by Austin Coe Butler
Raclette takes its name from “racler,” which in a dialect of French Swiss, means “to scrape,” and many hundreds of years ago, when the cowherds who made this cheese would gather around a fire on cool Alpine summer nights, they would warm the cheese against the fire and scrape it, browned and bubbling, onto their bread. As we head into another bout of bitter cold, we are promoting three Raclette-style cheeses, because what better way to indulge yourself on a winter’s night than with some broiled Raclette cheese?
Spring Brook Reading Raclette is an American Raclette made in Reading, Vermont, from raw Jersey cow’s milk. It is milder than its Swiss forebears but just as dreamy to melt. (We use it on and in a number of our melts, sandwiches, and prepared foods like our Raclette pappardelle.) The supple, creamy texture and buttery flavor make it an excellent entryway into the realm of Raclette.
Risler Square Raclette is real-deal Swiss Raclette made by Käserei Oberli Rislen in St. Galen, Switzerland. It is notable first for its shape (square), second for its smell (“barnyardy” is being bashful), and finally for its flavor (with a sharp tang and long, funky finish like ramps or Bärlauch that still have some dirt on them). Outside of lounging around in a Chalet wearing a turtleneck and a pair of Finken in the Alps, this is as close as you can get to the veritable experience without the fear of altitude sickness.
Montgomery’s Ogleshield deserves an explanation as it is an exceptional cheese though unfamiliar to many. You most certainly know Jamie Montgomery’s Cheddar, a titanic, standard-setting West Country Farmhouse Cheddar that is rich, robust, and grassy. Ogleshield was originally called Jersey Shield, since it is made from Jersey cow’s milk and the wide, circular shape resembled the Yetholm-type shield an archaeological investigation on Jamie’s farm turned up among the remains of a bronze century fort. But the problem with Jersey Shield was that the warmth and humidity of the English summers made this cheese spoil from the inside and bloat with gas until it exploded! It wasn’t until William Oglethorpe, who had spent time in the Swiss Alps making cheese saw the wheels of Jersey Shield and suggested Jamie brine them. Brining cheeses allows preserving salt to penetrate them to their core in a way that surface salting cannot. Large cheese like Gruyère and Comté, Emmental and Parmigiano Reggiano are all brined. Jamie repaid Bill by bestowing his name on the cheese, and thus Ogleshield was born. If you are ever in London’s Burough Market, you can find Bill Oglethorpe at his market stall Kappacasein serving his scrumptious grilled cheese sandwiches or ‘cheese toasties” as the Brits say, a mix of Montgomery’s cheddar, Ogleshield, and an assortment of alliums griddled to perfection, or scraping luxurious waves of broiled Ogleshield over boiled potatoes with a scrunch of black pepper and cornichons to garnish. This cheese also deserves an uncooked place on a cheeseboard where the fudgy texture and notes of savory roasted peanuts and vegetal, fresh pea tendril shine. Whenever one of our mongers samples Ogleshield just to remember what it tastes like, they undoubtedly say, “I love this cheese!”
Don’t have a Raclette machine? Don’t worry! You can always broil slices of cheese on a sheep pan and swoop them up with a wide spatula and blanket whatever you desire. Raclette is great in fondue, Tartiflette, or the rarer Welsh Rarebit. No matter how you are serving these cheeses, broiled and scraped over potatoes, melted into scrambled eggs, or savored at their ambient temperatures alongside a bottle of Gillmore Mariposa País, these cheeses offer the depth and breadth of Raclette with something for everyone to love.