- a country that combines several cultures: German, French and Italian. This could not but affect the traditions of cooking. National specificity is more characteristic of the cuisine of the Swiss countryside.
The Swiss often eat dairy(cheese, butter, milk, cottage cheese), meat(beef, pork) vegetables(potato, cabbage) grains and legumes(corn, oats, millet), fish (trout, pike, rudd, egli - freshwater perch).
Preferred foods may vary by location. For example, city dwellers eat more starchy foods than mountain dwellers.
National Swiss dishes:
A lot of dairy products are consumed in the country, of which the most priority is cheese. Perhaps the most famous Swiss cheese dish is " fondue". It is ground Gruyère or Emmental cheese boiled in white wine. Served in a special bowl. They eat by dipping bread into it. To prepare appetizing dish « raclette from Wallis”, the Swiss warm up grated cheese and serve it with potatoes.
The most famous varieties of Swiss cheese: Emmental (usually called Swiss), Appenzell, Gruyerz, soft cheeses formagini, cheeses with spices "Vasheren" and "Shabziger", mountain cheese "Piora" and others. Expensive varieties often bought by tourists for export abroad.
From meat dishes gained wide popularity Zurich schnitzel- cooked in cream sauce veal, Bunden style meat- cut into thin slices beef jerky, as well as various sausages.
From vegetable dishes is extremely popular rosti"- baked potatoes. This dish has many variations - potatoes are rubbed, fried, baked different ways and with different ingredients (eggs, mushrooms). vegetable Bernese appetizer("Berner Platte") - a dish from sauerkraut with fried potatoes and beans.
Prepared in Switzerland hot soups and stews: Basel flour stew, barley soup from Graubünden, Ticinese tripe soup - Busecco, vegetable soup Minestrone.
Swiss desserts:
- World famous high quality Swiss chocolate.
- Cereal dessert " polenta"- prepared from corn grits with pieces of fruit and cream.
- In addition, pies with fruit filling, carrot cakes, Engadine walnut cakes, Zug cherry cakes and other desserts.
From soft drinks In Switzerland, coffee with milk is often consumed.
Winemakers of the country offer a variety of products. Swiss wines"Merlot" from Ticino (ruby color), "Aminier" (white, dry), "Fendan" from Valais (table), "Dol" and many others deserve high praise. In addition to wines, in the country you can try "live beer, schnapps, cider.
It should also be noted that most popular dishes in Swiss restaurants are indicated in the "menu of the day" - "Tagesteller" or "Plat du Jour".
Lyubov and Maxim Kushtuev answered 10 of our questions about culinary and national cuisine of Switzerland.
Lyuba, Max, hello. How long have you been cooking? Where did this hobby begin?
MK: My path to the kitchen was paved by my mother, grandmothers and aunts in early childhood. Being raised on homemade delights and delicacies, I simply had to someday start cooking on my own. How can you walk past the kitchen when the smells of baking are coming from there or the mixer hums enticingly? In addition, if you don’t go into the kitchen, you won’t get something tasty before the rest!
OK: I have a completely opposite situation. I am a catering child. Up until my last year of university, my main food outlets were canteens and buffets. By the way, I don’t see anything wrong with them - this is also a whole culture and often excellent chefs work there. My mother cooks very well, but categorically does not like to do this. It is not surprising that cooking seemed to me hard work, something forced and certainly not creative. A kind of "obligation", which I avoided with all my might. But one day I decided that I still needed to learn basic cooking skills, bought the simplest cookbook and started cooking from it. The fascination of the process exceeded all expectations and gradually cooking became a kind of meditation, a rest from work, paradoxically as it may seem. So, gradually, step by step, the first recipes came out of the usual cooking “for myself”, which I was not ashamed to show. First we opened our website, then we started offering recipes to magazines.
How did your interest in cooking turn into a passion for Swiss cuisine?
