The Cheese Hot Pot of Switzerland

by Hsu Heng-Chuan
(Chofu, Tokyo)

Swiss cheese to Switzerland dishes is like sauce to Chinese dishes. While there will be varieties of flavors of cheese, guests will feel tasteless even if only a few flavors are absent at the dinner.

Different Swiss cities and villages will produce unique parmesan cheese----whole circles of Germans prefer the hard palate while French circles' taste is relatively soft.

There are four famous Swiss cheeses: Emmentaler cheese, which is a well-known one with many holes on the surface due to the carbonic acid in the cheese fermentation process; Gruyere cheese, which is full of mellow milk; Appenzeller cheese is the one with a charming wine smell because of the added beads of cider and white wine cheese; and Raclette cheese is not only a famous cheese but also a well-known Swiss dish, tasting soft and tenacious.

Switzerland's prestigious traditional dish is the Cheese Hot Pot, which is made from the Emmentaler and Gruyere cheese, combined with specially-made white wine. When you eat the Cheese Hot Pot, it will be better to drink with liquor or hot tea while the Swiss prefer to drink their cherry wine to help digestion.

It looks so tasty and cheese is my favorite. I just want to try it in the near future.