It is made from cow's milk enriched with cream so that its dry solids contain about 40% fat content (around 10% in the actual product eaten).

Petit-suisse may be consumed with sugar, as a dessert either on its own or with jam or honey, or salted and peppered with herbs.

A mixture of petit-suisse and mustard is sometimes applied to rabbit to prevent the meat from drying during cooking.

Contrary to what its name suggests, petit-suisse did not originate in Switzerland, but in Normandy, where in the 1850s, a Swiss employee at a dairy in Auvilliers (Normandy) suggested adding cream to enrich the curd used for cheese.

The cheeses weighed 60 grams each and were called simply "suisse" (Swiss).