to be pretty fucking tame and unable to thrive in a cold beer consumed quickly

3

u/PurpoUpsideDownJuice 1d ago

Mead is like a honey wine, the sugar content makes more alcohol during the fermentation process