OK: Firstly, swiss cuisine- far from the only thing that interests us in cooking. But, indeed, this topic is one of the most beloved. First of all, because we live in this country. Its atmosphere, culture and traditions surround us every day. The more we dive into them, the wider, deeper and richer Switzerland itself seems to us. Personally, I do not really understand people who move to live abroad, but at the same time refuse to assimilate in a new environment, do not want to learn the language, and are not interested in the traditions of the country. When life gives you the opportunity to expand your horizons and touch the culture of another state, it is foolish not to use it. And it does not matter whether we are talking about Switzerland, Mongolia, Cameroon or some other corner of the world.
MK: Despite the fact that Geneva has practically become our second home, we have always been and remain Russian people. We love our country very much and especially Moscow, our hometown. From this point of view, it is even more interesting for us to study Swiss cuisine, to find common features with Russian, to compare the habits of our peoples, to find out how Russians and Swiss perceive the same ingredient in different ways. For example, in Russia, carrots are put in soups, salads and stews. And here it is often used in sweet pastries. But pears and apples - on the contrary, are frequent guests in hot savory dishes.
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Swiss cuisine. Not only recipes»
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your first book. Tell us more about it: how did you get the idea to write a book on this topic?
MK: And the main reason was still that the cuisine of Switzerland is very poorly covered in the Russian book industry, there are also not so many good, correct and really Swiss recipes. Often there are frank "blunders". For example, it is recommended to add water to cheese fondue, and one of the books generally calls fondue "a kind of omelette." We recently heard on television that there are four (or even six) cantons in Switzerland that speak Italian. Such disinformation is taken at face value by most and wanders from one source to another, multiplies and takes root. After looking at all this, we decided that it was time to put an end to such injustice.
What is the most unusual thing about Swiss cuisine?
OK: From the point of view of our man, there is practically nothing unusual in Swiss culinary traditions. All products are familiar to us, and most are truly loved and familiar from childhood. By comparison, the same Chinese or Japanese cuisine is much more exotic for our tastes. True, the Swiss sometimes have very interesting combinations of products. A few years ago, we had a culture shock when they brought us warm coffee with milk along with fried potatoes "reshti". First thought: “Maybe the waiter mixed something up?” It turned out that no. We ventured to try and were amazed at how harmonious this combination is! And then, having taken up a deeper study of traditions, we found out that reshti or maluns with coffee is the most classic combination. I was also surprised at first that in Swiss cookbooks, soups are recommended to be served with wine, cider or beer as a drink. It would seem, why drink a drink at all? But the answer to many "whys" in Swiss cooking is simple: "That's the way it is."
MK: And it is not customary in Switzerland to drink tea or coffee with desserts. Here is such an oddity: a drink is needed for soup, but not for dessert. If the restaurant does not ask to bring dessert and coffee at the same time, the waiter will never do it. By the way, I have seen such a tradition in many European countries, and it suits me perfectly. But Lyuba cannot eat sweets without tea, she says that it is tasteless separately.
OK: Yes, and tea without sweets is also somehow not very good.
What basic ingredient do you think should always be in the kitchen?
OK: Hmm, it's hard to say something original... Water, of course. Without it, everything else is meaningless. And then, probably, it is most logical to have a constant supply of what you most often use in cooking. Love baking - keep flour, sugar, vanillin. Fry often - stock up vegetable oil. Our most important consumables are seasonings: dry garlic, nutmeg, a mixture of peppers, etc. We prefer to buy the rest as needed, so that everything is fresh.
MK: And it’s easier for me to translate the question into a slightly different direction - what kind of equipment you can’t do without in the kitchen. Here the list looms very clear - a set of good knives, a measuring cup, and even better, accurate scales, a saucepan and a frying pan. This is the bare minimum we can never do without. Moreover, it is not worth saving on these elements. Almost all the cheap dishes we once bought have already been thrown away. But expensive, high-quality things have been serving for more than one year, and it’s more pleasant to take them in your hands.
Do you have to be a semi-professional chef to cook Swiss Cuisine?
MK: No you! You can also be professional.))) In fact, this book is designed both for a well-versed reader in culinary terms, and for those who are taking their first steps in the kitchen. There are a number of recipes that almost everyone can cook - you just need to carefully read about the cooking process and listen to our recommendations. When we collected materials for the book and prepared dishes, we specifically noted and separately recorded points that could cause difficulties, so that we could then put them in the recipes on a separate line. Sometimes they even adjusted the recipes a little to the conditions of the “average cuisine” in order to remove all the difficulties.
