Raclette and Cheese Fondue. Alps, France
February 2020 Make no mistake about it, I love cheese, pretty much every type of cheese, so you would think these dishes would be a dream come true for me. And I do love them in small doses, I just find it difficult to comprehend eating such a vast quantity of cheese in one sitting – where almost the whole meal is melted cheese. Raclette is a Swiss cheese, nutty and sweet with earthy undertones, which has become popular in the French Alps. Around 200g of cheese per person is melted under a table top grill and scraped off as it cooks, on to a plate of boiled potatoes, gherkins and charcuterie. Cheese fondue is a mix of firm, mountain cheeses such as gruyere, emmental, comte and beaufort, heated with white wine, a little garlic and Dijon mustard. The communal ceramic pot is placed above a burner in the centre of the table for everyone to dip bite-size pieces of bread in to, using a long, thin fork. It is delicious, especiall...