Most Filipinos are not familiar with traditional Swiss dishes. Unless you eat in a Swiss restaurant or live in a Swiss-inspired luxury house, you will never know the culture of this fantastic country. In the Philippines, Crosswinds has become the leading real estate for Swiss-inspired residences. The property sits on the lush terrain of Tagaytay with over 20,000 pine trees that will make you one with nature. It also helps that there are numerous Swiss restaurants around the area that you can try. Therefore, let me introduce you to some traditional dishes for you to have a taste of their wonderful culture.
Fondue is a fun and delicious way to enjoy food that originated in Switzerland. | Image from Pexels
Fondue is one of the popular traditional Swiss dishes. I’m sure it will seem cliché to eat this in a country that has relied on fondue for centuries. Swiss locals who live in the mountains use fondue on their bread and cheese during cold seasons. Nowadays, this delicacy has been tried on by visitors from all over the country in autumn and spring.
Filipinos who live in luxury condominiums with Swiss-themed properties that had Swiss restaurants are aware that there are different kinds of fondue. But, the most traditional version is dunking country bread in melted cheese, which can be paired with white wine and schnapps or tea as a chaser for a popular winter meal.
This dish is a traditional dish that might sound new to people who’s not familiar with Swiss dishes. Papet Vaudois is a mash of leeks and potatoes that are stewed, which will have an onion-tinged mixture that’s a perfect pair for sausages. This well-known traditional dish is known for its crimson sausage, which is loosely stuffed and plump. This is a good dish to try out whenever you had the chance.
This dish is one of Switzerland’s national dishes, even though no one knows the origin of this dish. Most people who are aware of the country’s culture or lived in the Swiss quadrille in Crosswinds Tagaytay will know that this is a farmer’s breakfast in Bern, Switzerland. Nowadays this food is eaten all over the country during breakfast, lunch or dinner. This dish is mostly served in ceramic dishes and is highly delectable if it’s topped with salty bacon, fried eggs, and melted raclette cheese. This top-notch dish is served alongside tangy gherkins and pickled pearl onions.
Traditional Swiss dishes include roasted flour soup is something that you just need to taste. | Image from Pexels
In Switzerland, there’s a saying that a woman from Basel can’t get married until she learned to create this soup. There are numerous ways to create this dish but the traditional way of making this uses composed of flour, butter, onion, and beef, which is topped by Gruyere. According to locals, this soup was created when a cook was talking to someone, making the floor accidentally brown. Instead of creating another fish, the cook just lives it be. If you go to Basel Carnival, you must have a serving of this dish, served around 3 am.
Swiss locals and tourist living in the most expensive houses in the Philippines and has traveled in the country are aware of this dish. Polenta is a Cornmeal dish that’s cooked into porridge. It’s usually cooked in a copper cauldron until the porridge becomes thick. This is best eaten during wintertime and is most commonly paired with sausage ragout or braised beef in red wine.
Zurcher Geschnetzeltes is a popular wintertime lunch for locals and tourists alike. It’s a national dish from Zurich, Switzerland, which is made from sliced zeal, calves’ kidneys, and sweetbread sautéed in onions, butter, white wine, cream, and mushrooms. Despite this dish hailing from the dynamic German-speaking city, this has since been a staple in menus throughout the country.
For Filipino who lived in a luxury property in the Philippines and have visited Switzerland a couple of times, you’ve probably tasted Tarfilette. It’s a Swish dish that originated from Haute- Savoie, which is known for Reblochon cheese. Currently, this dish is can be found on most ski resorts. It’s a combination of thinly sliced potatoes, smoky bits of bacon, caramelized onions with Reblochon cheese.
During Christmas time, a Swiss table can’t be complete without Leckerli. It’s a sweet delight that originated from Bern, Switzerland. It is a type of Lebkuchen, a German sweet that’s a spiced and gingerbread-like biscuit that has a tender hazelnut taste. Leckerli is a sticky, spicy, and sweet biscuit that can be eaten during tea time.
Any Swiss local or someone who’s living in luxury real estate and has visited the country will be aware of Vacherin Mont d’Or. It’s a seasonal cheese that usually appears from September onwards. This cow cheese is made from Jura, Switzerland. Despite its pungent smell, locals and tourist enjoy this delicacy. You can see this cheese covered with white wine and garlic on a round wooden packaging as one of the traditional Swiss dishes. Vacherin Mont d’Or is mostly served warm with boiled potatoes.
Quiches and tarts are delicious and easy to eat. Be careful, you might just get addicted! | Image from Pexels
For dessert, you should try out quiche and cheese tarts. They are both cheese and custard pastry that’s well-known in the country. Quiche is more custardy than cheesy while tarts are more cheesy than custardy. Swiss tarts can come in all sizes but the smaller ones are more pleasing to the eye and easier to eat. They also come in different flavors like onion and sweet apple. On the other hand, a quiche is a nutritional dessert that’s filled with fish, meat, and vegetable. Over time there have been countless variations of this traditional dessert but the classic remains a go-to for locals and tourists.
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Swiss hikers and affluent Filipinos living in mansions in the Philippines and are blessed to have hiked the mountain and trails of Switzerland have probably eaten this snack. This is a semi-dried sausage that’s a traditional snack in the country. It’s a combination of pork, beef, lard, red wine, sugar, and various spices. The name of the snack means land hunter, which implies that the sausages are especially convenient for traveling. This is why backpackers and hunters have this on their bags during hiking or hunting.