Swiss cuisine is associated with dense food, how true is that?
MK: For the most part, this is true. Swiss cuisine only confirms the well-known rule that any national cuisine originated not in the hands of the chefs of expensive restaurants, but in the kitchens. simple housewives. So to speak, the path from the peasant table to the feasts of the nobles. Look at Switzerland - a mountainous country with snowy winters, the peasants had to work decently in the summer to provide themselves with supplies, all this determines the nature of the cuisine - hearty, simple and affordable all year round products. Here the main products are cheeses, cereals, potatoes, pasta, jerky, wine and so on. But still, I would not say that the cuisine of this country is quite so harsh - remember at least airy meringues or delicate cream sabayon, dishes from the lake or river fish. As in any cuisine, there is also a certain balance.
Soon New Year, this book will help in the preparation of the festive table?
OK: Undoubtedly. Among the recipes there are many dishes that are perfect for a solemn family feast. Just a few examples: Genevan chicken fricassee with porcini mushrooms, Ticinese veal rolls, carrot cake, gingerbread-leckerli and, of course, mulled wine. And if you plan to celebrate the New Year at the dacha in a friendly company, then the best dish than fondue, it is impossible to come up with. All it requires is white wine, cheese and bread. Just imagine: there is snow outside the window, and at home you have a big pot of boiling cheese!
MK: If you are planning to cook fondue, please read our recommendations carefully. Our experience shows that there are a lot of misconceptions about this dish in the world. That is why in our book fondue and raclette are devoted a little more pages than other specialties, from the basics to little tricks.
Is this book fundamentally different from other publications? If yes, why?
MK: A hint of the unusualness of the book is contained in its subtitle: “not only recipes”, it really goes beyond a simple collection of recipes, as it also contains a lot of useful or useless, but always entertaining information about the country. Each chapter begins with a story about a particular region of Switzerland. The purpose of this country study part is to create an alpine mood for the reader, to help understand why this or that dish is prepared in the way it is, what story is behind the recipe. We also tried to fit in the book as many photos of the country's natural beauties, cities, villages, mountains, lakes, waterfalls as possible. After all, after a long and intense walk, the appetite is even better!
Have you been able to convey everything in this edition or should we expect a new book?
OK: Does anyone seriously think that Swiss cuisine is limited to seventy-odd recipes? With this book, we only lifted the veil of some delicious mystery, so to speak, opened the door to the whole culinary universe. Today, there are more than one and a half thousand recipes of Swiss cuisine in our piggy bank, and stocks are only replenished every day. So there are a lot of plans and ideas for the continuation, and we have already started working on their implementation. Rest only in our dreams!
We offer you to join the real Swiss cuisine right now. Try to cook chicken fricassee according to the recipe of the authors.
Chicken fricassee in Geneva
The inhabitants of Geneva have always loved deliciously cooked poultry. Of course, this predilection is due to the direct proximity of the canton to France, namely, to the main center of French poultry farming, the city of Bresse, the birthplace of the famous Bresse chickens. Chicken fricassee, or, more simply, a type of stew, is another vivid example of the influence of French culinary traditions on Swiss cuisine.
Ingredients:
- Chicken - 1.3 kg
- Dry white wine - 200 ml
- Onion - 300 g
- Potato - 700 g
- White mushrooms - 150 g
- Chicken broth - 100 ml
- Garlic - 4 cloves
- Butter - 150 g
- Fresh basil, rosemary, parsley
- Salt, freshly ground black pepper.
Cooking:
Melt 60 g of butter in a deep (preferably cast-iron) pan and fry finely chopped onion on it until transparent. Cut the chicken into portioned pieces and put on the bow. Add basil and two crushed garlic cloves. Pour in white wine and broth, cover and simmer over low heat for 40 minutes.
Cut the potatoes into cubes with a 2 cm edge. In the meantime, melt another 60 g of butter in a separate pan, put the potatoes in the pan with rosemary, salt, pepper and fry until half cooked for 10 minutes.
