Stinky cheese, man

I'm living in a place that's known for it's cheese. There are hundreds of kinds of cheese at my local grocery store. I try something different every time I go shopping, and I've still barely scratched the surface of what's available.

There's one kind of cheese that deserves special mention: Raclette.

Raclette is strange for a few different reasons. Most notably, it's almost always served cooked, and there's a bit of a ritual around cooking it.

You will never be offered raw raclette. Why? Raw raclette is pungent stuff. It's hard to describe the smell, but I've heard it described as a cross between sweat socks, vomit, and curdled milk. To say that it stinks is a polite understatement.

So, why on earth would anyone eat it? Because when you cook it, you somehow cook the stink out of it, and what's left is sublime. It's a sort of oily cheese, and you get something like the best pizza or nacho cheese you've ever had. I've heard it described as "nutty", but that's a simplification, too. It reminds me of gouda with a bit of muenster and a bit of chestnut flavor. People normally eat it over bread or potatoes to create a comfort food, but some burger places will melt raclette over hamburgers, too.

In fact, the name Raclette comes from the French word "racler" (to scrape). Traditionally (you still see this from street vendors in the winter), you take a wheel of cheese, cut it in half, then put one half into a sort of spring-loaded holder that keeps one exposed face of the cheese near a fire or heat lamp. As the cheese gets golden brown and melty, they scrape it off.

Many Swiss have raclette makers at home. The home version is a bit simpler: It's just a heat coil with places to hold small non-stick raclette pans below, and usually a metal or stone plate above for grilling. It takes 10-15 minutes to heat up a single slice of raclette, and people normally eat a few slices. So, it takes a while, and for many people, it's an excuse for a get-together. You sit around talking and waiting for your raclette slice to cook. Every 15 minutes, you pause, eat a slice of cheese (and maybe some meat, vegetables, or potatoes along with it), and then you resume your conversation. There's a smell, for sure. Your clothing will stink, and your neighbors will know that it's raclette night at your place. But it's good stuff.

If you'd like to know more, here's a great guide to hosting a raclette party. English subtitles are available if you click on the gear icon.