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{{Short description|Swiss dish of melted cheese}}
{{about|the dish|the cheese|Raclette du Valais}}
[[File:Raclette 20040817 140816.jpg|thumb|right|Raclette with boiled potatoes, pickles and onions]]
'''Raclette''' ({{IPAc-en|r|ə|ˈ|k|l|ɛ|t}}, {{IPA|fr|ʁaklɛt|lang|LL-Q150 (fra)-Mecanautes-raclette.wav}}) is a dish of [[Swiss cuisine|Swiss]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.myswitzerland.com/en/raclette.html|title=Raclette|website=MySwitzerland.com|language=en|access-date=2019-01-08}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/food/recipes/raclette_88309|title=Raclette|website=BBC Food|language=en|access-date=2019-01-08|archive-date=2019-01-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107033815/https://www.bbc.com/food/recipes/raclette_88309|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Switzerland|title=Switzerland - Daily life and social customs|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2019-01-08}}</ref> origin, also popular in the other [[Alpine countries]] ([[France]], [[Italy]], [[Germany]], [[Austria]]), based on heating cheese and scraping off the melted part, then typically served with boiled [[potatoes]]. Raclette is historically a dish originating from the [[canton of Valais]] in Switzerland. This cheese from Valais benefits from an [[Appellation d'origine protégée (Switzerland)|AOP]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Raclette and cheese experiences {{!}} Valais Switzerland |url=https://www.valais.ch/en/activities/gastronomy-local-products/raclette-du-valais-aop |access-date=2022-11-18 |website=www.valais.ch}}</ref> [[Raclette cheese]] is also a [[Swiss-type cheese]] marketed specifically to be used for this dish.

Raclette is also served as [[street food]], but often with bread instead of potatoes.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.escape.com.au/destinations/europe/gluhwein-to-raclette-the-best-christmas-markets-in-europe/news-story/0559121e2ddad82a462e0d633e261ab5 | title=Gluhwein to raclette: The best Christmas markets in Europe | publisher=Escape.com.au | date=22 December 2022 | accessdate=19 February 2023 | author=Maguire, Mercedes |quote= If you try nothing else, don’t miss the raclette cheese stall, where they heat huge half wedges of cheese under an open fire and scrape the melted cheese onto a crunchy baguette roll and top it with bacon.}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Ernest Biéler les comptes de lalpage ou la raclette.jpg|thumb|A depiction of raclette being served in a 1903 painting by [[Ernest Biéler]]]]
[[File:Trauffer Raclette-Gondel Firstbahn Grindelwald.jpg|thumb|Raclette is a dish associated with Alpine culture (here served in a [[gondola lift]] in [[Grindelwald]]).]]
Dishes of melted cheese were mentioned in medieval texts from Swiss [[convent]]s as early as 1291.<ref name=Ch>{{cite web|title=La raclette|url=https://www.raclette-suisse.ch/fr/main/produits-conseils/petite-histoire.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203052955/http://www.raclette-suisse.ch/fr/main/produits-conseils/petite-histoire.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-12-03|work=Raclette-suisse.ch}}</ref> Melted cheese was originally consumed by peasants in the mountainous Alpine regions of the cantons of [[Canton of Valais|Valais]] and [[Canton of Fribourg|Fribourg]] (Switzerland), and [[Savoie]] and [[Haute-Savoie]] (France). It was then known in the [[German-speaking Switzerland|German-speaking part of Switzerland]] as {{Lang|de|Bratchäs}} or {{Lang|de|Bratkäse}}, "roasted cheese". Traditionally, cow herders carried cheese with them when they were moving cows to or from pastures up in the mountains. In the evening, the cheese would be placed next to a [[campfire]] for softening, then scraped onto bread. Melting raclette-type cheese in front of a fire is attested in Valais since 1574. Since 1875, the French term ''raclette'' is commonly used for this dish. At the 1909 Cantonal Exhibition of Sion, raclette was promoted as a national dish of Valais. Raclette eventually gained national (and international) popularity from the [[Expo 64|1964 National Exhibition]].<ref name=CHS>{{cite web | url=https://www.patrimoineculinaire.ch/Produits?text=raclette&canton=&categorie=#444 | language=French | title=Raclette du Valais (AOP) | work=[[Culinary Heritage of Switzerland]] | accessdate=16 January 2023 |quote=Le fait de fondre le fromage devant un feu est également attesté dès 1574 en Valais, de manière particulièrement détaillée, dans un document rédigé par Gaspard Ambuel, dit Collinus, médecin et pharmacien à Sion. Concernant les fromages utilisés, on y apprend qu'ils sont "savoureux, gras, doux et tendres". [...] Le terme « raclette », désignant ce mets au fromage rôti, apparaît en de nombreuses sources écrites en langue française dès 1875, ce qui suggère que le terme est déjà bien connu alors. [...]  En 1909, elle est présentée comme "mets national valaisan" à l'Exposition cantonale de Sion, qui attire de nombreux visiteurs de l'extérieur du canton. [...] L’événement grâce auquel la raclette gagne une notoriété nationale puis internationale est l’Exposition nationale de 1964 à Lausanne. |trans-quote=Melting the cheese in front of a fire is also attested in 1574 in Valais, in a particularly detailed manner, in a document written by Gaspard Ambuel, known as Collinus, doctor and pharmacist in Sion. Regarding the cheeses used, we learn that they are "tasty, fatty, soft and tender". [...] The term "raclette", designating this roasted cheese dish, appears in numerous sources written in the French language as early as 1875, which suggests that the term was already well known then. [...] In 1909, it was presented as a "national Valais dish" at the Cantonal Exhibition in Sion, which attracted many visitors from outside the canton. [...] The event thanks to which raclette gained national and then international notoriety was the 1964 National Exhibition in Lausanne.}}</ref>

