A seconda delle zone, in Svizzera prevalgono piatti montanari o mediterranei, di tradizione francese o teutonica, di tipo rustico o elaborato. Il consiglio è quindi quello di assaggiare un po’ di tutto.
What to eat in the cantons
In the Canton Ticino the standout dishes are polenta with braised meat, risotto with ossobuco or stewed rabbit. The Valais boasts cheese-based specialties, now internationally known: the fondue, a fragrant mixture of melted cheeses in a clay pot set on a lit burner. Also characteristic is the way of enjoying it: each diner dips pieces of bread into it, helping themselves with long little forks. And the raclette, prepared with the cheese of the same name, always served melted.
In the Jura, dishes that testify to the most genuine peasant cuisine are crocchette, a type of boiled mixed meat and croutes au fromage. Typical of the Canton of Schwyz is instead the gemsenbraten, roasted chamois; while in the Rhenish cantons, flavorful grilled roosters are very popular. In the Grisons, the mountain tradition offers dried meat (bunderfleisch), which somewhat resembles bresaola, meat and vegetable soups, abundant game, polenta cooked in a thousand ways and even pizzoccheri, an influence of the nearby Valtellina.
As can be understood, Swiss cuisine is a constant celebration of local products and its seasons. The abundance of lakes and rivers provides excellent fish, such as boiled blue trout served with hot melted butter, fried small perch from Lake Geneva or Rhine salmon served in portions flavored with butter and accompanied by potatoes and sautéed small onions. Livestock farming guarantees milk (the base of unmistakable chocolate), excellent meats, sublime cheeses and many other types of dairy products. Finally, ubiquitous too are cold cuts and sausages: Klopfen from Basel, Pantli from Appenzell, Bratwurst from St. Gallen, Salsiz and Beinwurst from the Grisons.
An interesting note is the existence of a real food museum, not far from the shores of Lake Geneva. It is the Alimentarium in Vevey, created thanks to the intervention of Nestlé. In three fascinating sections, dedicated respectively to the scientific, historical and ethnological aspects of food, the museum summarizes the main themes of nutrition.
What to drink in Switzerland
On the beverage front, most people are convinced that in Switzerland, only beer (Cardinal from Fribourg or Feldschlosschen from Rheinfelden are internationally known), brandy, apple juice, and mineral waters are consumed, ignoring the existence of a wine production that, although niche, boasts a consolidated tradition and strongly protectionist legislation.
Wines in Switzerland
The wine-growing areas are those of the wide Rhine valleys and the Rhône, the Leman Lake, the Ticino lakes and the Jura. Around Montreux, prestigious white and red wines are produced, such as St. Saphorin, Dézaley, Lutry or Chardonné. In Vevey, there is also the Museum of the Brotherhood of Winemakers, which every 25 years organizes a sumptuous Féte des Vignerons. Also not to be missed is a ride on the charming Trein des Vignes, which connects Vevey to Puidoux-Chexbres, offering, during harvest time, an exceptional view of bunches and rows.
The clay hills, which frame Geneva and their particular microclimate allow the production of a white wine with character called Chasselas and a light and fruity red called Gamay. To defend the colors of Valais there are instead the white Féndant (excellent with raclette), the red Johannisberg and dessert nectars, such as Muscat, Glacier, Malvasie. In the Ticino Canton, the king of glasses is the Merlot, while in Graubünden, the mild region of Chur provides tables with reds, such as Malanser or Maienfelder.
