Raclette
SavouryNov to Dec
Raclette suits anyone at a Swiss market who wants a hot, filling plate of cheese, and the trade-off is a heavy meal that leaves little room for the sweet stalls. In Bern, the Märitbeiz on the Waisenhausplatz market serves it alongside fondue.
The name
racler
From racler, to scrape, in the Franco-Provençal dialect of Valais, after the way the melted cheese is scraped off the wheel.
french
SourceWhere to eat Raclette
- Bern Christmas Market on WaisenhausplatzBern
The Märitbeiz at the lower end of the market serves raclette and fondue, with a view of Bern's official bear tree from its upper floor.
Raclette means heating a wheel of cheese and scraping off the melted layer, and the name comes from racler, to scrape, in the Franco-Provençal dialect of Valais. The cheese goes onto boiled potatoes in Valais, and at street stalls it more often goes onto bread. Melting cheese this way in front of a fire is recorded in Valais from 1574, and German-speaking Switzerland once called the dish Bratchäs, roasted cheese.
Sources differ by a year on when the name took hold: English Wikipedia says raclette has been the usual term since 1875, and German Wikipedia dates the official naming of the Valais cheese to 1874. Valais promoted raclette as its national dish at the cantonal exhibition in Sion in 1909, and it spread across Switzerland and abroad after the national exhibition of 1964. In Valais the plate comes with cornichons and pickled onions, and the drink is black tea or Fendant, the local white wine.
Two names are protected. Raclette du Valais is a Swiss AOP made from raw milk in Valais, which sits outside the EU system. Across the border, the EU registers Raclette de Savoie as a PGI. Neither label applies to a stall's raclette unless the stall shows it.
Worth knowing
- Ask which cheese the stall is melting; a Raclette du Valais AOP sign means raw-milk cheese from Valais.
Quick answers about Raclette
What is raclette?
Raclette is a Swiss dish from Valais: a wheel of cheese is heated and the melted layer is scraped onto boiled potatoes or bread, usually with cornichons and pickled onions.
Is raclette a protected name?
Raclette on its own isn't protected. Raclette du Valais is a Swiss AOP, and Raclette de Savoie is an EU protected geographical indication.
How do you order Raclette?
At a street stall, raclette often comes scraped onto bread. The Valais plate is melted cheese over boiled potatoes with cornichons and pickled onions, and in Valais people drink black tea or a glass of Fendant with it.
When is Raclette in season?
Raclette: Winter, and through Advent at Swiss Christmas markets such as Bern's on the Waisenhausplatz.