Switzerland is a country that combines several cultures at once: Italian, German, French. This significantly influenced the traditions of cooking. Residents of Switzerland eat various dairy products in large quantities - cottage cheese, butter, milk, cheese. Their diet consists of meat, various fish, grains and legumes. Depending on the area, preference is given to certain products. Today we want to introduce you to the most popular national dishes of Switzerland.

A bit about Swiss cuisine

The local cuisine is famous for its diversity. This is associated with the ethnic composition of the population living in this territory, and the influence of the countries bordering it: France, Austria, Italy, Germany. In addition, a large assortment of dishes is associated with the fact that agriculture is traditionally practiced here.

It should be noted that all products produced in the country are of high quality, natural taste without harmful additives. In Switzerland, there is a special organization that issues certificates for the best products. This category of goods is awarded the prestigious quality mark - AOC or IGP.

In the first place among the traditional ones is fondue: this is the name for melted cheese (necessarily hard varieties) with wine and seasonings. A piece of bread is released into this mass on a long fork. Fondue is prepared directly during a meal, while the container with cheese is constantly warming up. This is done so that the cheese does not freeze. During the meal, all participants in the feast sit around the fondue pot (kakelon).

Pleasure bowler

The Swiss are distinguished by their great love for cheese. Today we will talk about how to cook cheese fondue with wine. To prepare it, we need:

• 30 ml of cherry vodka;
• 200 g of Emmental and Gruyère cheese (gouda can be replaced);
• 3 cloves of garlic;
• 200 ml white wine (dry);
• salt pepper;
• nutmeg.

We place the cheese mass in a fondue pot on a minimum fire for 5 minutes, do not forget to stir with a whisk. The ideal option for serving fondue in a caquelon, but a ceramic bowl or a cast-iron cauldron is also suitable for this. You can dip anything into the melted cheese mass: fried shrimp, small cubes of bread, slices of baked potatoes.

Today Swiss fondue has a wider meaning. Many types of this dish have been created, which are prepared using other technologies and recipes:

• rustic fondue - the dish is fried meat with potatoes, which is poured with melted cheese;
• Burgundy fondue - boiled meat with spices and cheese;
• chicken fondue - chicken fillet stewed in a creamy sauce;
• chocolate fondue - melted chocolate with almonds and honey, in which various fruits, waffles, bread, cookies are dipped.

There are also not quite ordinary fondue options - from ice cream and blueberries.

Cheese dishes

Due to the fact that cheese is perhaps the most favorite product in Switzerland, national dishes with the inclusion of this product in them are deservedly popular. These include:

• raclette;
• Swiss meat;
• reshti;
• swiss cheese soup

Raclette

Another national dish of Switzerland, which is made from melted cheese, is called raclette. The main ingredient is boiled potatoes (often in uniform), as well as pickled cucumbers and melted cheese. The peculiarity of its preparation is that the cheese is placed next to a heat source, and then the molten mass is scraped off the surface, served with gherkins, potatoes, onions.

Reshti

Swiss potato rashti in appearance and taste resemble our pancakes or potato pancakes, but sprinkled with grated cheese. Very often in Switzerland they are served for breakfast. In order to prepare this unusually tasty dish, we need:

• 800 g potatoes (raw);
• salt pepper;
• 80 g cl. butter (melted).

For fish paste:

• 150 g cream cheese;
• 200 g smoked salmon;
• 4 chives.

Coarsely grate raw potatoes, add salt and pepper, knead. In a saucepan with plums. Butter spread small and fry for four to five minutes on each side.

Serve ready-made reshti with fish paste prepared as follows: combine all the listed components, beat well into a homogeneous mass. This dish, which has an exquisite combination, will be a great addition to a family breakfast.