Saute the mushrooms with the remaining garlic in a small skillet over high heat. butter and parsley for 10 minutes. Season to taste.
Transfer the fried chicken to a spacious baking dish, put the potatoes around and spread the mushrooms on top. Cook in the oven at 190°C for about 15 minutes. Serve hot.
Time for preparing: 1 hour 30 minutes.
Quantity: 7 portions.
To make cheese fondue at home? What secrets do you need to know in order to choose the best set?
Let's just say: even classic version dishes are a real work of art, which has its own peculiarities of preparation. We will tell you about them. (Portal "Switzerland Business")
most tender 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 Swiss fondue has earned itself a worldwide reputation: today the national dish of Switzerland is preferred to feast on in all corners of the world. Reviews are always laudatory!
However, preparing it is not an easy task. It is not enough just to melt a piece of cheese over low heat and dip the bread crust into it.
As you have already noticed, we started the story with just one type - cheese fondue. In addition to it, there are also others:
- chocolate fondue and
- fondue chinoise.
You can talk about each of them without stopping for hours. However, in order to keep the topic of the article clear, within the framework of this material, we will only touch on the history and cheese fondue recipes.
History of occurrence
Name " fondue"comes from the French word" fondue”, which translates as “melted” or “molten”. The history of its origin originates 7 centuries ago in.
There are at least 2 theories of the origin of the Swiss national dish.
An invention of the Swiss shepherds?
Going to work in the snow, Swiss shepherds took with them the most satisfying and common foods - bread and cheese. There was also always wine to warm up from the cold (well, you understand! 🙂).
Once, in an attempt to give some flavor to the hardened cheese, they decided to melt it in a saucepan over a fire with the addition of wine. Bread crusts were dipped into the resulting mass.
In the past, it was (culinary) savvy that helped Swiss shepherds endure the hardships of winter in the Alps. In the photo: a mountain hut in the canton. Graphics: swiss-image.ch/Christof Sonderegger Today, this theory is considered the most likely origin story for Swiss fondue and is very common in mountainous regions.
Or the cunning of a monk?
There is also another legend about the origin of the Swiss cheese delicacy. In the 13th century, a monk named Vacarinus decided to circumvent the ban on eating hard cheese during the post. He heated the product to liquid consistency and introduced it as "cheese soup".
The rest of the monks argued for a long time how such a dish differs from the forbidden cheese, but as a result they were allowed to use it during fasting.
- Homer's The Iliad describes a dish that is very reminiscent of Swiss fondue. In particular, grated goat cheese, wine and flour had to be boiled over an open fire. Although the recipe is more than 2800 years old, the dish can be called an old relative of the Swiss national dish.
- Until now, Italy disputes the fact that cheese fondue was “born” in Switzerland. However, it has been proven that his homeland is Swiss.
- The first full written mention of the Swiss fondue dates back to 1699. AT cookbook Anna Margaretha Gessner (Anna Margaretha Gessner) the dish is referred to as "cheese with wine" (German: "Käss mit Wein").
- The French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau was also a fan. In a letter to his friend François Coindet, he writes that if his friend found a piece of Gruyère cheese, they could enjoy the Swiss cheese delicacy.
- With the onset of the Great Depression in 1914, the Swiss Cheese Association faced a severe decline in sales. In order to somehow stay afloat, she began selling cheese for making fondue. As a result, the dish appears at the National Exhibition "Village Suisse" in, and then at the World's Fair in New York 1939-1940.
- By the 1950s, the dish is gaining unprecedented popularity throughout Switzerland, which was facilitated by the Swiss Cheese Association. In 1954, a mass free fondue tasting takes place in Schaffhausen.
- In November 2018, Fondue was also announced in economy class on some destinations. Formerly the privilege of feasting cheese product at an altitude of 11 thousand meters above the Earth's surface, only business class passengers had it.
Cheese Fondue Recipes
Ingredients
To make a classic cheese fondue at home, you will need a few ingredients.
