The Hindu Business Line : Cheese & chocolate fantasy

Switzerland conjures up a lot of clichés: snow capped peaks, irresistible chocolates, clocks, army knifes, yodelling guys in funny hats, blond Heidis with braids, bureaucrats, and bankers and an efficient, most punctual, national persona. When it comes to dining in the land of lakes and mountains, Swiss sensations like cheese and chocolate have been pleasing the global palate for generations on end, a rather sophisticated culinary ambrosia.

Actually the Swiss are masters at combining the best of what its neighbours — Italy, France, Austria and Germany — have to offer in terms of cuisine, and years and years of neutrality have given them time to create their own patterns on food. No matter how many pasta dishes may be influenced by Italy or sausage dishes by Germany, the true stamp of approval from Switzerland stems mainly from cheese and chocolate. These two national treasures alone can define Swiss cuisine, and this small country produces mind-boggling quantities of both.

Swiss cheese is one of the most popular foods in the world, but the crown jewel of Switzerland is chocolate. If you're a visiting vegetarian or would like to eat vegetarian for a change, you have some interesting options in Switzerland. Rosti made from shredded potatoes pressed into a skillet and browned in butter, is a tasty (if not especially healthy) dish. Swiss restaurants nearly always display menus outside, so you can glance through the types of preparations before you enter. It might be a good idea to look for traditional Swiss restaurants that serve fondue and raclette cheese.

Raclette cheese

Cheese fondue, made with Emment haler and Gruyère cheeses is popular in the Valais, in ski resorts and at big-city restaurants that specialise in Switzerland's famous dunk-and-dine dish.

What exactly is fondue? According to legend, a 16th-century siege of Zurich, forced citizens to forage for food among whatever was available. It was their good luck to have to rely on wine, cheese and bread — and the creative result was fondue! There is yet another story that does the rounds, particularly at après ski cafes. During the middle ages, in the dead of winter, a band of Swiss soldiers gathered around a campfire high in the Alps. They were hungry and tired, but there wasn't much to eat. One of them suggested melting cheese over fire and mixing it with wine to make it go further. At this point someone announced that the melted stuff is good! And fondue has been round ever since.

No matter which story is more authentic, one thing is certain — fondue came from Switzerland many years ago, a great food to dip, dunk, savour and swirl. Fondue generally begins with heating white wine until it reaches the boiling point. The heat is reduced and the cheese gently stirred in until it melts. Most restaurants prepare the fondue in a pan on the stove and then transfer it to a fondue pot to stay warm while the guest is eating it. If it begins to get too thick while everyone is still busy eating, more wine is added, the heat is turned up and the fondue is vigorously stirred till it smoothens out. It can be flavoured with combinations of different cheeses, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, herbs and mustard. You can dip just about anything into your fondue. Besides a selection of breads, you can dip in cherry tomatoes, grapes, chunks of celery and carrot; air dried slivers of meat; lightly steamed broccoli, cauliflower, and asparagus, apple and pear wedges, or any other vegetable or fruit that's in season and tastes good with cheese.

Eating fondue is a leisurely experience. First is the appetizer — usually a mix of white wine, Swiss gruyere and emmenthaler cheeses and a pesto blend with sunflower seeds melted and placed over electric heat in the centre of the table. An array of breads, fruits and vegetables can be skewered for dipping in the heated mixture.

Next is the salad. Most popular is the spinach with shredded carrot, cucumber, feta cheese, cherry tomatoes and sunflower seeds. The piece de resistance, understandably, is dessert. It's certainly a salivating happening — a swirl of milk and dark chocolates and liqueurs. If you have never had chocolate fondue, you are sure missing out on great stuff!

A pan of melted chocolate on the table with plates of diced strawberries, bananas, apples, and marshmallows! Apart from being irresistible, it's so much fun to dip into gooey mouth watering chocolate! If you've had your fill of bread cubes dipped in melted cheese, try raclette, where the chef heats a wheel of cheese by a fire, carves a slab of molten cheese onto your plate, and serves it with boiled baby potatoes, gherkins and pickled onions. Raclette cheese is best served bubbling hot.

A very traditional starter in Switzerland, in fact with entire restaurants dedicated to it, the raclette is yummy, to put it mildly. The surface of a big half-a-wheel of cheese is heated under a special raclette grill and, when ready, the top layer is poured onto a small plate that is heated by a small candle, to keep the cheese molten. The taste is strong — what is enjoyable is the taste, texture and sheer cholesterol of raclette, especially served with a good bottle of Swiss white wine. Delicious and simple to make, but could give you a shorter life if eaten too often!

Like fondue, raclette also has a story behind it. The dish probably originated with Swiss shepherds who melted rounds of cheese on flat rocks near their campfires. When the cheese melted, the shepherds scraped it off the rock and served it over roasted potatoes. Raclette hasn't changed much over the years. Raclette cheese is so strong when it's solid that it is nearly inedible, but it becomes luxurious when melted, forming a layer of bliss over boiled spuds.

You can even purchase freshly baked pretzels, whole grain rolls and walnut pies from Swiss bakeries, some fresh, juicy strawberries, bottled orange juice, Gruyere cheese, and most important, a big bar of Toblerone and you are ready for a day in the mountains.

Switzerland is an ideal break for mad souls who enjoy good food and wine and who plan to hike through the countryside looking for it!

Fondue and raclette are the ultimate `slow foods' and are probably one of the last forms of communal eating. It is a shared experience, actually something that can't be rushed, a time set aside to enjoy food, relax and chill with friends. Quite a fun thing, that is bound to release all tensions and stress.

When you do get to fondue, remember two basic rules — If a woman drops her cube of bread or meat off her fondue fork and into the pan, she must kiss all the men at the table! If a man drops food from his fork into the pan, he must supply another bottle of wine for the table!

Picture courtesy: Switzerland Tourism

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