First meal

Quite interesting options for first courses can be seen among the national dishes in Switzerland. All of them have a refined taste and can be included in the menu of a social event. Among them are:

• Ticinese busecco soup with giblets;
• vegetable minestrone soup;
• barley soup from Grisons;
• flour stew from Basel.

barley soup

Interestingly, barley is considered one of the first cultivated crops. In addition, the grain is well stored and does not deteriorate for a long time. That is why this grain crop has a strong position in the food industry. All over the world there are a huge number of variations of soups with barley. We offer you a recipe for Swiss barley soup. The dish turns out to be very rich, thick, at home it is considered winter, because it helps to quickly warm up after a long winter walk. For work we need:

• 300 g beef (smoked);
• 2.5 liters of beef broth;
• ¾ st. barley (barley);
• 3 celery stalks with leaves;
• one medium carrot;
• 15 cm leek (white part);
• 1 medium onion;
• 2 potatoes;
• 200 g cabbage (white);
• 1 tbsp sl. oils;
• 30 g olive. oil;
• peppercorns;
• salt;
• carnation;
• lavrushka.

We wash the barley well, soak for 4-5 hours in water. Then we wash again and cook until tender, on average it will take half an hour. Let's start cooking vegetables: chop celery and leeks, chop carrots and onions not too large, chop potatoes into cubes, traditionally cabbage into strips. In a saucepan, fry the carrots and onions in a mixture of oils for no more than 2 minutes. Add leek, celery and potatoes to them and fry for the same amount of time. Add cabbage and fry for a couple more minutes.

According to the original Swiss recipe, raw veal leg, barley, water in the amount of 2 liters are added to vegetables, everything is boiled for an hour and a half. If you do not want to boil vegetables for so long, the broth can be cooked in advance. Add smoked meat (thinly sliced) to the finished soup.

Main courses

Among the national dishes of Switzerland, they stand in a special place. They are prepared from beef, pork, chicken. The Swiss pay due attention to fish products. What dishes of national cuisine should be tasted? We recommend:

• Burns Platter - fried pieces of pork with sauerkraut or beans;
• knakerli - spicy sausages with spices and sauce;
• geschnetzeltes - this is the name of narrow strips of fried veal meat with herbs, mushrooms and sauce;
• leberwurst - smoked sausages made from liver and lard;
• bundenfleisch - beef jerky with onions (salted).

Geschnetzeltes

Let's say right away that the classic version of this dish includes veal. But in the modern world, they cook it from chicken, pork and even beef. For this recipe, the veal must be fried very quickly over high heat: this is necessary so that it cannot release the juice. Let's take:

• 600 g of veal (fillet);
• 200 ml of dry wine (preferably white);
• 50 g of onion;
• 200 ml cream;
• 15 g flour;
• parsley;
• lemon zest from ¼ tsp;
• pepper, salt;
• 2 tbsp. l. sl. oils.

Fry the meat very quickly over high heat and keep it warm. In the same oil, fry the finely chopped onion, add flour to it, mix, pour in the wine and evaporate by half. Add cream, zest, parsley, salt and pepper. We put warm meat, boil a little, but do not let it boil. Serve with potato rashti. Mushrooms can be added to the recipe if desired.

Meringue: what is it?

I would like to note that confectionery products are presented in a huge assortment in Swiss cuisine. In the first place, of course, is the well-known food. By the way, it is estimated that on average each Swiss eats more than 12 kg of this product per year. A little later, we will present you with Swiss meringues and a recipe for preparation. But first, let's talk about the most popular desserts:

• Leckerli - gingerbread from Basel, honey gingerbread;
• brunsli - the so-called chocolate chip cookies, with the addition of almonds;
• kyukhli - any sweet pies;
• muesli - with apples, nuts, raisins (it is believed that this dish was invented in Switzerland).

What is meringue? This is the name of the protein custard. If it is prepared in compliance with technological requirements, then it turns out to be airy, shiny, delicate, smooth, able to keep its shape well and be easily deposited using a confectionery syringe or bag.

Finished confectionery products made from this mass turn out to be unusually beautiful, embossed. After some time, a light and very thin crust appears, it dries up, and a soft airy cream remains inside.

They are used to decorate cupcakes and muffins, in addition, they are used to layer biscuit cakes and to decorate products. When baked in the oven over low heat, a magnificent meringue cake is obtained. Swiss meringues are made by steeping egg whites in a fairly hot sugar syrup. As a result, the egg white is disinfected, and the structure of the cream becomes denser.

Swiss cuisine is a fragrant mixture of German, French and Italian cuisines. Most restaurants and hotel canteens offer a wide variety of international dishes on the menu. It takes effort to find a restaurant with local cuisine.

