Raclette is a dish indigenous to parts of
Switzerland,
Wallonia and
France. The cheese round is heated,
either in front of a fire (emphasis mine) or by a special machine, then scraped onto diners' plates; the term
raclette derives from the French
racler, meaning "to scrape". Traditionally, it is accompanied by small firm
potatoes (Bintje, Charlotte or Raclette varieties),
gherkins,
pickled onions, dried meats (such as
prosciutto and
viande des Grisons), sliced peppers, tomato, onion, mushrooms, pears, and dusted with paprika and fresh-ground black pepper.
In the Swiss canton of
Valais, raclette is typically eaten with tea or other warm beverages, or with a type of white wine called Fendant, made from the Chasselas grape. Drinking water along with your raclette is said to interfere with the digestion of the cheese, although this is likely an "
old wives' tale" as there is no scientific basis for this. It is normally accompanied by a white wine, such as the traditional
Savoie wine, a
Riesling or a
Pinot Gris.
Raclette was mentioned in medieval writings as a particularly nutritious meal consumed by peasants in mountainous Switzerland. It was then known in the German-speaking part of Switzerland as
Bratchäs, or "roasted cheese." Traditionally, the Swiss cow herders used to take the cheese with them when they were moving cows to or from the pastures up in the mountains. In the evenings around the
campfire, they would place the cheese next to the fire and, when it had reached the perfect softness, scrape it on top of some bread.
A modern way of serving raclette involves an electric table-top grill with small 'pans' to heat slices of raclette cheese in.