Commonly called “The Alpine Macaroni,” this dish got its name from its ingredients, which is fed to the herdsman keeping an eye on cows grazing the Alps. This food became more popular in the 1930s, becoming a sought-after food delicacy since then. Its ingredients include macaroni pasta, cheese, onions, and potatoes but over time there have been different variations of this traditional Swiss dish.
Switzerland doesn’t hold back when it comes to its love for cheese dishes. They’ve created various cheese recipes over the years, one of these recipes is for Raclette. It’s a semi-hard cheese made from the milk of an Alpine cow. This was a staple on the tables of Valais peasants, which has now become a traditional food that’s eaten by everyone, including the rich. Raclette is created by melting an entire cheese wheel in front of a fire and is scraped off to be eaten. It is derived from the French word racler, which means to scrape. These days only slices of raclette are melted and are placed on cooked un-skinned potatoes, onions, pickled gherkins, and vegetables.
Risotto is a pretty simple dish, but if you add saffron it becomes that much more indulgent. | Image from Pexels
Saffron Risotto is the most expensive risotto in the world because its dark red saffron strands are hand-picked. Swiss locals ensure that they make good use of their unique ingredient that’s cultivated in Valais, Switzerland. But, for locals living in Ticino, this is their traditional dish, which they serve with Luganighe sausage. This is a raw sausage made from pork, spices, and red wine. Most locals just cook this at their homes, adding various ingredients, specifically onions.
If you go to West Switzerland, you’ll be able to eat Malakoff. It’s a ball of fried cheese that can be found in the towns of Eysins, Begnins, Burnins, Luins, and Vinzel. This dish came from mercenaries that joined the Crimean War under the French-British forces that’s at war against Russia. The name of the dish came from the Battle of Malakoff that ended the war. Malakoff is mostly served as a first course and usually accompanies cornichons, pickled onions, and mustard.
Nope, we’re not talking about the disease. We’re talking about a dish that was invented during the 1830 Cholera Epidemic. It’s a delicious pie that uses leftovers like potatoes, onion, apples, bacon, leek, and cheese. This savory dish came from Valais, Switzerland, and is baked with cheese like a tart. Setting the name aside, you should try these delicious traditional Swiss dishes when you have the chance.
Have you heard of beef drying? The locals in Switzerland’s eastern mountains have perfected the art of air-drying beef. It usually takes 10 to 15 weeks to have a beef’s upper thigh or shoulder cured. During the drying process, the meat is regularly re-arranged to ensure the even distribution and absorption of salt and other seasonings. It is also periodically pressed to separate the residual moisture. Bündnerfleisch is mostly thinly sliced and served with bread or is often part of raclette. Sometimes, this meet is also cut into strips or little cubes for soups.
Most Graubunden locals in the country have their version of this dish. Capuns are made from Spatzle dough and dried meat, which is wrapped in Swiss chard leaves. This delicacy is then boiled in gravy of bouillon, milk, and water. Capuns are best served covered in grated cheese. Historically, this food is originally a farmer’s food that’s become a traditional dish that’s enjoyed by many locals and tourists.
If you want to taste a traditional dish from Grisons, you should try Maluns. Maluns are made from boiled and grated potatoes, which are mixed with flour. This mixture is slowly fried in butter until it breaks into balls and crumbs. This is usually served with a compote of apple but it can go with other fruits or various cheese and meat.
Bunder Nusstorte is a Swiss walnut cake. Its modern counterpart became popular in the country in the 1960s even though it was invented in the 1920s. This dessert originated from Graubuden but the climate is too cold for walnuts to survive. Therefore, its origin is still highly debated. Some locals believe that a French baker introduced a nut tree that he planted on Val Bregaglia while others believe that this is another version of the shortcrust pastry Fuatscha Grassa. It is believed that a Graubuden who lived in France crossed Fuatscha Grassa with a nut pastry, which gave birth to Bundner Nusstorte.
Have you ever heard of Cuchaule? This is a brioche bread from Friborg, Switzerland that’s similar to Challah or Zopf. In Benichon Festival, these traditional Swiss dishes is usually paired with sweet and sour Benichon mustard. Nowadays you can see this all year round in various shops all over the country. So, you can buy this anytime you like.
You’re probably wondering where you can experience Swiss living in the country. In the Philippines, you can experience living in Switzerland through Alpine Villas a luxury condo in Tagaytay. This soon-to-rise luxury condo is a six to eight-story mid-rise villa that you can stay in to refresh from the hustle and bustle of the metro.
The property will have well-designed and space-efficient vertical residences that have 24/7 safety protocols like a CCTV system in all of its common areas. Aside from that, it will also have Wi-Fi on its secured building system. Concierge, receptionist, and security system will be available to cater to your every need. The village also boasts a fitness gym, swimming pool, and clubhouse with a function room for its unit owners and tenants.
In summary, you don’t have to live in Switzerland to experience Swiss living. You can stay in this country and have a high life as the Swiss locals do in Tagaytay, which is a few hours in Manila. However, if you want to try out these amazing dishes you can also do so. Tasting these amazing delicacies is nothing but an experience of its own, don’t you think?
