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Melted and fondue

Raclette

A half wheel of Valais cheese melted by the fire and scraped over boiled potatoes, with pickles alongside.

Raclette is both a cheese and a meal. A half wheel is held to a fire or heater until the cut face bubbles, then the melted layer is scraped onto a plate of boiled potatoes in their skins. Small gherkins and pickled onions cut the richness. The name comes from the French racler, to scrape.

What goes in

Raclette cheese: 32%32%Small potatoes: 32%32%Gherkins: 11%11%Pickled pearl onions: 11%11%Cured meats: 11%11%Black pepper and paprika: 5%6parts
  • Raclette cheese632%, Melts into a smooth, pungent layer.
  • Small potatoes632%, Boiled in their skins.
  • Gherkins211%, Sharp contrast.
  • Pickled pearl onions211%, Sweet and sour bite.
  • Cured meats211%, Optional, especially away from the Valais.
  • Black pepper and paprika15%, Dusted over the cheese.

Rough parts by weight. The ring shows each ingredient's share of the dish.

Made step by step

Each drawing shows the operation for that step. Quantities and timings differ from house to house; this is one traditional way, in outline.

  1. Step 1: Simmer Boil small waxy potatoes in their skins and keep them warm under a cloth.
  2. Step 2: Melt Set a half wheel with its cut face towards the fire or raclette heater.
  3. Step 3: Melt Wait until the surface bubbles and begins to brown at the edges.
  4. Step 4: Serve Scrape the melted layer onto a warm plate with a knife or blade.
  5. Step 5: Serve Add potatoes, pickles and pepper, then return the wheel to the heat for the next portion.
  6. Raclette cheese: 32%32%Small potatoes: 32%32%Gherkins: 11%11%Pickled pearl onions: 11%11%Cured meats: 11%11%Black pepper and paprika: 5%
    Finished Raclette, by share.

Herders and the Valais

The dish belongs to the Valais, in the Swiss Alps, where herders and farmers roasted cheese by open fires. Old Swiss writings mention roasted cheese long before the word raclette came into use. Raclette du Valais has a protected designation of origin, and the canton still serves it at village festivals with the wheel propped beside an open flame or a purpose-built heater.

At home

Outside the Valais, raclette usually means a tabletop grill with small pans. Each guest melts a slice of cheese under the element and tips it over potatoes, cured ham or dried meat. Savoy in France has its own raclette tradition and cheese. The meal is slow and social, and Swiss custom favours white wine or tea with it rather than cold water.

Where it is used

Village festivalWinter dinnerTabletop grill evening

The cheeses in it

Raclette du ValaisThe protected Valais raclette cheese.AppenzellerSometimes melted alongside for a sharper taste.

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Sources and further reading

About this page

Original text and drawings by the EveryCheese desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. The shares are a rough, illustrative ratio, not a recipe: every family and kitchen makes it differently. If we have something wrong, tell us.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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