We owe the raclette to the Swiss canton of Valais. There it has the status of a national dish. And it’s also very popular with us, especially at Christmas and New Year’s Eve. But alas, raclette is not just raclette. The real, true, original Swiss raclette, as tradition says it was invented 400 years ago, involves melting a loaf of cheese over an open fire. It was said that fried cheese, sumptuous feasts began and ended with such a meal. How did that happen back then? Something like this: “Some shepherds sit around a fire and watch over a quarter-sized wheel of cheese that they have exposed to the embers of the fire. As soon as the cheese begins to melt, someone takes a knife, scrapes a melted slice off the wheel of cheese and spreads it on a piece of bread.” At least that is what a written account from 1888 says. At the beginning of the 20th century, the term raclette was finally coined: it is derived from the French verb “racler”, which means scraping. Only at the beginning of the 20th century did fried cheese become known to a larger public.
Today it is common in Switzerland to heat the cheese in special raclette ovens that run on gas or electricity (and cost several hundred euros). They heat the cut surface so that after a while you can spread melted cheese on a piece of bread. This is still the typical way of preparation in Valais. In Switzerland, they also eat jacket potatoes, pepper, pickled cucumbers and onions. No meat, no fish, no other vegetables. The situation in Germany is completely different. In the 1980s, the two-level raclette table grill was developed in this country: below there is space for Teflon-coated pans in which cheese is melted, preferably on fresh vegetables. The meat to be grilled gets its place at the top, because eating meat is twice as much fun for many people.
This type of preparation may no longer have that much to do with the original raclette. The fact is, however, that the further development of raclette equipment in Germany has become widespread. As a result, when we talk about raclette, hardly anyone thinks of a loaf of cheese sitting in a clamp and gently sweating. But actually only at the table grill and pans.
It is not up to us to want to play off one type of preparation against the other. Choose the one that brings you the most joy. Especially since both types of preparation have something essential in common: they create conviviality. When eating raclette, time flies because there is always something to do, to grill and to eat, and that is good for communication at the table, which usually just as never runs out as the supply of ingredients with which you have set the table. (Yes: we can’t do much with the meager Swiss accompanying food either.) However, we recommend taking a closer look at some points.
First of all, there is the choice of cheese. Please don’t save at the wrong end – it should be real raclette cheese, it simply has the most punch. When it comes to bread, we prefer fresh farmhouse bread or baguette. What should also not be missing on the table: ham (cooked or smoked). Raclette is very greasy (that’s because of the cheese), so a few acidic bits are advisable, such as pickled gherkins and silver onions. Acid is the remedy of choice against the lump of cheese in the stomach, which is unavoidable with raclette. Please also serve: corn, cauliflower, peppers, mushrooms – and dips: cocktail sauce. honey mustard sauce. Tartare sauce (with chopped boiled egg). barbecue sauce.
Raclette is easy to prepare: no hours of preparation in the kitchen. All you have to do is buy the ingredients and put them out. Ideally, the guests even bring ingredients with them, one contributing meat, another vegetables, and a third provides potatoes. And then the party can begin, which is wonderful every time, because everything is nice if you pour liquid cheese over it. Then all is right with the world.
Walter Stemberg and his son Sascha run the “Haus Stemberg” restaurant in Velbert, whose star was confirmed in the “Guide Michelin” for the ninth year in a row. The Stembergs write about the basics of cooking in WELT AM SONNTAG. All episodes online: www.welt.de/kochschule
