I have not tried swiss food, but oof. Still, I have been to only two places which might be close to beating france in terms of average quality of food.
The main difference is that they melt the cheese right off the wheel and they usually pair it with “grenaille” potatoes (basically a variety that’s really small, so they are kind of roasted when cooked)
You can try it at home but you need specialized equipment to melt cheese wheel chunks, over here you can loan them from some cheese shops, it looks like this:
When eating it in a restaurant they will usually do that in the kitchen and just bring the partly melted chunk at the table and scrape the melted cheese into your platter though.
To be honest I’m not sure that melting the cheese directly from the wheel changes the taste, as long as you’ve got good cheese, but it looks glorious, and looks are actually a big part of the culinary experience so I think it still plays a part.
Also there’s kind of a dispute over whether that process actually comes from Switzerland or not IIRC, but it is more widespread there nowadays
They actually sell Raclette appliances in German-speaking countries. They’re little square frying pans with a little grill you put them under. Raclette is sold pre-sliced for them. It’s not as fun as a big block of molten cheese but it’s a nice communal meal like a hotpot.
I know you can get pretty much anything in the US (or in the EU, for that matter). I’m not sure what the bougie (which means candle) is supposed to do in this context, but we do have candle sales… for wins, as in you start the bets, and when the candle go out, the last bet is it, it’s a yearly thing. Maybe US grocery stores work in a similar way? I never saw it, maybe I just wasn’t around at the right time. The US is a fascinating place.
Yeah that’s the “normal” raclette appliances you can get anywhere in France, from roughly 20 to 100€ depending on the model/brand. It still tastes amazing, because, duh, it’s melted cheese with potatoes and charcuterie, but as you said, not as fun (and getting big blocks of cheese basically forces you to buy the good quality stuff, whereas the industrially pre sliced ones are often of much lower quality)
I have not tried swiss food, but oof. Still, I have been to only two places which might be close to beating france in terms of average quality of food.
As a French, I have to say that their way of doing raclette is more expensive than ours but also tastes even better.
What’s the key difference? Can I try it at home?
The main difference is that they melt the cheese right off the wheel and they usually pair it with “grenaille” potatoes (basically a variety that’s really small, so they are kind of roasted when cooked)
You can try it at home but you need specialized equipment to melt cheese wheel chunks, over here you can loan them from some cheese shops, it looks like this:
When eating it in a restaurant they will usually do that in the kitchen and just bring the partly melted chunk at the table and scrape the melted cheese into your platter though.
To be honest I’m not sure that melting the cheese directly from the wheel changes the taste, as long as you’ve got good cheese, but it looks glorious, and looks are actually a big part of the culinary experience so I think it still plays a part.
Also there’s kind of a dispute over whether that process actually comes from Switzerland or not IIRC, but it is more widespread there nowadays
Ohh, I don’t think I will buy the wheel holder thing, or a wheel of cheese for that matter, but I think I’ll try making that myself the simple way.
Thanks for taking the time to type that out, it was intriguing.
They actually sell Raclette appliances in German-speaking countries. They’re little square frying pans with a little grill you put them under. Raclette is sold pre-sliced for them. It’s not as fun as a big block of molten cheese but it’s a nice communal meal like a hotpot.
I’m pretty sure those are sold all over Europe.
You can get them at (slightly bougie) grocery stores here in the US, I’d be shocked if you couldn’t lay hands on one in pretty much any EU country.
I know you can get pretty much anything in the US (or in the EU, for that matter). I’m not sure what the bougie (which means candle) is supposed to do in this context, but we do have candle sales… for wins, as in you start the bets, and when the candle go out, the last bet is it, it’s a yearly thing. Maybe US grocery stores work in a similar way? I never saw it, maybe I just wasn’t around at the right time. The US is a fascinating place.
Yeah that’s the “normal” raclette appliances you can get anywhere in France, from roughly 20 to 100€ depending on the model/brand. It still tastes amazing, because, duh, it’s melted cheese with potatoes and charcuterie, but as you said, not as fun (and getting big blocks of cheese basically forces you to buy the good quality stuff, whereas the industrially pre sliced ones are often of much lower quality)