On the Menu: Swiss Food

Why, oh why?

Why did I pick last week to give up wheat (and most other carbs)!!  If I hadn't we could've had CHOCOLATE FONDUE!! Or cheese fondue with chunks of bread (drool)!!  Oh well, I guess I'd rather be thinner and healthier than eating chocolate.  In a perfect world I'd be both!  Ok, enough fantasizing, let's talk about the food of Switzerland. 

Depending on where you are in Switzerland, the foods are influenced mostly by the neighbors.  In the east it's more German, in the south it's more Italian, etc.  The one main dish that seems to be everywhere is Rosti , a potato dish very similar to hash browns.  Cheese is also very popular in Switzerland.  Everyone knows about Swiss cheese, but Emmenthal, Gruyere, Appenzeller and Vacherin are also popular.  Did you know that Swiss cheese gets it's holes because the bacteria that is put in the cheese to ferment it and give it it's distinctive flavor releases carbon dioxide gases which form the bubbles?  I learn something new every day!

So we went to the fancy cheese section of the grocery store and bought some of the cheeses of Switzerland.  We bought a chunk of baby Swiss and some cave-aged Gruyere.  I would've bought some Emmenthal too but they were all so expensive!!  We also bought some German thuringer, a summer sausage similar to the Swiss cervelat sausage.  Then we had a little picnic lunch.  Turns out my kids don't care for expensive Swiss cheeses, they wanted cheddar (and probably would've preferred processed American slices).  They did enjoy the sausage though, so I didn't totally blow $20.  I loved the baby Swiss, it's not as strong as "adult" Swiss and is softer and creamier. The Gruyere was not as good, in my opinion, maybe I just don't like cheese from caves.  It was kind of gritty and had a strong taste.  Oh well, now I know.  If you are eating breads be sure to click on the link above for the cheese fondue recipe- it looks soooo good and was very informative :)  I'm gonna go eat some celery.