Photo: the_junes, CC BY 2.0 Cheese
First of all, it is worth choosing the basis of our dish -. Gruyere or cheese is often used in Switzerland, but Vacherin Fribourgeois, Raclette, Appenzeller, Tilsilter and Sbrinz are also very popular.
In general, one person will need about 200-250 grams of cheese. Accordingly, for a company of 4 people - somewhere around 800-1000 gr.
Wine
The second important ingredient is. Dry white wine is perfect, to which you will need to add one tablespoon of lemon juice during cooking (it will not allow the cheese to thicken). You can also use sparkling wine and apple cider(about their application - see below).
Photo: swiss-image.ch / Hans-Peter Siffert Don't overdo the wine - due to the consistency of the curd, excess wine can cause a (mild) intoxication. There should be just enough wine so that only alcoholic steam is felt. The optimal volume is 3.5 deciliters.
If it is planned that children will eat cheese fondue, then it should be done without wine. The latter should be replaced with non-alcoholic apple wine.
Spices
No Swiss fondue is complete without fragrant spices. Nutmeg, garlic and pepper are often added to the dish. Depending on taste preferences, you can use onion, cumin, paprika, Green pepper and even curry!
In the case of garlic, 1-2 cloves will be enough. Seasonings are enough 3-4 teaspoons.
Bread
Both white and black bread are suitable for cooking. Also allowed Rye bread, wholemeal bread and baguette. But purely for aesthetic reasons, we advise you to use white bread to ready meal kept the same color scheme.
Small advice: It is best to use slightly stale bread. So the cheese will be much better to soak the piece. In addition, a slice will allow you to feel the atmosphere in the Swiss Alps, when the local shepherds had really only stale bread at their disposal.
In total, about 600 grams of bread is enough for 4 people.
Tableware -
The preparation of Swiss fondue is simply impossible without the use of special dishes, which are popularly called simply - "". The basic set of utensils is as follows: a special pan " Caquelon” stands on a stand above a candle or burner. The set is complemented by special forks.
Photo: André Karwath, CC BY-SA 2.5 For some time now, you can buy an electric kit. However traditional tableware uses fire from a burner.
Arriving in the Confederations, many people are sure to try to buy a fondue maker. However, we will give you advice: Don't buy "fondue pots" in souvenir shops in Switzerland - there you will still find only low-quality items imported from China. If you need a really high-quality pan, then get it where they do it themselves - in local stores (for example, Migros or Coop). Pay attention to the label Made in Switzerland“. Swiss-made fondue can be expensive, but the quality will make it worth it.
You are unlikely to succeed in preparing a cheese delicacy without a fondue maker (for example, in a slow cooker): the dishes are made specifically for this dish and have the appropriate properties.
How to cook fondue: step by step instructions
The recipe is very simple. Cooking time at home: only about 15 minutes! There are plenty of cooking tips on the internet. We present to your attention the classic Swiss recipe:
- For convenience, pre-cut the bread into slices of about 2 x 2 cm.
- Ignite the fuel in the burner.
- Rub the sides of the fondue pot with garlic.
- Then pour the pre-grated cheese into the container. Pour in the wine and lemon juice. Add spices to taste.
- Boil the mass over medium heat, strongly stirring and do not bring to a boil.
- “Simmer” the dish for about 5 minutes, until the cheese is completely melted.
- The finished product should be served immediately. Remember: when dipping a fork of bread into the cheese mass seasoned with wine, do not forget to stir it (the fork) from time to time. You will instinctively determine the optimal dipping time for yourself after the first entry.
Enjoy your meal! Photo: Proximo86, GFDL The hot cheese delicacy is especially loved by the Swiss in the cold season (it is often done, for example, on).
Varieties of fondue in Switzerland and beyond
Cantonal differences
Depending on the fondue recipe, it may differ (even very much). Often each region prefers a certain type of cheese.
For example, Gruyère and Vacherin Fribourgeois are most commonly used in the canton, while Gruyère and Raclette are more common in the canton. Some Swiss are very fond of combining several varieties of cheese in different proportions.