If you manage to visit Switzerland, be sure to take the opportunity to try the colorful local cuisine, often borrowed, with the introduction of their local northern flavor.

Swiss cheese
Cheese making is part of the Swiss heritage. On the territory of modern Switzerland, cattle breeding and dairy farming have always been accepted, concentrated in the highlands of the country. Today, more than 100 varieties of this product are produced here. However, there is no mass production here, everything is prepared in hundreds of small, tightly controlled dairy plants, each of which is under the supervision of a master cheesemaker, with a federal degree.

Cheese with holes, known as Swiss or Emmental, has become widespread, despite the fact that it was originally produced in the Emme Valley. Then no one thought about how to protect the name for the cheeses of this area. Other famous cheeses are called Gruyère, Appenzell, Raclette, Royal and Schabziger. The names of some varieties were also copied, for example Sbrinz and Spalen are closely related to the ancient Roman name Helvetian ( caseus helveticus).

Fondue

Cheese fondue, which consists of Emmental and Gruère, used alone, together or with special local cheeses, which are melted in white wine flavored with garlic and lemon juice. Freshly ground pepper, nutmeg, red pepper and kirsch are added to the dish. Traditional local spices are often added as well. Guests surround a bubbling fondue cup and use long forks to dip cubes of bread into the hot mixture. Instead of bread, apples, pears, grapes, sausages, cubes of boiled ham, shrimp, pitted olives, and small pieces of boiled potatoes can be used.

Raclette

Almost as well known as fondue. Popular for centuries, its origins are lost in antiquity, but the word "raclette" comes from the French word racler, which means "to scrape off". The name raclette originally belonged to a dish made from the special Valais mountain cheese, but today this is the name not only for the dish itself, but also for cheeses suitable for melting on an open fire or in the oven.

A piece of cheese (traditionally half to a quarter of a wheel of raclette) is held over an open fire. As soon as it begins to soften, it is scraped off onto a plate with a special knife. The unique aroma and taste are most revealed when hot. The classic accompaniment is fresh, crispy, homemade black bread, but raclette can also be eaten with boiled jacket potatoes, pickled onions, cucumbers, or small corncobs. Usually raclette is eaten with a fork, sometimes a knife may be needed for this.

Other Swiss cuisine

The country's ubiquitous vegetable dish, called röchti or rosti (brown potatoes). The potatoes are baked in the oven along with the cheese, which melts and turns golden brown.

Spaetzle (a local variety of dumplings) is also offered on the menu of Swiss cafes.

Lake fish in Switzerland is attractive, but expensive. The most delicious fish of the alpine lakes is, of course, trout and small perches.

Hard sausages are very popular in Switzerland. They can be bought in all open markets. The best-known type is bündnerfleisch, a specially prepared dried beef.

Berner Platte is a classic Swiss cuisine. If you order this typical farm food, get a huge plate with a pile of sauerkraut or green beans topped with a piece of meat, sausages, ham, bacon or pork chops.

In addition to cheese fondue, you can enjoy bourguignonne fondue, popular all over the world. It consists of pieces of meat on wooden sticks, cooked in oil, seasoned with sauces of your choice. In addition, many establishments offer chinoise fondue, made from thin slices of beef and oriental sauces.

Typical recipes from the Canton of Ticino include mushroom risotto and a mixed grill known as fritto misto. Cornmeal polenta is popular as a side dish. Ticino is also prepared from river fish, such as trout or pike. Pizza and pasta have also spread to all the provinces of Switzerland.

Salads often combine fresh lettuce and boiled vegetables such as beets. If you want to try a real Swiss salad, ask for a zwiebelsalat dish made with lettuce and onions. In the spring, the Swiss love fresh asparagus so much that the police are forced to increase night patrols to reduce the theft of asparagus from the fields.

The glory of Swiss cuisine is the small cakes and pastries that are served throughout the country in teahouses and cafes. The most common delicacy is the muffin-shaped cupcake and traditionally a big cake filled with whipped cream.

chocolate superpower

Cocoa beans are the main ingredient in chocolate. Columbus brought cocoa beans to Europe in 1502 from Nicaragua. Royal chefs mixed bean powder with sugar and hot water, which was a great success with the royal family. In the nineteenth century, attitudes towards cocoa in North America and Europe differed greatly.

