Raclette Cheese: A Swiss Delicacy Explained

Raclette is a Swiss cheese with a long history, traditionally served melted and scraped over potatoes, bread, or other foods. It is made from cow's milk and has a semi-hard, creamy, light yellow texture with a nutty, fruity, and spicy flavour. Raclette is known for its exceptional melting properties, which come from its fat content, and is often served using a raclette grill or machine. Raclette has become popular internationally and is now produced in other countries, including France and the US.

Raclette is a Swiss cheese with a nutty, buttery flavour

Raclette is distinguished by its aromatic smell and its outstanding melting properties. It is made from high-quality milk, preferably from grass-fed cows, and special bacterial strains that create lactic acid and secondary metabolic flavour products. The cheese is formed into wheels, soaked in a salt brine and then smeared with a mixture of yeast and bacteria. The wheels are then placed in a cellar on red pine benches for ripening, where they age for three to six months.

The flavour of raclette varies depending on the region in which it's produced, but it generally has a floral aroma and is nutty, fruity, spicy and milky in flavour. Swiss raclette tends to be stronger in flavour, with a slightly floral, buttery and mildly pungent taste, while French raclette is smoother and butterier.

Raclette is traditionally served in fondue and raclette dinners, where it's melted and scraped over boiled potatoes. It is also often served with bread instead of potatoes, particularly as street food. Raclette pairs well with roasted potatoes and root vegetables, pickles and cured meats such as prosciutto. It is best enjoyed with an acidic drink like wine, beer or tea to cut through the fat.

It's made from cow's milk and is semi-hard

Raclette is a semi-hard cheese made from cow's milk. It is native to the Swiss Alps but is also produced in the Savoie region on the French side of the Alps, as well as in the US. Raclette is made from the milk of cows that graze on fresh meadow grass in the summer and meadow hay in the winter, resulting in an aromatic cheese with a flavour that can range from mild and milky to piquant. The flavour will vary depending on the region in which it is produced, but it generally has a floral aroma and is nutty, fruity, spicy, and milky.

Raclette is made by forming the cheese into wheels, and the pressed wheels are then soaked in a salt brine and smeared with a mixture of yeast and coryneform bacteria (gram-positive rods). The wheels are then placed in a cellar on red pine benches for ripening, where they age for three to six months. The wooden shelves help to create the moist rind, and during this process, the cheese is washed and turned at regular intervals.

Raclette is distinguished by its aromatic smell and its outstanding melting properties. It is a popular cheese for raclette dinners and cheese fondue, where it is melted and scraped over boiled potatoes, as well as roasted potatoes and root vegetables, pickles, and cured meats. Raclette can also be melted in a small pan placed in a tabletop stove, or grilled on a barbecue or mini grill.

Raclette is a Swiss-type cheese that is marketed specifically to be used for the dish of the same name, which involves heating the cheese and scraping off the melted part, then serving it with various accompaniments. The term "raclette" comes from the French word "racler", which means "to scrape". The dish has been popular since the Middle Ages and was originally consumed by peasants in the mountainous Alpine regions of Switzerland and France.

Raclette is distinguished by its meltability

Raclette is a Swiss cheese with a long history, traditionally served in a raclette dinner or fondue, where it is melted and scraped over boiled potatoes. Raclette is distinguished by its meltability, as well as its nutty, fruity, spicy, and milky flavour.

Raclette's meltability is due to its fat content, which does not separate and pool as grease. This makes it ideal for dishes that require melted cheese, such as raclette dinners, cheese fondue, gratins, casseroles, grilled cheese sandwiches, and pasta and egg dishes.

Raclette is made from cow's milk and is a semi-hard, ivory to light yellow cheese with small irregular holes and an edible orange-brown rind. It is produced from milk that comes from cows that graze on fresh meadow grass in the summer and meadow hay during the winter. The cheese is formed into wheels, soaked in a salt brine, and then smeared with a mixture of yeast and bacteria. The wheels are then placed in a cellar on red pine benches for ripening, where they age for three to six months.

The high meltability of raclette cheese is also due to its production process. Raclette does not undergo a propionic acid fermentation, which is why it has no or few small holes. The wooden shelves used during the ripening process help create the moist rind, and the cheese is washed and turned at regular intervals.

Raclette cheese is typically heated to a high temperature until it is melted, and then scraped onto potatoes, vegetables, or bread. It is often served with roasted potatoes and root vegetables, pickles, and cured meats such as prosciutto.

It's served melted and scraped over potatoes, bread and other foods

Raclette is a Swiss dish that involves melting cheese and scraping the melted part over various foods. The cheese itself is also called raclette. Raclette cheese is a semi-hard, full-fat cow's milk cheese with excellent melting properties. It is matured for at least three months and made from raw or pasteurised milk without any additives. It has a nutty, fruity, spicy, and milky flavour, with a creamy texture.

Raclette is traditionally served with boiled potatoes, cornichons (pickled cucumbers), pickled onions, and black tea or other warm beverages. In the Swiss canton of Valais, where raclette originated, it is also consumed with Fendant wine. In France, it is often served with white wine, such as Riesling, Savoy wine, or pinot gris.

Raclette can be melted in front of a fire or using a special machine, such as an electric tabletop grill with small pans. The melted cheese is then scraped onto the other foods. In the classic preparation, half a wheel of raclette cheese is placed on a board near the fire and then scraped directly onto the plate. This method is still common in Valais, especially during the summer months.

In addition to potatoes, raclette can be served with various other foods, such as roasted root vegetables, pickles, and cured meats like prosciutto. It is also served as street food, often with bread instead of potatoes.

Raclette is also the name of the Swiss dish

Raclette is native to the Swiss canton of Valais, where it is made from raw (unpasteurised) cow's milk using traditional ancestral methods. It benefits from a protected designation of origin (PDO or AOP) status. Raclette du Valais AOP is a traditional semi-hard cheese from the Valais, produced according to a recipe passed down through generations. It has a fresh, milky flavour, combined with a slightly sour taste dominated by herbal and fruity notes, which are owed to the rich array of flora found in the Valaisian mountain and alpine region.

In the Middle Ages, melted cheese was originally consumed by peasants in the mountainous Alpine regions of the cantons of Valais and Fribourg (Switzerland), and Savoie and Haute-Savoie (France). It was then known in the German-speaking part of Switzerland as Bratchäs or Bratkäse, meaning "roasted cheese".

Traditionally, cow herders carried cheese with them when moving cows to or from pastures in the mountains. In the evening, the cheese would be placed next to a campfire to soften and then scraped onto bread. Melting raclette-type cheese in front of a fire is attested in Valais since 1574. The term "raclette" comes from the French word "racler", which means "to scrape".

Today, raclette is typically served with potatoes, cornichons (fermented, pickled cucumbers), pickled onions, black tea, other warm beverages, or Fendant wine. A popular French option is to serve it with white wine, such as Savoy wine, Riesling, or pinot gris.

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