Virginia Phelps, age 8, of Decatur, I11., for her question:

WHO PUTS THE HOLES IN SWISS CHEESE?

Swiss Cheese originally came from Switzerland. Today, however, it is made in many different countries in all parts of the world.

The holes in Swiss cheese are called eyes by the cheese makers. Cheese makers put the holes in the cheese by adding bacteria that produce bubbles of carbon dioxide gas in the cheese. When the cheese is sliced, the bubbles become holes.

There are four main groups of cheese: soft, semisoft, hard and very hard. Swiss cheese, along with cheddar, Edam cheese from Holland and Gruyer, is classified as hard. The amount of moisture in the E cheese determines its classification.

Swiss cheese is also known as Emmentaler. The cheese that is produced in Switzerland is made from the milk of dairy cattle that graze on high mountain pastures in the summer.