In Valais, raclette is typically served with potatoes, [[Pickled gherkins|cornichons]] (fermented, pickled cucumbers), pickled onions, black tea, other warm beverages, or [[Chasselas|Fendant]] wine. A popular French option is to serve it with white wine, such as [[Vin de Savoie AOC|Savoy wine]], but [[Riesling]] and [[pinot gris]] are also common. Traditionally, it is consumed with black tea, since a warm beverage is considered to improve digestion.<ref>{{cite web |title=Zurich study settles longstanding fondue beverage debate |url=https://www.dw.com/en/zurich-study-settles-longstanding-fondue-beverage-debate/a-14731202 |website=dw.com |access-date=30 June 2020}}</ref>

==Dish==
Raclette is a dish native to parts of Switzerland. The raclette cheese round is heated, either in front of a fire or by a special machine, then scraped onto diners' plates.<ref name="texasoven">{{cite web |title=Raclette – another classic for cooking with fire |url=http://texasovenco.com/raclette/ |website=Texas Oven Co. |date=2 March 2017 |access-date=23 October 2019}}</ref>

Traditionally the melting happens in front of an open fire, with the big piece of cheese facing the heat. One then regularly scrapes off the melting side. Some restaurants that serve raclette use a heat lamp to substitute for the open fire, with the cheese being put under the lamp as the customer orders and the melted cheese scraped off, as in the traditional method. The melted cheese is accompanied by small firm [[potato]]es (Bintje, Charlotte or Raclette varieties), cornichons ([[gherkin]]s), [[pickling|pickled]] [[onion]]s, and dried meat, such as [[prosciutto|jambon cru/cuit]], [[salami]], and ''[[Bindenfleisch|viande des Grisons]]'', and to drink, [[kirsch]], black or herbal tea or white wine from a Valais vineyard (a Fendant wine from the [[Chasselas]] grape).{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}

A modern way of serving raclette involves an electric table-top grill with small pans, known as ''coupelles'', in which slices of raclette cheese are melted.<ref name=CHS/> This new way has been used since the 1950s. Generally the grill is surmounted by a hot plate or griddle. In Switzerland the electrical raclette is called "raclonette". The device is put in the middle of the table. The cheese is brought to the table sliced, accompanied by platters of boiled or steamed potatoes, other vegetables, and [[charcuterie]] (various meats). These are then mixed with potatoes and topped with cheese in the small wedge-shaped coupelles that are placed under the grill to melt and brown the cheese. Alternatively, slices of cheese may be melted and simply poured over food on the plate. The emphasis in raclette dining is on relaxed and sociable eating and drinking, the meal often running to several hours. French and other European supermarkets generally stock both the grill apparatus and ready-sliced cheese and charcuterie selections, especially around Christmas. Restaurants also provide raclette evenings for parties or dinners.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

"Vercouline" is a raclette in which [[Bleu du Vercors-Sassenage]] is used. In Franche-Comté, the [[Bleu de Gex]] (or "Bleu du Haut Jura") and [[Morbier cheese|Morbier]], both [[Protected Designation of Origin|PDO]], are used as variants.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

<gallery class="center" widths="160px" heights="120px" caption="Examples of raclettes">
Raclette 20190720 1256.jpg|A half raclette cheese being melted on a wood fire while the other half is being scraped from its melted part in a plate
Raclette - 001.jpg|Slices of raclette for individual cooking
2018-01-11-Raclette Lokal K-1449.jpg|A slice of raclette cooked with an individual pan in an electric grill
Pataclette.jpg|Commercially-made [[petit four|petits fours]] consisting of raclette cheese in boiled potatoes
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|Food|Switzerland}}
*[[Culinary Heritage of Switzerland]]
*[[Fondue]], a different Swiss dish based on cheese melted in a pot

==References==
{{commonscat}}
{{Reflist}}

{{Potato dishes}}
{{Cheese dishes}}
{{Cuisine of Switzerland}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Cheese dishes]]
[[Category:Culinary Heritage of Switzerland]]
[[Category:Swiss cuisine]]
[[Category:Cuisine of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes]]
[[Category:French cuisine]]
[[Category:Potato dishes]]
[[Category:Table-cooked dishes]]
[[Category:Street food]]
[[Category:Valais]]