The top 10 Swiss foods – with recipes
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Loading... - Gracie Johnson
- 21 Feb 2022
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Switzerland is famous for its beautiful natural scenery, but when it comes to Swiss food, it’s a gourmet paradise. Aside from the country’s world-famous cheese and chocolate, there are numerous national and regional dishes to explore throughout its 26 cantons. Furthermore, many of these incorporate a number of influences from neighboring countries such as France, Germany, and northern Italy. Needless to say, you won’t go hungry when living or traveling in Switzerland. Just take a look at these top 10 Swiss foods, along with recipes to try at home.
1. Cheese fondue
A roundup of iconic Swiss food wouldn’t be complete without mentioning this devilishly delicious dish. Cheese fondue is the ultimate comfort food and ideal for sharing with friends and family. It consists of gooey melted cheese; traditionally a blend of Gruyère, Emmental, and Appenzeller, mixed with other tasty ingredients. These might include garlic, white Swiss wine, cornflour, and even kirsch (cherry brandy). Cheese fondue is served at the table in a special ceramic pot called a caquelon. A small burner is placed underneath the pot to keep it at a constant temperature. Small cubes of bread are then speared onto prongs and dipped into the hot cheese – hopefully without dropping off! Bursting with flavor and extremely satisfying to eat, it’s no wonder fondue remains one of Switzerland’s most popular dishes.
2. Rösti
Crisp on the outside and melting on the inside, rösti is another popular Swiss food and was originally eaten as a cheap and simple breakfast by Bern farmers. Nowadays, however, it is enjoyed all over the world and at any time of the day. Rösti is essentially a fried potato-based pancake that is made by frying (or occasionally baking) flat round patties of coarsely grated raw or parboiled seasoned potato in oil. Some recipes call for bacon, onion, cheese, and even apple to be added to the mix. The Swiss consider rösti to be a national dish and many people enjoy eating it with fried eggs and spinach or fleischkäse, a corned beef, pork, and bacon-based meatloaf. For the ultimate treat, though, you can serve it topped with smoked salmon, sour cream, and chives.
3. Bircher müesli
Chances are you have eaten muesli for breakfast at some point in the past. However, you might not have known that it was actually invented by a Swiss doctor called Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Brenner back in 1900. Believing that a diet consisting of cereals, fruits, and vegetables is better than one based heavily on meat, he created Bircher müesli for patients in his Zürich sanatorium. This is essentially a mix of rolled oat flakes, fruit, nuts, lemon juice, and condensed milk. The original recipe entailed soaking the raw oats overnight to help them soften. Today, the dish is still a very popular breakfast throughout Switzerland and Germany. However, many people use quick oats to speed up the preparation time in the morning.
4. Raclette
Raclette is the name of a semi-hard Swiss cheese that is made from Alpine cow’s milk and tastes slightly nutty, like Gruyère. However, it is also the name of a popular Swiss dish, of which the meaning comes from the French word racler – ‘to scrape’. This is because traditionally, eating raclette involved holding an entire wheel of cheese in front of a fire and scraping it off onto a plate as it melted. Nowadays, however, slices of cheese are melted in table-top raclette pans or grills and accompanied by other ingredients. These might include small potatoes cooked in their skins, vegetables, cold meats, pickled gherkins, onions, and bread. With a modern raclette grill, you can even melt the cheese on one layer and scrape it over grilled vegetables and meats on another layer.
5. Bündner Nusstorte
Also known as Engadiner Nusstorte, this sweet, caramelized nut-filled pastry originates from the canton of Graubünden in eastern Switzerland. It is made in small independent bakeries throughout the canton and many have their own variation on the basic recipe. The shortcrust pastry is made using flour, sugar, eggs, butter, and a pinch of salt. The filling then consists of caramelized sugar, heavy cream or milk, and coarsely chopped walnuts. Some recipes also include a dollop of honey. Many people enjoy this tasty little dessert with a cup of tea or coffee. Interestingly, it is so popular that it accounts for 20 to 40% of the total sales for many bakers in Switzerland and is one of their largest export items.
6. Älplermagronen
Sometimes called herdsman’s macaroni, Älplermagronen is a traditional all-in-one dish that originates from the German part of Switzerland. It uses all the ingredients that were available to the herdsmen who were looking after their cows on the mountain pastures of the slopes of the Alps. These include cheese, potatoes, onions, macaroni, milk or cream, and apples. The classic version is made by layering cooked potatoes and macaroni with cream and cheese, before baking it in the oven. People usually serve it with fried onion rings and a stewed apple sauce on top. The dish sometimes comes with bacon, too. Whatever ingredients you include, though, Älplermagronen is a seriously hearty meal that warms you up a treat.
