Swiss cuisine
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The Swiss cuisine is unique in its many regional influences from its neighbors' cuisine, including Italian, French, and, to a lesser extent, German cuisine. However the Swiss dispose of some unique dishes. Although Switzerland was for a long time a country of farmers, the specialties are not only potatoes and cheese (Rösti, Fondue and Raclette), but also some more exquisite food such as chocolate.
The four linguistic regions of Switzerland (German, French, Italian and Rumantsch (spoken almost uniquely in Graubünden Canton)) provide each some special dishes. Most of which are known however throughout Switzerland.
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[edit] Food
Foods often associated with Switzerland include cheese and chocolate. Swiss cheeses, in particular Emmental cheese, Gruyère, Vacherin, and Appenzeller, are famous Swiss products. The most popular cheese dishes are fondue and Raclette. Both these dishes were originally regional dishes, but were popularized by the Swiss Cheese Union to boost sales of cheese.
Rösti is a popular potato dish that is eaten all over Switzerland. It was originally a breakfast food, but this has been replaced by the muesli, which is commonly eaten for breakfast and in Switzerland goes by the name of "Birchermüesli" ("Birchermiesli" in some regions). For breakfast and dinner many Swiss enjoy sliced bread with butter and jam. There is a wide variety of bread rolls available in Switzerland. Bread and cheese is a popular dish for dinner.
Tarts and quiches are also traditional Swiss dishes. Tarts in particular are made with all sorts of toppings, from sweet apple to onion.
There are a great number of regional dishes in Switzerland. One example is zürigschnätzlets—thin strips of veal with mushrooms in a cream sauce served with rösti. Italian cuisine is popular in contemporary Switzerland, particularly pasta and pizza.
In the Italian speaking part of Switzerland, the Ticino area, one will find a type of restaurant unique to the region. The Grotto is a rustic eatery, offering traditional food ranging from pasta to home made meat specialties. Popular dishes are Luganighe and Luganighetta, a type of artisan sausages. Authentic grottoes are old wine caves re-functioned into restaurants. Due to their nature they are mostly found in or around forests and built against a rocky background. Typically, the facade is built from granite blocks and the outside tables and benches are made of the same stone as well. Grottoes are popular with locals and tourists alike, especially during the hot summer months.[1]
Cervelat or cervelas is considered the national sausage, and is popular all over Switzerland.
[edit] Recipes from the French part of Switzerland
Papet vaudois (Leeks with sausage): The dishes of Canton Vaud tend to be particularly filling: pork sausage, leek and potato hotpot. If you ask a Vaudois what - apart from Saucisson - the typical dish of the canton is, you will usually get the answer: 'Papet vaudois', leeks with potatoes, served with Saucisson, and/or with 'Saucisse au foie' and 'Saucisse au chou' (smoked liver or cabbage sausages).
Fondue: This is probably the most famous swiss menu. Fondue is made out of melted cheese. It is eaten by dipping small pieces of bread or potatoes in the melted cheese.
Raclette: Hot cheese dribbled over potatoes, served with small gherkins, pickled onions etc.
[edit] Recipes from the German part of Switzerland
Rösti: This simple dish, similar to hash browns, is traditionally regarded as a Swiss German favorite. It has given its name to the "Rösti ditch", the imaginary line – or cultural divide - between German and French speakers in Switzerland. However, it is also eaten by the French-speaking Swiss.
Emmental Apple Rösti: This used to be a very popular meal, since the ingredients were usually to hand and the preparation is very simple. The recipe comes from the Emmental in Canton Bern, the home of the famous cheese.
Fotzel slices: Nobody really knows how this dish got its name. Fotzel means a torn-off scrap of paper. But in Basel dialect it means a suspicious individual, or a ne'er-do-well... Our grandmothers used to use stale bread to make fotzel slices, which made it an ideal recipe for homemakers accustomed to the rule: "Never throw any bread away."
Zopf (bread): There are dozens of types of bread in Switzerland. However, Zopf is a typical Swiss speciality for Sundays.
Birchermuesli: "Birchermüesli" was invented by Dr Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner (1867-1939), a pioneer of organic medicine and wholefoods.
Cut meat, Zürich style: This dish is often served with Rösti.
Älplermagronen: (Alpine herdsman's macaroni) is a frugal all-in-one dish making use of the ingredients the herdsmen had at hand in their alpine cottages: macaroni, potatoes, onions, small pieces of bacon, and melted cheese. Traditionally Älplermagronen is served with applesauce instead of vegetables or salad.
[edit] Recipes from the Italian part of Switzerland
Polenta: For centuries polenta was regarded as a meal for the poor. Corn was introduced to the south of what is now Canton Ticino as long ago as the beginning of the 17th century in, which led to a change in the monotonous cuisine. But it took another 200 years before polenta - at first made of mixed flour, only later of pure cornmeal - became the staple dish of the area.
Saffron Risotto: A typical dish from Ticino
Chestnut Cake: Try this delicious cake, done with chestnut puree
[edit] Recipes from the Graubünden Canton in Switzerland
Chur Meat Pie: A popular dish from Graubünden in south eastern Switzerland
Graubünden Barley Soup: The most famous soup from Graubünden
Pizokel with cabbage: Pizokel were eaten in a wide variety of ways. In some places when eaten by themselves they are known in Rumantsch as "bizochels bluts", or “bald pizokel”. If someone leaves a small amount of any kind of food on the serving dish for politeness sake, in the Engadine this is called "far sco quel dal bizoccal", meaning more or less “leaving the last pizokel”.
Engadine Nut Cake: There are several different recipes for nut cake, but the most famous is probably the one from the Engadine, a valley in Canton Graubünden.
[edit] Haute Cuisine
According to the 2005 edition of world renowned Michelin Guide, Switzerland ranks 2nd worldwide in terms of stars awarded per capita.[2]
Well-known chefs include Philippe Rochat.
[edit] Beverages
Rivella, a carbonated Swiss drink, is one of the most popular drinks in Switzerland
Apple juice is popular in many areas of Switzerland. It is also produced in the form of cider.
Wine is produced in many regions of Switzerland, particularly the Valais, the Vaud, the Ticino and the canton of Zurich. Riesling X Sylvaner is a common white wine produced in German-speaking parts of the country, while Chasselas is the most common white wine in the French-speaking part. Pinot Noir is the most popular red grape in both the French-speaking and the German-speaking part, while this position is held by Merlot in the Italian-speaking part.
Absinthe is brewed again in the Jura region of Switzerland, where it originated; long banned by a specific anti-Absinthe article in the Swiss constitution, it has been re-legalized since 2005. Now once again distilled in its Val-de-Travers birthplace, Swiss absinthe is now also exported to many countries, with Kübler and La Clandestine Absinthe among the first new brands to emerge.
Wine and beer can legally be purchased by youths of 16 or more years of age. Spirits and beverages containing distilled alcohol (including alcopops like bacardi breezer) can be bought at 18. Socialization with alcohol begins early and many have their first taste of alcohol in the family at the age of 14.[citation needed]
The chocolate drink Ovomaltine (known in the USA as "Ovaltine") originates in Switzerland and enjoys ongoing popularity, particularly with young people. Aside from being a beverage it is also used on top of a slice of buttered bread.
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.ticino.ch/15/common_details.jsp?lang=en&id=83119 Ticino Tourism
- ^ http://www.michelinrestaurantsguide.com/michelin-restaurants-star-guide.asp Andy Hayler's Michelin Restaurant Guide, 2005
[edit] See also
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