In 1825, Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, a well-known culinary specialist from the French-speaking world, declared that chocolate is one of the most effective foods for increasing physical and intellectual strength. In contrast, Harriet Beecher Stowe declared chocolate unfit for American cooking. Despite Ms. Stowe's attacks, the chocolate market continues to grow. This fact was immediately noticed by the wary Swiss from their politically neutral bastion in the Alps.

Since the early 1800s, the Swiss have invested heavily in the cocoa market. Industrial pioneers opened the country's first chocolate factory in Corsier, near Vevey. The transnational concern Suchard was established in 1824 near Neuchâtel. In 1875, Daniel Peter invented milk chocolate by adding condensed milk to cocoa powder and sugar. In 1879, the first chocolate bar was created. In 1899, the Sprungli and Lindt empires merged in Zurich to form the chocolate dynasty. Shortly thereafter, the Toblerone and Nestle organizations were formed.

Today Switzerland is the world's largest chocolate producer. Secrecy and precision have always been among the Swiss virtues, and both are essential during the complex blending process that transforms raw ingredients into the final product. Consumers constantly expect new works of art from their chocolate wrappers, which is why an army of commercial artists work year-round to meet the needs of the market.

The Swiss consume more chocolate per capita than any other country in the world. No self-respecting mountaineer will go up the mountains without chocolate bars. Housewives usually do not buy less than a kilo of chocolate at a time. Therefore, this product can also be attributed to traditional Swiss cuisine.

Beverages

White wine is the best choice to drink with fondue. There are few restrictions on the sale of alcohol here, but prices for bourbon, gin and whiskey tend to be much higher than in the United States. The local wines are excellent. Unlike French ones, they taste better when they have a short exposure. Many drinks are produced exclusively for local consumption. Most of the wines produced in Switzerland are white, but there are good rosés and aromatic reds.

The most exported wines are produced in Valais, Ticino and Sealand. There are more than 300 small wine-growing regions here. In the French-speaking part of Switzerland, Fendant and Johannisberg are considered the best wines. In the German-speaking part, you can try several dry and light red wines - Stammheimer, Klevner and Hallauer. In Italian - red merlot with a pleasant bouquet.

Beer
Swiss beer is the drink of choice in the German-speaking part of the country. The most common are pale Helles and dark Dunkles.

Liqueurs
The liqueurs here are delicious and very strong. The most popular are Kirsch (a national liquor made from cherry-pit juice) and Plum (plum liqueur). Williamina pear brandy is made from fragrant Williams pears. In Ticino, most of the locals love the fire brandy Grappa, distilled from the waste of the grape pressing process.

In principle, this is the main thing you can learn about Swiss cuisine. Although, of course, it’s better not to read about it, but to try it yourself, because eating through the monitor, unfortunately, will not work.

If you are going to travel to Switzerland, be sure to try the best Swiss cuisine.

Switzerland is primarily famous for its cheese and chocolate. This is probably why both of these products are often used in Swiss cuisine. Dishes are quite high-calorie, but is it possible to count calories on vacation?

Swiss dish number 1:

Fondue

Fondue (Swiss dish)

Fondue is the most popular national dish of Switzerland. The name Fondue was borrowed from the French and translates as "melted". Fondue is a hot melted cheese, in a special bowl, the bottom of which is constantly heated from below by fire. The dish is placed in the center of the table and the guests dip small cubes of bread into it. The secret of the Swiss fondue dish lies in the types of cheeses used for preparation.

Swiss dish number 2:

Raclette

Raclette (Swiss dish)

Another famous Swiss cheese dish is Raclette. They say that this dish was once invented by mountain shepherds. They put a piece of cheese near the fire, and then scraped off the thawed side with bread. Now raclette is cooked in a completely different way in a special raclette maker. A thick piece of cheese is placed on the grill, melted and boiled potatoes are poured over the potatoes. Raclette is usually served with pickled cucumbers and onions.

Swiss dish number 3:

Veal in Zurich (Zurich Geschnetzeltes)

The name of this dish is quite difficult to pronounce, but this treat is definitely suitable for lovers of meat dishes. Traditionally, the main ingredient, you guessed it, is veal. A dish is prepared with mushrooms seasoned with cream and white wine. Zurich-style veal is usually served with pasta, or Resti.

