Valais Raclette

The word comes from racler, to scrape, and the original method is the point: half a wheel of Valais raclette cheese is set facing an open wood fire or a heating element, the surface is allowed to soften, and the melted layer is scraped off onto a warm plate to be eaten immediately with potatoes, pickled onions and gherkins. Each serving is scraped fresh, so a raclette meal comes in rounds over an hour or more rather than all at once. The domestic tabletop grill with little pans is a later convenience and a different thing. Raclette du Valais AOP is made from raw milk of cows on Valais pastures, and alp dairies serve it in summer where the cheese is made.

What to look for

• A half-wheel at the fire - the surface softened and scraped off in layers.
• Servings in rounds - each scrape brought fresh over a long meal.
• The AOP raw-milk cheese - made from Valais pasture milk.
• Alp dairies in summer - eaten where it is made, at altitude.

When to go

All year; autumn and winter village events are the fullest occasions. A long meal.

Things to know

It is very rich - people routinely underestimate how filling several rounds are. The tabletop-pan version served in tourist restaurants is not the traditional method. Prices are usually per scrape and add up. Vegetarian, but not light.

Nearby

Sion, Sierre and the Val d'Anniviers villages are the heartland.