Raclette du Valais

Description

Raclette du Valais (Valais Raclette) is a semi-hard cheese made from raw cow's milk from the canton of Valais in Switzerland. The cheese is used to prepare the traditional raclette. Cheese has a long tradition in Valais. The first references to cheese-making in the canton date back to the 4th century BC. In the late Middle Ages, winegrowers, shepherds and farmers in Valais began to melt cheese over an open fire and then spread it on their bread. This gave them a cheap, simple, nutritious and tasty warm meal that could be prepared without much effort.

The cheese taste of Raclette du Valais is savoury, piquant with a distinct smear note. Raclette du Valais is, of course, mainly used to prepare the raclette. But it can also be used for gratinating or enjoyed cold on bread.

For really traditional "Valais Raclette", you need half a loaf of fine melting full-fat cheese and an open fire. On this fire, the raclette cheese is best melted slowly on or over the embers. When the cheese has softened, it is scraped off the loaf into individual portions with a wooden scraper and usually eaten with jacket potatoes. Melting over the fire not only melts the cheese, it is also smoked and grilled at the same time, which gives the cheese its typical flavor.

Raclette is suitable - especially in the traditional preparation - for larger groups of up to 40 people.  However, since the 50s there are also table grills on which you can either clamp half a loaf and then scrape it off at the table or modern grills in which you can melt the cheese together with other ingredients in pans.