The word raclette is French – derived from the racler which means to scrape – since raclette is eaten by scraping melted cheese from a solid block of cheese, it’s as good a word as any.  Raclette originated in the canton of Valais, Switzerland and is a semi hard cheese, originally made with unpasteurized milk until legislation in Switzerland decreed that all producers use pasteurized milk. The texture is slightly firm cheese with tiny bubbles – a creamy and buttery cheese it’s worth paying a visit to the canton. The Fromageries Riches Monts are the largest producers of

Raclette in the world but many smaller companies and cheesemakers produce outstanding cheese in Valais and throughout Switzerland.  It is, primarily, the herbs eaten by the cows, when they graze in the mountains, that influences the flavour and gives the cheese it’s unique taste. Even though raclette originated in Valais, it is now produced in Savoie and Franche-Comté. On the 20th of June 1984 a statutory order was made in which the characteristics of the cheese were defined. It read: .. an uncooked pressed cheese made with cow’s milk and contains at least 45 grams of fat per 100 grams of cheese. It has to mature for eight weeks which start on the day it was made. There are many legends surrounding

the origin of this cheese – one of them tells of a 19th century a grape picker in Valais who had finished working for the day and took his bread and cheese out of his sack to warm himself by the fire whilst he ate. He stabbed the cheese with his knife and while he sat by the fire –  it accidentally started to melt when it touched the burning vine branches and turned into a golden, crispy delicacy that he simply had to taste. Everyone around the fire tasted it as well and soon they all discovered that melted cheese and bread makes a darned good meal!  The first cheeses were made by hand, the milk heated and “cooked” in a pot over a fire – such were the humble origins of the national dish of Valais. There is more than one

way to eat it – the traditional, Alpine, method is by cutting the huge cheese in half, putting one half next to a wooden fire and when the cheese melts, the racleur scrapes the melted cheese onto the plate. It is then eaten with potatoes, bread and sliced dried meats (charcuterie). The are various electric raclette machines available nowadays and it’s great fun to use them but once the real thing has crossed your path, there’s no going back.   Raclette is usually served with warm tea or Fendant made from the chasselas grape which is the preferred wine for most wine lovers. Usually any Savoie wine, Riesling or a Pinot Gris is acceptable.