I·ATE Food Term of the Week: Raclette

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I-ATE Raclette

With colder days, we start craving hearty dishes that nourish our body but also our soul. Raclette is certainly one of the most popular and most enjoyed such dishes throughout autumn and winter. The smell of crispy bacon and melted cheese (well, this maybe a little less) leaves hardly anyone indifferent.

Raclette – a Cheese or a Dish?Raclette

A Swiss cheese dish, the name of a cheese, a social dining experience, an appliance – all of these go under the name of Raclette. Its origin is connected to the Swiss Alps area and shepherds who needed to bring food up to the mountain. It needed to be relatively cheap and not easily spoiled during hot summer months. This is why they started taking cheese and potatoes. They would then roast potatoes in the fire, while a big piece of cheese was left to soften nearby. Once ready, the melted cheese top would be poured onto the baked potatoes, which made a filling and incredibly tasty meal.

Etymology and Culture

The first known use of the term dates to around 1949, originating from the French verb “racler” – to scrape. The name represents a visual notion of the action that happens once we decide to partake in this dining experience.

Although the original version of the dish included a cheese wheel simply put down near an open flame, today’s way uses special raclette grills which usually come in three variations: a flat grill to melt slices, a “quattro” to melt the top layer of a quarter-wheel, and a “demi” to melt the top of a half cheese wheel. The meal is rather simple – the melted cheese is scraped onto boiled potatoes, cornichons, meat, veggies or any other accompaniments. When using the raclette grill, meat and veggies are often put on top of it to give them that crispy, caramelized touch.

Besides being a tasty dish, over time raclette has become a reason more for family gatherings around the table, or a perfect excuse for a delicious evening among friends.

Raclette Around the WorldRaclette

Cheese connaisseurs would agree that one should definitely try raclette when in Switzerland, but luckily for us this exquisite cheese experience can be appreciated in France, Canada, Germany and Luxembourg too. Other countries often sell the cheese in specialized shops, so there is always the option of acquiring a raclette grill and trying it out on your own. Just make sure to keep the area well aerated (and thank us later).

 

Sources

Culture Cheese Mag. 2016. Get Cultured: Raclette. [ONLINE] Available at: https://culturecheesemag.com/blog/get-cultured-raclette. [Accessed 20 October 2020].

Etymologeek.com. 2020. Raclette etymology in French | Etymologeek.com. [ONLINE] Available at: https://etymologeek.com/fra/raclette. [Accessed 19 October 2020].

Merriam-Webster. 2020. Raclette | Definition of Raclette by Merriam-Webster. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/raclette. [Accessed 19 October 2020].

Raclette Corner. 2020. History of Raclette – Raclette Corner. [ONLINE] Available at: https://raclettecorner.com/pages/history. [Accessed 20 October 2020].


Written by Lara Karlović, a digital marketing enthusiast with experience in social media management, SEO content writing and optimization and content marketing.