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 main dishes are polenta with braised meat, risotto with ossobuco or stewed rabbit. The Valais boasts cheese-based specialties, now internationally known: fondue, a fragrant mixture of melted cheeses in a clay pot placed on a lit stove. A characteristic way to enjoy it is for each diner to dip pieces of bread using long little forks. And the raclette, made with the cheese of the same name, always served melted.
In the Jura, the dishes representing the most genuine poor cuisine are crocchette, a kind of mixed boiled meat, and croutes au fromage. Typical of the Canton of Schwyz is the gemsenbraten, roasted chamois; while in the Rhenish cantons, very tasty grilled roosters are very popular. In the Grisons, mountain tradition offers dried meat (bunderfleisch), somewhat reminiscent of bresaola, meat and vegetable soups, abundant game, polenta cooked in a thousand ways, and even pizzoccheri, influenced by the nearby Valtellina.
As you can see, Swiss cuisine is a constant celebration of local products and their seasons. The abundance of lakes and rivers provides excellent fish, such as boiled blue trout served with hot melted butter, fried small perch fish from Lake Geneva, or Rhine salmon served in slices flavored with butter and accompanied by potatoes and small sautéed onions. Livestock farming guarantees milk (the base of unmistakable chocolate), excellent meat, sublime cheeses, and countless other dairy products. Salami and sausages are also ever-present: Klopfen from Basel, Pantli from Appenzell, Bratwurst from St. Gallen, Salsiz and Beinwurst from 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 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 believe that in Switzerland, they only drink beer (Cardinal from Fribourg or Feldschlosschen from Rheinfelden are internationally known), brandy, apple juice, and mineral waters, and they ignore the existence of a wine production that, albeit niche, boasts a consolidated tradition and a strongly protectionist legislation.
Wines in Switzerland
The wine-growing areas are those of the wide Rhine valleys and the Rhone, of Leman Lake, the Ticino lakes, and the Jura. In the area around Montreux, high-quality whites and reds 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. Not to be missed is also a ride aboard 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 framing Geneva and their particular microclimate allow the production of a characterful white called Chasselas and a light and fruity red named Gamay. Defending the colors of Valais 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 Merlot, while in the Grisons, the mild region of Chur offers tables reds like Malanser or Maienfelder.