Variations with alcohol are also acceptable. For example, white wine can be replaced with champagne or apple cider. Quite often, bread is replaced with potatoes or other vegetables. For example, in the canton they use salted cured meat, known locally as “bündnerfleisch” ( Bundnerfleisch). And in the canton, cheese fondue is eaten with fresh vegetables.
In the world
As already mentioned, the Swiss national dish was enjoyed in many other parts of the world. It is even prepared for the wedding.
With the fact that the fame of cheese delicacy spread around the world, another phenomenon arose: each country began to have its own cooking characteristics. So, in Russia they sometimes eat fondue with sausages. In Switzerland itself, sausages are never served with fondue. The same applies to eggplant, shrimp, etc.
What do the Swiss eat? Just cheese and chocolate? You guessed it yourself, no. To taste the variety of Swiss cuisine, you should go on gastronomic tours around the country or visit where Swiss national dishes are served. Neighboring countries, as well as a way of life with a predominance of agriculture, left their weighty word in the traditional recipe. Features of Swiss cuisine - in the minimum use of spices and herbs. But the national cuisine of Switzerland is not only the well-known fondue and raclette, but also many other interesting, and most importantly, delicious dishes.
Soups and main dishes- "Swiss cheese soup" with fried croutons. He is preparing for meat broth with cream, durum varieties cheese and greens.
- "Barley soup from Graubünden", its second name is Grison soup. This is a favorite national dish of the Swiss in winter after long walks. According to the recipe, it is somewhat reminiscent of pickle, but without pickles and with the addition of cabbage and celery.
- Gourmets will be surprised by another dish of Swiss cuisine - this is Basel flour stew. Changes have been made to the recipe for French onion soup - this is how it turned out onion soup with a Swiss accent.
- Recommended to try unusual dish with a frightening name - cholera. The recipe for this dish arose at the height of the cholera epidemics that raged across Europe. The ingredients are simple - potatoes, cheese, eggs and apples - but the taste is great.
- It is worth trying "Geshnetzeltes" - a dish with a hard-to-pronounce name. This dish will help you get rid of the stereotypes about the invariable meat sausages in Swiss cuisine and show the beauty of the country's meat traditions. There are various variations of recipes, but in the original it is prepared from beef.
- Perch fillet is a traditional dish Switzerland. It is fried in oil and served with lemon wedges. And for a side dish you will be offered boiled potatoes or toasted almonds.
- Spicy sausages from several types of meat with sauce and spices (“Knakerli”) and a Bernese appetizer - pork, as well as ribs with sauerkraut, beans and potatoes will not leave you indifferent. The dish originated after the victory of the Bernese army over the French in 1798, when the soldiers simply shared what they had.
- Swiss cuisine stores many recipes for a variety of unusual sausages and sausages, which are very popular in the German part. For example, you will be offered to taste delicious two-meter sausages.
Lovers of sweets are not recommended to read this section on an empty stomach. Swiss national cuisine abounds gourmet desserts, at the sight of which you forget about everything.
- Basler Lackerli are delicious honey gingerbread with notes of citrus, their recipe dates back to the 15th century. This main Christmas dessert was previously known only to the novices of the monasteries.
- Muesli - yes, yes, Swiss farmers used to have breakfast with this dish. Later, muesli began to be eaten in other European countries.
- The Zuger Kirstort cake will not leave you indifferent. This is a true product of Swiss national cuisine made of puff pastry and the most delicate butter cream with cherry liqueur topped with nuts.
- Among manufacturers bakery products the Swiss have no equal, they bake more than 300 types of bread. It is worth trying delicious airy buns with a variety of fillings.
Among Swiss drinks, wine is in demand - one can feel the influence of France. Also popular are kirsch - cherry vodka, brandy from plums - "pfmlyumli" and "williams" - pear brandy. From soft drinks to
Swiss cuisine combines the best culinary traditions France, Italy and Germany, as well as simple and hearty local dishes, the recipes of which have existed in the valleys and mountains for several centuries.
The cuisines of these three nations influenced the culinary habits of the most neutral country.
Each canton has its own regional specialities. In recent years, many young talented chefs have appeared in Switzerland, thanks to which the country is confidently occupying a prominent place on the culinary map of the world.