Swiss dish number 4:

Rosti (Resti)

Resti is also one of the national dishes of Switzerland. Resti is prepared as follows: cakes are made from grated potatoes and fried in a pan in butter or vegetable oil. Resti is usually served with cheese or bacon.

Swiss dish number 5:

Swiss Chocolate

Swiss chocolate is considered the best in the world. It comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. The factories strictly control the production process and therefore Swiss chocolate has become famous not only for its excellent taste, but also for its high quality. The Swiss Association of Chocolate Manufacturers Chocosuisse claims that the Swiss eat more chocolate than any other nation in the world.
And if you want to not only taste real chocolate, but also learn how it is made, go on a tour of one of the chocolate factories in Switzerland.

Chocolate factories and museums in Switzerland

Cailler Nestle Broc Factory is the oldest and most famous chocolate factory located in the provincial town of Brock in Switzerland. Here, visitors are shown how chocolate is made, introduced to the history of the plant and tasting the best chocolate brands.

Alimentarium Food Museum dedicated to the history of food in general. The museum is located in a stunningly beautiful place in the city of Vevey on the shores of Lake Geneva. This museum has a separate room dedicated to the history of chocolate.

Vevey - Swiss Riviera

Alprose Chocolate Museum tells the most detailed history of chocolate production in Switzerland. The museum is located in the small town of Caslano on the shores of Lake Lugano. On weekdays, you can watch the full process of making chocolate.

Chocolate brand Chocolate Frey AG

Famous chocolate brand in Switzerland. The factory is located in the north of the country in the city of Buchs. Chocolate Frey AG constantly organizes three-hour tours with full immersion in chocolate production.

Swiss cuisine enjoys well-deserved recognition among gourmets all over the world, and the Swiss themselves do not shy away from luculla delights at home.

A favorite pastime for the people of Zurich is a stroll through restaurants and cafes, and if they praise one of the eateries for you, you can safely go there ...

The local cuisine has been strongly influenced by its neighbors, primarily the "older French cousin" and Italian cuisine, as well as a purely Swabian table, but still it has enough of its own delicacies that have become widespread in other countries.

Typical swiss dish- famous fondue- Gruyere cheese boiling in white wine (served in a ceramic pot, where bread is dipped on a long fork).

Another well-known cheese dish that has become widespread is raclette from Wallis. The very name of the dish ("raclette" (fr.) - coarse grater) gives the principle of its preparation. The cheese is rubbed on a coarse grater or broken into small pieces, heated and served with potatoes.

However, in order to enjoy the taste and aroma of cheese, it is not at all necessary to warm it up. The best examples are Emmental (more often called Swiss) and Appenzell cheeses, which enjoy well-deserved recognition among gourmets, as well as Gruyerz cheese. "Vasheren" and "Schabziger" - cheese with spicy herbs of Glarnerland differ in refined taste and aroma.

Among the Ticinese delicacies, first of all, small soft formagini cheeses, which are cooked from cottage cheese, as well as various varieties of mountain cheese, the most famous of which is Piora.

Another famous Swiss delicacy - Zurich schnitzel(veal in creamy sauce). Tight eaters prefer Bernese appetizer(Berner Platte) - a dish of sauerkraut with beans and fried potatoes. Bern is also considered the birthplace of the famous rosti(Roesti) - thinly sliced ​​fried potatoes with cracklings.

Now is the time to remember soups, for example, the Basel flour stew, the barley soup from Grisons or the busecco-Ticino soup with offal. The national dish of southern Switzerland is, of course, polenta- a dish of corn grits with cream and pieces of fruit. South of St. Gotthard is much loved risotto- a rice dish prepared in Milanese style (with saffron), with mushrooms or peasant style (with vegetables).

The menu of Swiss cuisine includes fish dishes: rudd, trout, pike and egli (freshwater perch), which are cooked differently everywhere. In late autumn and winter, in many restaurants you can taste game delicacies, such as the back of a roe deer, etc.

And another delicacy, famous on both sides of the Swiss border, deserves your attention. This - Bunden style meat(cured beef, cut into thin slices). Those who first tasted it in Valais, and not in Grisons, call this dish "Welsh meat".

