Two Alpine traditions for enjoying cheese on a wintry day are the fondue and the raclette. A fondue typically consists of two or more cheeses, mixed with a little white wine and a dusting of flour, melted together in fondue pot (or caquelon). Long forks are used to dip everything from bread to beef in the bubbling cheesy mixture.
Raclette derives from the French verb racler (to scrape). Traditionally a cheese wheel was cut in half, and placed close to a fire. As the cheese melted, it was scraped off the wheel and put on potatoes, pickles and pearl onions. These days expensive raclette makers are metallic bases with powerful quartz lights which melt the cheese.
Typical fondue cheeses: Appenzeller, Gruyere, Vacherin, Emmenthal.
Raclette cheeses: French raclette (soft and pungent), Swiss raclette (more mellow and nutty than French version).
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Posted by: Rhodes Ranch Las Vegas | January 22, 2012 at 11:12 PM