Swiss cuisine seems to easily fit in the comfort food category. During our month in Switzerland we discovered some new tasty foods and were reminded how much we like some of the traditional dishes.

Chocolate – While up on Titlis Mountain we visited the Lindt shop, but surprisingly resisted the urge to buy any sweets. We drooled over (not literally) the colorfully wrapped truffles and also noticed the new mini emotis candies.

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Yes, Lindt is the most well known Swiss chocolate company and we really like their dark chocolate bars with chili or grapefruit, or orange. But we also tried other brands of Swiss chocolate during our visit. Coop Supermarket sells their own variety of tasty chocolates. We highly recommend the cremant dark chocolate and raspberry quinoa bars.

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Gruyère Cheese – This popular cheese originated in Gruyères, a medieval town that still has cobblestone streets in the historical section. At the top of an 82 meter-tall hill overlooking the Saane Valley and the Lake of Gruyère, the town includes traditional Swiss-looking restaurants, shops, museums, and hotels. We took a train trip to this picturesque Swiss town one afternoon and as part of our supper ate a salad topped with delicious Gruyère cheese at one of the local restaurants overlooking the valley. 

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Fondue – Some folks call Switzerland the cheese capital of the world and cheese fondue is probably the most common food eaten by Swiss tourists. Since Gruyère melts easily and has a delightful flavor, it is often the main ingredient in the classic dish. In addition to salad, we also ate yummy fondue at the Gruyères restaurant, complete with pieces of bread, pearl onions, small dill pickles, and boiled baby potatoes for dipping in the sauce.

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Raclette is the name of both a cheese and a dish. Similar to Gruyère, the cheese melts easily, is made from cow’s milk, and has a slightly nutty flavor. We ate both the cheese and the raclette dish at the home of our friend David and his family. The children showed us how to melt slices of cheese until bubbly in a special grill and then scrape the cheese onto boiled potatoes. We also added toppings of sliced red onions and pickles. This fun and scrumptious food originated around the 13th century by peasants who softened their cheese over campfires and would then scrape (racler in French) it onto bread, vegetables, or meat.

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Rosti – Yes, potatoes are a very popular food in Switzerland and, fortunately, we love to eat them. Rosti, another national Swiss potato dish, consists of a tasty fried patty of grated potato with a crisp outer shell and soft inside. Originally eaten at breakfast by farmers, it is now a common side dish for lunch or supper. We ate the rosti pictured below while looking at the impressive Matterhorn Mountain from a Gornergrat restaurant. 

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Spaetzle – Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and Hungary are some of the nations that take credit for this type of pasta. What foods accompany the egg-based starch vary from country to country. We ate spaetzle for lunch at a restaurant near the top of Mount Titlis. And we thoroughly enjoyed our pasta dish with Brussels sprouts, red cabbage, chestnuts, and mushrooms.

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Perch Fillets – This is one of the menu specialities at many restaurants along the shores of Lake Geneva and a favorite dish among the Swiss. We ate some of these seafood delicacies when we had a lakeside lunch with David’s family

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Ready-to-Drink Coffee – Switzerland does not have many Starbucks restaurants or other to-go coffee places. We noticed many people purchase ready-to-drink coffee at supermarkets or small convenience stores. The inexpensive drinks are stocked in the refrigerated section and most stores provide a microwave so that purchasers can heat up their coffee if desired. Susan tried one of the ready-to-go coffees and thought it was quite tasty. 

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Condiments in Tubes – We found mayonnaise, ketchup, curry paste, and many other condiments packaged in toothpaste-like tubes, which take up much less space and are easier to use than jars or bottles.

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