A few words about dessert: these are fruit pies, and Zug cherry cake, and carrot cake, and Engadine walnut cake, and, of course, the famous Swiss chocolate.

Guilt. The Alpine Republic is famous for its wines. White wines are widely known: "Dezaley" and "St.-Saphorin", "Fendant" and "Johannisberg", "Twanner"; the best varieties of red wines: exquisitely thin "Rose der Ceil-de-Perdrix", strong "Dole", "Pinot Noir" and "Merlot". But perhaps the best wines are made in Graubünden. "Sassella", "Grumello", "Inferno" - these are the names of strong ruby-red wines, which owe their luxurious bouquet to the generous southern sun.

Prices are high - a cup of coffee in a restaurant - 2.50 CHF, a one-course lunch - 14 - 18 CHF. Tipping is usually not accepted, except in restaurants, where the tip is 5-10% of the order value, and the tip is given only after they bring change up to a centime. However, despite the fact that the restaurant includes a percentage of the service bill, you can leave a few coins for the waiter or round up the amount of payment.

Swiss cuisine has emerged as a result of a complex, long and contradictory development under the influence of many peoples living in the country. The influence of French, Italian and German culinary traditions is especially pronounced here. Although it is now difficult to say which people are "responsible" for this or that dish, but the common features can be traced quite clearly - the famous "fondue" and "raclette" clearly have their roots in the French part of Switzerland, excellent sausages and "röshti" were brought here by German peoples, dried fish and beef were clearly "presented" by the eastern cantons, while in the southern regions it is difficult not to see the "dominance" of Italian dishes. At the same time, the Swiss themselves are very traditional in their preferences and carefully preserve the old recipes of this land - often very simple, but hearty and tasty.

It is characteristic that a special organization operates in the country under the Federal Office of Agriculture, which certifies original Swiss products and monitors the thoroughness of compliance with the recipes for their preparation. The prestigious IGP (Regional Mark of Quality) or AOC (Product Controlled Designation with Designation of Origin) title is given to the famous Welsh rye bread and cheese raclette, cured meat from Graubünden, sausages from Vaud, bratwurst pork sausages from St. Gallen and many other "truly folk" products.

The main ingredients of the local cuisine are milk, butter, cheese, flour, eggs, vegetables of all kinds, meat, herbs and spices. Moreover, the Swiss very harmoniously combine simple "folk" ingredients (of the highest quality, however) and recipes with modern cooking methods and health care - in terms of the latter parameter, this cuisine is in no way inferior to French or Italian, although it is known much less than them.

The most common breakfast in Switzerland still consists of a slice of bread with a piece of cheese and coffee with milk. Lunch is just as simple, but dinner is hearty and usually consists of more varied dishes.

Regional features

In the southern cantons, almost exclusively Italian cuisine is used with its pastas, pizza, carpaccio, scampi and risotto, with an abundance of herbs and olive oil. At the same time, polenta, which has already become international, is widely used as an everyday dish, which is made here from coarse corn flour with the addition of processed cheese, liver and other meat products. However, in recent years, globalization has also penetrated here, and now in all major resort areas you can find a menu with absolutely any set of dishes.

Cheese

The hallmark of local cuisine is, of course, cheese. Traditionally, Switzerland has been a country of shepherds with their special way of life, and often difficult weather conditions dictated special requirements for food. Therefore, it is not surprising that milk products in general and cheeses in particular have been treated here with special reverence since ancient times. To date, only officially registered varieties of the same cheese, there are about 150, and milk is considered the best in Europe. Moreover, production is subject to strict quality standards (special inspectors even check the number and size of holes in the cheese!), Specially supported by the government, and the best cheeses (Gruyere, Tete de Moine and Emmenthal are the most famous brands) are exported. In addition, in Switzerland there are a lot of all kinds of holidays dedicated to dairy products and cheeses. For example, the Cheese Sharing Festival (September), during which products of different masters are tasted, folklore festivals and fairs are organized.

