Swiss cuisine is a volatile mixture of Italian, French and German culinary traditions. Gourmet dishes and simple “folk” food such as fried potatoes or pasta casseroles are combined with the menu of traditional restaurants. We will tell what is from Swiss food is worth a try.
Raclette is a dish that is a molten, viscous cheese with a variety of meat and vegetable additives. the main thing is to put the raclette close to the fire and scrape off the slowly melting cheese. However, not every cheese melted to the stake is a raclette. A real raclette should have a dense, but rather elastic pulp: when heated, it should not foam or flow. Cheese is easily distinguished by its characteristic smell: when the raclette comes on fire, it has an aroma of raw mushrooms.
Today, special table grills with small pans are also used to serve raclettes, they are also called coupelles, to heat slices of cheese. Typically, a warm plate or pan is placed on top of the grill. Guests themselves take a small amount of meat, vegetables or seafood and grill it. Then mix it with potatoes and “water” the top with molten cheese in small wedge-shaped “pans” located under the grill ..
Alternatively, you can simply melt thin slices of cheese and pour the ingredients right on the plate. A raclette dish is perfect for enjoying a relax time in a friendly company – sometimes eating may last for several hours ..
Modern raclette is served with potato bignet, charlotte and raclette, as well as with gherkins, pickled onions, sweet pepper, mushrooms, tomatoes, bridgeberry (fruit sauce with mustard), various types of ham. Paprika and ground black pepper is very good as a seasoning. There are many varieties of cheese for raclette, they are made from cow or goat milk with addition of garlic, red pepper. Melted cheese goes well for watering any product that is used for classic fondue: jacket potatoes, meat, vegetables, seafood ..
Swiss fondue is like raclette. It can be literally called the specialty of the Swiss cuisine. What recipes do the Swiss themselves use to make cheese fondue at home? What secrets do you need to know in order to choose the best set? Okay, I’m telling you right now, even the classic version of a dish is a real artwork that has its own cooking secrets. But we are going to reveal them.
The most delicate Swiss cheese, lazily melted over a slow fire … Such a pleasure will not leave indifferent even the most fastidious gourmet! It is not surprising that the Swiss fondue has earned a worldwide reputation: today they prefer to feast on Swiss national dishes in all corners of the world. And reviews are always laudatory!
Fondue is not just a dish, it is a real ritual. Nothing brings people together like a joint meal from the shared “cauldron”. There is a whole fondue etiquette. So, if a woman accidentally drops her piece of bread in cheese, she should kiss all the present men. If man stuffed that up then he has to buy a bottle of wine. And if he loses his bread again, he must hold the next fondue party. Fondue can be cooked from any cheese, from leftovers. Initially, it was a simple rural dish – shepherds, when they went to the mountains to graze sheep, they took cheese, bread and wine with them. They made a fire, threw cheese into a pot, poured wine, cooked and ate.
Rösti is a popular potato garnish eaten all over Switzerland. Initially it was a breakfast dish, but then it was replaced by muesli. This is a simple potato dish, traditional for the German-speaking regions. Rösti give rise to the term “Rösti ditch”, an imaginary line – or cultural division – between the German-speaking and French-speaking regions in Switzerland. However, rosti sometimes served in the French part as well.
Various additives can be added to the taste, depending on the region: bacon, vegetables, eggs, Appenzel cheese, etc.