Culinary traditions of Switzerland are inextricably linked with the geographical position of the country.
Since most of the territory is occupied by mountains, simple but hearty dishes of rural cuisine are very popular.
The main dishes of Swiss cuisine are simple and hearty.
Swiss cuisine enjoys well-deserved recognition among gourmets all over the world, and the Swiss themselves do not shy away from luculla delights at home. So, the favorite pastime of the inhabitants of Zurich is a walk through restaurants and cafes, and if they praise you any of the eateries, you can safely go there. The local cuisine has been strongly influenced by its neighbors, especially the "older French cousin" and Italian cuisine, as well as a purely Swabian table, but still it has enough of its own delicacies that have become widespread in other countries.
A quintessentially Swiss dish, the famous fondue is best enjoyed when it's cold outside and it's raining or snowing. Then sit comfortably in front of the fireplace and, after chopping pieces of bread crumb on a long fork, dip them in melted cheese. It is best to drink this delicacy with white wine or tea.
Another well-known cheese dish that has become widespread is the Vallis raclette. The very name of the dish ("raclette" (fr.) - a coarse grater) gives out the principle of its preparation. Cheese rubbed on coarse grater or break into small pieces, reheat and serve with potatoes.
However, in order to enjoy the taste and aroma of cheese, it is not at all necessary to warm it up. The best examples are the Emmental (more often called Swiss) and Appenzell cheeses, which enjoy well-deserved recognition among gourmets, as well as Greyerz cheese. Exquisite taste and aroma differ "Vasheren" - which is prepared only in winter, and "Shabziger" - cheese with herbs from Glernerland.
Among the Ticinese delicacies, first of all, it is necessary to name small soft formagini cheeses, which are cooked from cottage cheese, as well as various varieties of mountain cheese, the most famous of which is Piora. Another famous Swiss delicacy is the Zurich schnitzel (veal in a creamy sauce). Those who like to eat hearty prefer the Bernese appetizer (Berner Platte) - a dish of sauerkraut with beans and fried potatoes. Bern is also considered the birthplace of the famous Rosti - thinly sliced fried potatoes with cracklings.
And now it's time to think about soups, for example, Basel flour broth, barley soup from Bünden or Busekka - Ticinese tripe soup. The national dish of sunny southern Switzerland is, of course, polenta, a dish of corn grits with cream and pieces of fruit. To the south of Saint Gotthard, risotto is very popular - a rice dish prepared in the Milanese way (with saffron), with mushrooms or peasant style (with vegetables).
The menu of Swiss cuisine includes fish meals: rudd, trout, pike and egli (freshwater perch), which are cooked differently everywhere. In late autumn and winter, many restaurants offer game delicacies such as roe deer back. And another delicacy, famous on both sides of the Swiss border, deserves your attention. This is Bunden-style meat, beef jerky, cut into very thin slices. Those who first tasted it in Valais, and not in Graubünden, call this dish “Welsh meat”.
The Alpine Republic is famous for its wines. Widely known are white wines - Dezaley and St.-Saphorin, Fendant and Johannisberg, Twanner. The best varieties of red wines are the exquisitely thin "Rose der CEil-de-Perdrix", the strong "Dole", "Pinot Noir" and "Merlot". But, perhaps, the best Bünden wines are made in the Italian town of Veltalin, which since 1815 has become the Swiss canton of Graubünden. "Sassella", "Grumello", "Inferno" - these are the names of strong ruby-red wines, which owe their luxurious bouquet to the generous southern sun. It remains only to say a few words about all kinds of sweets served for dessert, afternoon tea, and evening coffee. These are fruit pies, and Zug cherry cake, and carrot cake, and Engadine nut cake and, of course, the famous Swiss chocolate.
Alpine pasta is a few unusual combination pasta and potatoes, topped with sour cream and grated cheese, topped with crispy fried onions.
For dessert, try the Zuger Kirstort cherry cake. It is made of puff pastry and soft butter cream, soaked in cherry liqueur and sprinkled with nuts.