Not surprisingly, the most famous local dishes are also associated with cheese. The hallmark of Swiss gastronomy is fondue, which is any dish with melted (rather melted) cheese. To prepare it, white wine is poured into a special dish, heated on a brazier or a special burner, cheese is melted in it (usually Emmental and Gruyere) and various additional ingredients are mixed in (usually potato flour and spices). Then, with the help of a special long fork, slices of bread, boiled potatoes, sausages are dipped into the resulting mixture - by and large, everything that comes to mind. Often the bread is first dipped in fondue, then in wine (the same that was used in the dish) or strong "kirsch" - this method is called "sans-souci". Usually fondue is served with one pot for the whole company and is prepared right there, at the table.

However, the term "fondue" in Switzerland is increasingly used to refer to various dishes made using a completely different technology. For example, chicken fondue is just chicken stew in a creamy sauce, meat Burgundy fondue is more like boiled meat with cheese and spices, rustic fondue is just fried meat with potatoes, which is poured with melted cheese and spices - potatoes or vegetables are also dipped in this thick mixture. And the classic chocolate fondue does not contain cheese at all - bread, fruits, cookies or waffles are simply dipped in melted chocolate, to which honey or crushed almonds are often added. However, here you can find the most unimaginable types of fondue - with blueberry puree, with fruits and even with ice cream.

Another popular cheese dish is "raclette", which is a specially melted cheese of the same name, or "foam" removed from the surface of melting cheese onto a preheated plate with potatoes (often in uniform), served with crispy pickled cucumbers, onions, vegetables , spices and herbs.

It is also worth mentioning the Swiss cheese soup with cubes of fried bread, dozens of types of salads with cheese, Swiss fried meat, which is also generously sprinkled with cheese, various sandwiches, assorted and juliennes. Even such a seemingly simple dish as scrambled eggs, the Swiss often do it differently than we do - in a water bath and ... right - with cheese!

Another cult dish is "rösti" (rösti, rösti or rœsti). In fact, this is just a fried flatbread made from grated boiled potatoes, strongly reminiscent of our usual potato pancakes or potato pancakes. This dish is prepared with a lot of butter (most often butter) and also sprinkled with cheese, so it often serves either as a side dish or as a kind of fast food in combination with various sausages and herbs.

Although animal husbandry is excellently developed in Switzerland, oil, oddly enough, is still a rare guest on the table. But a lot of milk is consumed - both drinking and various products from it: yoghurts, sour cream, cottage cheese, sauces and so on. There are even soups based on cottage cheese, cream, cheese or sour cream, and the fillers can be the most unexpected, up to vegetables and meat.

Meat dishes

It is usually believed that the range of meat products in Switzerland is rather modest and comes down to a couple of dozen types of hunting and hard-smoked sausages, almost identical to German ones, and to endless variations on the schnitzel theme. However, in reality this is far from being the case - a well-developed animal husbandry supplies a huge amount of meat of all kinds to the local table. It's just that the national diversity is also manifested here - in the southern and western cantons they tend more towards chopped and chopped meat, but in the north typical German sausages, blood or liver sausages can be found everywhere. The same sausages and smoked meats are an indispensable element of fast food - anywhere you can find street stalls selling 2-3 types of fried sausages with mustard and a simple side dish like flatbread, rösti or cheese. In the south, Mediterranean cuisine reigns with its wealth of options and methods of cooking all the same sausages, but again - with local flavor.

Everywhere they prefer a rather simple recipe for meat dishes, but an exquisite serving. One of Zurich's favorite dishes, Zuerich Geschnetzeltes, is simply narrow strips of veal fried in oil with sauce, mushrooms and herbs, served with rösti and a glass of red wine. Good raw smoked sausages "brivyurst" and "brauwurst" (an indispensable ingredient in sandwiches), "engadinerwurst" (an important element of the thick soup of the same name), fried beef or pork with green beans or sauerkraut - "burnes platter", spicy sausages "knakerli" ( made from three types of meat with spices and sauce), smoked beef or pork in French style, beef jerky "bundenflaisch" with salted onions, smoked sausages "landjager" or "leberwurst" from liver and lard, pork feet "pied-de-porc ", sausage salad with vegetables and cheese, puff pastry "Krefli" with various fillings - from meat and cheese to herbs and greens, literally hundreds of simple country liver dishes, as well as many other excellent products.

