Nothing better than a good raclette to warm hearts, in winter as in summer?
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CLOSON DENIS / ISOPIX / SIPA
Raclette is the star dish of winter.
But what if it was actually a summer dish?
Hot or cold, cold meats or not, summer or winter, "20 Minutes" answers the crucial questions that you ask yourself (or not) around one of the favorite dishes of the French.
From October to March?
From September to April?
Any self-respecting processed cheese enthusiast has already taken the lead with his entourage on "the season of raclette".
A fascinating, endless debate, also ideal for relaunching a dinner where you are bored like a dead rat (it also works with a work meeting).
But did you know that provocateurs (they will recognize themselves), radically assert that raclette is a summer dish?
What if there was only that.
Some swear by traditional plain cheese, others still can't get over the discovery of raclette with truffle or wild garlic.
Not to mention the Morbier or Saint-Nectaire team… And the raclette, does that necessarily go hand in hand with an avalanche of cold cuts?
And what about those who add pears or rillettes?
Can we do everything (or almost), with raclette?
20 Minutes
looked at the crucial questions around one of the favorite dishes of the French (confined or not).
Raclette, a summer dish?
One of the theories put forward is that the raclette was invented in Switzerland during the harvest, and therefore in the summer.
And indeed, as explained on the site of the famous Valais raclette (we say "the" raclette to talk about the cheese, "the" to talk about the dish), protected by a PDO since 2007, according to legend it is a Valais winegrower who would have given life to this open-air dish on "a cold day".
If the processed cheese dish has been known since the 16th century, the term "raclette" only appeared in 1874, from the term "scraping", because the cheese wheel is scraped in front of a fire.
If the origins of raclette are therefore indeed in Switzerland, it is a little more difficult to know its seasonality.
"It's extremely complicated to have certainties in the gastronomic history of cheese because it is not a product that is of great interest,"
François Robin, one of the best workers in France
, explains to
20 Minutes
.
We have very few written records.
When we do historical research, we are not sorting through an abundance of elements but rather looking for the first one that vaguely tells us about a cheese.
»And in practice?
“In Valais we eat it all year round, winter and summer,” replies Urs Guntern, director of the Valais AOP raclette interprofessional organization.
We often eat it with friends, we prepare raclette on the terrace or in the garden, it's a convivial meal.
In Switzerland, in the other cantons, they eat a lot in winter, Valais is almost an exception.
What if we said that there are simply no seasons to have fun?
Raclette, a Swiss dish?
Originally from Switzerland, raclette is one of the flagship dishes of the country's gastronomy.
Almost 15,541 tonnes of non-appellation Swiss raclette are produced each year (source TSM), 2,102 tonnes of Valais AOP raclette.
But that doesn't mean that raclette is exclusively Swiss.
“The epicenter of the creation of this cheese is in Switzerland, but the techniques have radiated throughout the Alpine region, in Germany, Austria, Italy, France…”, specifies François Robin.
In France, we produce nearly 80,000 tonnes of this cow's milk cheese (we would eat around one kg per person per year ...), in the Jura, in Brittany but also in Savoy, where raclette has benefited since 2017 from an IGP (Protected Geographical Indication).
“It is made from raw milk, it is produced with Savoyard fodder, a guarantee of the quality of our product, but also matured on wooden boards.
It is all these steps that make it unique!
», Explains Thomas Dantin, milk producer and president of the IGP raclette de Savoie sector.
In the field of raclette, France therefore also has its say.
Raclette without raclette?
Gone are the days when the raclette platter came down to a bit of nature, a bit of smoke and a bit of pepper.
From now on, the cheese makers offer a wide range of cheeses, with truffles, wild garlic, Espelette pepper… “It has become more democratic, raclette has become popular with young people!
», Considers Bernard Mure-Ravaud, best worker in France.
In his Grenoble cheese dairy, Les Alpages, he also offers a host of them (with mushrooms, flowers, berries, etc.), and all over France you can taste a selection thanks to the delivery of his “Raclette Box”.
But it does not stop there, now other cheeses invite themselves in our pans in winter (and summer).
“We have seen two main 'trends' appear: flavored raclettes, and the use of other products that melt very well, such as a slice of Saint-Nectaire, a Tomme de Savoie, Camembert or even a slice of Maroilles!
Nothing prevents us from doing so.
What will not blend well are the fairly refined counties or the fairly old beauforts.
If we can then make a raclette without raclette, where does the delirium stop?
“I have a small limit with flavored raclettes, sometimes it's a little bit gimmicky, for example I have a reserve on the one with truffle, recognizes the MOF.
But as long as we don't arrive with blue, green or pink raclettes… ”
Is a raclette without cold cuts still a raclette?
For many, raclette necessarily means a tumble of ham, Grisons meat, sausage ... But is raclette necessarily consumed with all this charcuterie?
On the side of Urs Guntern, in the canton of Valais, it is only consumed as a starter, and the raclette is served with potatoes, pickles and onions.
In Savoie, Thomas Dantin recommends pairing it with local products, cold meats, white wine and potatoes, but specifies that it is also delicious on a good piece of bread.
Overall, it seems that vegetables are more and more inviting to party raclettes, and are becoming like the cheese board, a real playground.
Mushrooms, carrots and even parsnips are now added to the classic potatoes, to the delight of vegetarians.
“I am and that does not prevent me from making raclettes!” Specifies François Robin.
I also bring variety with pickles of baby onions, pickles but also red onions ... These are touches of acidity that will help digestion because we are not going to lie to each other, we are a little in the generosity, and the acidity helps the stomach to pass the whole.
"
How about a cold raclette?
If 250 grams of cheese per person are recommended for a raclette, we all found ourselves at least once with a surplus the next day.
While some find it a great opportunity to relaunch one (and once again buy cheese to “complete”), know that raclette can also end up being consumed cold.
“Raclette is a dish but above all a cheese made from raw milk, which has a life.
It is a cheese that can be enjoyed cold, it develops aromas, it has a distinctive character.
It's a cheese in its own right, ”says Thomas Dantin.
François Robin confirms: “It can indeed also be a plateau cheese.
The cheese which is the most representative of this is the Fribourgeois Vacherin, which can be eaten in fondues, as a raclette or as a platter cheese.
It is also depending on the ripening.
The youngest cheeses will be reserved for melting because heating is a flavor enhancer, and those which already have a slightly more established taste like table cheeses.
»What to whet the appetite, right?
Gastronomy
From Swiss mountain pastures to tables around the world, the tasty history of raclette
Health
Restaurants, raclettes and aperitifs… The French intend to enjoy their last evening before curfew
Style
Fire
Cheese
Winter
Culture
Cold