A Guide to Swiss Food

The Swiss are famous for their watches, banks, chocolate, and cheese...not necessarily in that order. First thing's first. Stockpile a few dozen chocolate bars, both bitter and milk varieties from famous Swiss chocolatiers like Callier, Sprungli and Lindt. Your friends will thank you.

Next? Fondue. You haven't truly experienced this melted cheese delight until you've had it in its native land. The gold standard for Swiss fondue is called "Moite-Moite," a combination of Gruyere and Vachrin cheeses. The fondue arrives in a large metal pot and is served with bread, and, occasionally, potatoes, pickles, pickled onions and dried beef slices (viande sechee). Due to the richness of the dish, fondue is only available in fall and winter. Also, the Swiss believe that you can only drink hot tea or white wine with this dish...or you might run the risk of forming a cheese block in your stomach!

Secondly, there's raclette, which is deceptively similar to fondue. The dish consists of taking a wheel of alpine raclette cheese, heating it up, and scraping the melted part onto a plate with potatoes, pickles, pickled onions, and baby corn. Once again, you'll have to steer clear of cold beverages and opt instead for hot tea or white wine.

After all that cheese, you'll naturally want something even richer for dessert. That's when you should try La Gruyere double cream spread over fluffy meringue. The double cream must be at least 45% butterfat and thick enough that a spoon will stand upright in the jar.

Now that you know what to eat while in Switzerland, discover the best restaurants in Zurich for delicious meals.