A large number of different sauces, often very exotic, herbs and spices, are necessarily served on the table. But the choice of side dishes is quite simple and often directly depends on the region - cabbage and beans in the north, pasta and polenta in the south, vegetables in the west. Only fried bread and potatoes in all forms are an indispensable element throughout the country. Although the locals consume frankly little bread as such.

It is not surprising that in the country of rivers and lakes, many excellent fish dishes are prepared, primarily local trout.

Dessert

It is difficult to imagine Switzerland without chocolate, although cocoa beans do not grow here, and there have never been colonies capable of supplying them. Nevertheless, it was this country that became the world's largest producer of chocolate, which has long been a national symbol along with cheese, watches, weapons and financial institutions. The reason for this is simple - it is believed that in 1875 it was the Swiss Daniel Peter who first learned how to get solid milk chocolate in the form of bars. Now several hundred types of first-class chocolate are produced here - both factory-made and hand-made. This is one of the most popular ingredients in many local desserts, and an excellent "souvenir". And the Swiss themselves consume this product the most in the world - according to some estimates, more than 12 kilograms per year per capita.

At the same time, more traditional dishes are still considered favorite desserts inside the country - all kinds of sweets, sugar buns and spicy honey gingerbread "lekerli", Basel gingerbread, puff pies "zuger-kirstorte", all kinds of pies "kyuchli", almond-chocolate cookies "brunsli". "(considered the hallmark of Basel), various buns, rolls, muffins, shortbreads and so on. Interestingly, even the world-famous muesli was also invented in Switzerland - at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Dr. Maximilian Bircher-Benner (one of the founders of modern dietology, by the way) simply dried a simple folk dish (practically - porridge made from rolled oats and wheat flakes ), added raisins, nuts and apples - and got exactly the product that is now consumed in enormous quantities throughout the planet.

Beverages

By and large, soft drinks in Switzerland are exactly the same as in any other country in Western Europe. Only very strong coffee "ristretto" somehow stands out from the general outline "juice-tea-mineral water", but you can easily find analogues in Italy or Austria. Yes, and hot chocolate, which is not surprising, is consumed much more than in neighboring countries.

However, many foreigners note that the Swiss drink much more beer than soft drinks, but this is most likely an exaggeration. Local beer is really of excellent quality - both lager and dark, besides, it has important advantages - relative cheapness and an abundance of excellent breweries. Interestingly, Samichlaus beer (the Swiss name for Santa Claus) is considered one of the strongest in the world (up to 14%), although now it is brewed in Austria - the Zurich company Hürlimann Brewery closed in 1997.

Despite the proximity to the countries - the leading importers of wine, Switzerland itself has an excellent wine industry. According to statistics, each citizen of the confederation has about 50 liters of it per year (and this is not counting the fondue and other national dishes used in the preparation), and only 2% of the wines produced in the country are exported. At the same time, many varieties are produced literally in scanty quantities - but of excellent quality, and there are many winemakers themselves - each with their own traditions, recipes and brands.

However, you will hardly find semi-sweet wines here - only dry ones, and white varieties are noticeably superior in quality to red and pink ones. All wine is divided into three categories: the highest (indicated by the label AOC or Grand Cru with the name of the region of production), local wine (Vin de Pays, the region is also indicated) and ordinary table wines without indicating origin. In Ticino, the classification is somewhat different - Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC, the best wines produced in limited quantities), Vino da tavola (also Nostrano svizzero or Della svizzera italiana - vintage wines), Vino rosso or Vino bianco (ordinary wines and blends), and also VITI (the best wines of "old varieties", are quite rare).

You should definitely try white Fendant, red Dôle and rose Oeil de Perdrix from the canton of Valais (the country's largest wine region), magnificent wines from the coast of Lake Geneva (canton of Vaud, here are the real centers of Swiss winemaking - the Lavaux, Chablais, La Cote and Nord regions -Vo) and the canton of Geneva itself, Müller-Thurgau and Pinot Noir from the canton of Zurich, as well as Blauburgunder and Riesling Sylvaner from northern Schaffhausen.

Of the stronger drinks, cherry vodka "Kirsch" (Kirsch, Kirschwasser, by and large closer to brandy), plum brandy "pflumli" (Pflumli), pear brandy "Williams" (Williams), or "Williamin", and others, are popular, " more standard drinks.