Description
Raw cow's milk cheese, uncooked pressed paste, round in shape, its rind is smooth, dark orange to brown in color, its paste is soft and characterized by an ivory yellow color, its taste is frank and very fragrant.
Paccard's Raclette is made from raw milk in Savoie (French Alps) and takes its name from the French word for "to scrape" - racler - as this cheese was originally enjoyed: placed over heated rocks and scraped onto boiled potatoes and dry-cured meats. These days, most people don't like eating from rocks, so the French have special household appliances called "raclettes" specifically for this purpose. Toaster-ovens will do, too. Heating brings out the best of this fruity, nutty, mildly pungent cheese. No serious cheese shop should be without it!
Raclette is primarily a cheese eaten hot. While it is hard and compact in its normal state, Raclette cheese has the particularity of melting easily when heated.
It is traditionally prepared with potatoes and a variety of cured meats; pickles, onions, and tomatoes can also be served, depending on individual tastes.
Plan on about 200g of cheese per person and roughly the same amount of cooked potatoes.
It can also be eaten as a cheese platter.
ORIGINS
Raclette (commonly called "raclette cheese") was invented in the Middle Ages by shepherds who ate it mainly in the summer, outdoors, while taking their cows out to graze.
At the time, the term "roasted cheese" was used to describe this dish, which consisted of melting half a wheel of cheese over a wood fire. It was only over time that the name Raclette emerged, referring to the act of scraping the melted surface of the cheese onto the potatoes on the plate.
From the mid-20th century onward, wood-fired Raclette gradually gave way to the first electric appliances, first for household use, then individual skillets.