While the ski lifts of the winter sports resorts will remain closed during the February holidays, Laurent Mariotte advises you to take a little altitude with the mountain cheeses.

The gastronomy columnist of Europe 1 is interested in three great classics: Beaufort, raclette and fondue.

If you're not going to the mountains this winter, then bring the mountains to your kitchens.

During the February holidays, many will not join the winter sports resorts, as they used to do, the coronavirus crisis requires.

But that doesn't prevent you from gaining a little altitude, thanks to mountain cheeses.

Beaufort, raclette, fondue, Laurent Mariotte, host of La Table des bons vivants every Saturday on Europe 1, seen to say more about these three essentials.

Beaufort, the safe bet

Beaufort is the safe bet for mountain cheeses.

To distinguish it from its very close neighbor the county, you have to look at the heel.

"It has a concave shape, rounded inwards", specifies Laurent Mariotte.

To benefit from the appellation, the cheese must meet strict conditions.

The region, first of all.

"We are in Beaufortain, la cloche, in the Maurienne valley, at a minimum altitude of 800 meters", specifies our gastronome.

And the ripening is "between six and nine months".

"It's a sure bet that you have to invite to your set," concludes Laurent Mariotte.

Fondue, to suit your taste

In this gloomy period, fondue has the immense advantage of being convivial.

And easily accommodated to his liking.

In theory, it is made from three cheeses: Beaufort, in fact, Compté and Emmental.

"But we can put four," said Laurent Mariotte.

"We can add plenty, and Emmental, we can replace it with Gruyère."

For the rest, it's classic.

We rub the caquelon with garlic, we put the grated cheeses, the white wine, and then we dip a good stale bread inside ", continues our columnist.

GASTRONOMY BOX

Discover our gastronomy newsletter

Receive our newsletter "A table!" Every Sunday at 10 am

to excel behind the stove with recipes, advice and tips & tricks from Laurent Mariotte, his columnists and his guests.

Subscribe here https://newsletter.europe1.fr/gastronomie/

"Little advice," he warns, however.

“We don't drink water when we eat a fondue. Especially not. It makes a cement block in the stomach. We drink wine (in moderation obviously), a good white wine to drink, a nice Apremont that one would have used, for example, to melt cheese. "

And if you are more Pyrenees than Alps, no problem.

"You can put in Ossau Iraty, Tomme from the Pyrenees, bethmale - this beautiful cheese made from cow's milk - or a tomme from goat from the Pyrenees", concedes Laurent Mariotte.

"We can have fun customizing the fondue."

With raclette, think of vegetables

Raclette is a great winter classic, but that doesn't stop it from being demanding.

You need "a nice plain raclette made from raw milk. We avoid anything flavored with truffles, with smoked cheeses with an artificial taste, we forget that", asserts Laurent Mariotte.

"But you can also take good cheeses like Morbier, a farm goat or Abundance. It's delicious!"

Usually, these are cold cuts that accompany the raclette, for a meal that turns out to be very rich and very salty.

"We can eat vegetables," says the foodie.

"A nice endive salad, for example. Because the potassium in the vegetables will compensate for the salt which is a little in excess in the meats and in the cheese."