Swiss wines, surprising in their diversity, offer a rich palette of flavors and fresh aromas. Wines that do not fit into the image of the wine regions. At most international competitions today, Swiss wines very often receive the highest marks and win major awards. These achievements may be surprising, but they clearly reflect the revolutionary development of winemaking in Switzerland in last years and the creation of very expressive and original wines.
The Swiss table is very diverse: prestigious receptions, trendy and gourmet restaurants, fast food restaurants, regional Swiss cuisine, bistros, rustic taverns, tea salons, performance dinners... A map and menu are posted at the entrance to the restaurant. Check out the prices before pushing the front door.
Swiss cuisine is considered the finest in the world. For the people of Switzerland, food, cuisine, desserts, cheeses and wines are a way of life.
Evil tongues say: take a little Italy, France and Germany, add to this neutrality, banks and mountains - that's the Swiss Confederation. In scientific literature, the inhabitants of this blessed land are called Romansh. All of them are Swiss, but any resident of this or that canton emphasizes his originality. The same can be said about the kitchen. Although the most common national dishes are borrowed from the cuisines of other nations, the Swiss consider them their own. Apparently, because they bring their own, very piquant elements to these dishes.
Take at least fondue - perhaps the most common dish in all of Switzerland. This is a melted cheese, where garlic and light white wine are added. Fondue came from Alpine shepherds, who were the first to think of throwing the rest of cheese and garlic into the cauldron, and then dipping pieces into the mixture white bread. Shepherds it hearty meal very pleased. The French claim that they invented fondue. The Swiss argue with them. Whatever it was, but it has become one of the national symbols of Switzerland, along with banks and watches. Now fondue is being prepared in the best restaurants from different varieties cheese. A bowler hat is served on the table, and very long forks are attached to it. Visitors strung pieces of white bread on them, dipped in a cheese-wine-garlic mixture. Fondue is considered a winter dish. "Shepherds' food" is also very popular with numerous tourists. That is why fondue is on the menu of almost all Swiss restaurants. There is such interesting fact that drinking fondue with wine is not recommended, although many people in Switzerland do it.
In the cantons adjacent to Italy, of course, typical dishes of this wonderful country are common. Locals speak fluent Italian and are very fond of various pastas, ravioli and risotto (rice dishes). Nothing much new in Italian cuisine the Swiss did not.
In Switzerland, there is the concept of "reshti graben" - this is the border to which the Germans live and the German language is widespread. The term comes from the name of a typical German alpine dish - reshti, very common in German-speaking Switzerland. "Reshti graben" - the territory where this dish is eaten. Simplified, it is boiled potatoes, fried to the state of "fries" (with a crust). In fact, deciding to cook is quite difficult. This dish is very fond of Roland Jaggi, commercial director of the representative office of the Swiss national airline Swissair in Moscow. He mainly eats reshti in his homeland. But sometimes the wife indulges Mr. Yagi in Russia too. And it is extremely rare for a commercial director to cook favorite dish myself. And it is best to serve Reshti in combination with a white Munich sausage - bratwurst. Mr. Yaggi shared the recipe for the dish with the readers of Turinfo (see below).
If we are talking about sausage, it should be noted that this typically German invention, like sausages, is very popular in German-speaking cantons. Sausages from the cantons of St. Gallen and Bern are especially famous. And in Zurich, tourists, like local residents, are treated to huge two-meter sausages. Most delicious sausages, according to Alexander Bocharov, director of the Intellectual Fund travel company, they are served in a small restaurant located in the Arsenal building, next to Paradenplatz - in the very center of Zurich. This area is known for a huge number of banks, whose employees fill the local restaurants at lunchtime. Sausages are served in huge troughs with sweet mustard, and there is a full meal in a restaurant with a beer no more than 12-15 Swiss francs.
Swiss cuisine is regionally specific - the products, climate and traditional way of life of each region have a decisive influence on local culinary traditions.
The service staff usually speaks English.
Rates: Approximate cost of a three-course dinner, excluding drinks: CHF 10 to 50, depending on service level and location.
As for tips, in many restaurants and cafes, they are included in the bill, so it is not necessary to give them. But if you are satisfied with the service, then you can add 7-10% of the invoice amount.
