Do You … Fondue? We do.

  While in Switzerland we were lucky to be introduced (or reintroduced) to many cultural dishes by our local hosts. The Swiss love great food and are an par with the French and Italians for their artistry with wine and cheese. For a week we were privileged to join them in an homage to Swiss culinary art.

Although many may think it is fondue, the Swiss see themselves as a land without any one national cuisine. Although the country is small, it is diversified into regions and sub-regions which can be reflected in the food prepared and enjoyed by the Swiss people. Dishes have been created and perfected over centuries, drawing from aspects of French, German, and Italian foodways. One of our now favorite dishes was even imported from China.

Most dishes in Switzerland incorporate wine and if it is not in the food itself, it’s on the table and enjoyed by all. We enjoyed some of the more traditional Rieslings and local white wines. Also popular is cheese, because wine hates to be lonely, which finds its way into multiple meals.

Upon arrival in Zurich, Nadia whisked us away to St. Gallen, the capital of her canton, to experience the famous St. Gallen sausage.  Locals brim with pride over this favorite from the 15th century. Like any local treat (think Philly cheesesteaks or Rochester trashplates) certain norms must be followed when ordering and consuming the sausage, as vendors can easily spot outsiders. Eating the sausage out of a bag with a hard roll on the side (and of course without mustard) while standing on the street is the way to go. Afterward, we treated ourselves to deliciously thick Swiss hot chocolate. Hot chocolate offers more than one way to warm yourself after a day in the brisk Swiss air, a favorite option being a healthy dose of flavored brandy.

Starting the day on a full stomach is typical in Switzerland, with breakfast spreads similar to those in Germany, complete with fresh breads, butter, cheeses, and cold meats. Nadia impressed all with her Zopf, a traditional braided bread typically eaten on Sunday mornings. We enjoyed such a breakfast each morning complete with tea (although prepared in the British fashion to the surprise, and possibly chagrin, of all during our trip).

If I remembered one thing from my past trip to Switzerland, the Swiss do love their meat. This trip proved no different, especially on Christmas Eve while we dined at Nadia’s father’s house in Zuzwil. We ate beef, and beef, and more beef, marinated and served in a delicious sauce. That evening the meat paraded on with a traditional Swiss fondue. Meat fondue, or Fondue Chinois, was borrowed from the Chinese but over hundreds of years has become quintessentially Swiss. Small slices of meat are dipped into a fondue pot bubbling with a prepared soup-like stock. We had our choice of a number of dipping sauces and completed the meal with pickled vegetables. Before the dipping and eating commenced, I embarrassed myself by taking far too long to understand the simple meat fondue concept, confused at the prospect of raw meat on my plate. After a lot of laughing I was convinced that the meat would cook in the soup and I had nothing to worry about.

One aspect of Swiss culture (noticed the most by Kevin) was the lack of a substantial lunch. During free days most people eat little snacks or cafe-like treats and do not necessarily enjoy a full lunch. Such was our experience during most days. However dinners are lengthy affairs, especially when socializing with friends, and can last late into the night.

On Christmas day we enjoyed our first ever raclette, now my favorite dish. Found in historic texts from the middle ages, raclette has been a popular Swiss dish for hundreds of years. It  was originally associated with Swiss cow herders in the mountains. The meal is prepared by melting raclette cheese and pouring it over potatoes. Racler, the French word meaning “to scrape,” is the foundation for the dish’s name as the melted cheese is scraped onto the potatoes. Modern Swiss have a handy table-top  grill, much like our electric griddles, with a special hot plate below the grill for placing small pans filled with raclette cheese. Here the cheese is melted while above on the grill vegetables, bacon, and other meats can be cooked to accompany the cheese. Like fondue, a raclette meal is a lengthy, social event.

We were treated by Simon, who prepared Rösti for us. Much like hash browns, rösti is a dish made by shredding and frying potatoes. A cream and mushroom sauce with veal or bacon, fantastically seasoned, accompanies the crispy potatoes. Like at most meals we were offered wine or beer and mineral water. After almost three weeks with only mineral water as his friend, Kevin was happy to return to familiar, bubble-less tap water.

Switzerland’s  Appenzell is famous for its cheese, so naturally we traveled to the source and purchased Appenzeller Käse, the cheese that has been around for a millennia. Walking into the official shop a wave of cheese smell hits you, delicious perfume to some, the experience of 1,000 smelly feet to others. After a tasting we were happy with our choice, wrapped it for later, and retired to a small cafe for a salty slice of cheese cake (but not cheesecake.) Here we also tasted a sweet,  brandy-like liquor distilled locally. Simon also made sure we experienced an Appenzeller Biber, a gingerbread cookie filled with marzipan (almond paste) and special herbs. It was delicious and festively wrapped like a little present, and who doesn’t love that? After a week of cheese, wine, sausage, and potatoes we were off for the land of kebab, feta, olives, and köfte.