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Downtime Food & Wine-National News A Raclette party at Easter
| A Raclette party at Easter |
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| Monday, 10 March 2008 | |
 History informs us that Raclette found its way into France via the Savoie from Geneva during the Middle Ages. The term comes from the French verb racler - to scrape. And that is what is done – the cheese is heated in a small, shovel-like instrument. It is then scraped off and spread over the accompanying side dishes. Originally, the main accompaniment consisted of small unskinned potatoes. Nowadays we use a vast array of cold foods – charcuterie, sliced onions, gherkins, even shrimps and prawns – all delightful when coated with the raclette – and create some interesting hot dishes such as mushrooms with thin slices of bacon, grilled on the shovel, eaten with potatoes and the melted cheese. A ‘raclette’ is a great conversation starter and a wonderful prelude to a cosy, candlelit evening ‘a deux’. But back to the cheese! Raclette is a cow’s milk pressed cheese with a firmish pate, ivory white in colour, with aromas of mushroom and mould. In taste the original version is mild, but flavour additives – mustard, chive, clove and paprika for instance – are commercially available. The maturation takes at least eight weeks. The most important attribute of raclette is that it is pliable when melted. Production of raclette in France is no longer limited to France Comté and the Savoie. Any areas producing semi-hard, mild tasting, pliable cheese now make it. Although the crisp white wines of the Savoie are the most recommended by the cookbooks, a light, fairly acidic red wine also makes an excellent partner. A ‘raclette’ meal to any cheese lover is a gift from the Gods. |
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