Disclaimer: Most of the dishes you will experience here are Potatoes, Charcuterie & Cheese.
Heavy, creamy, ample cheese.
If you want to live a long & healthy life do not read the rest of this article.
What are the formidable specialties to come?
- Beaufort
- Gratin Dauphinois
- Fondue savoyarde
- Noix de Grenoble
- Raclette
- Tartiflette
- Reblochon
- Tomme de Savoie
Beaufort
- Many part of France are made of cheese.
- But Alpes-Savoie must be one of the cheesiest parts of the country.
- The greatest variety of Gruyère, or Swiss cheese as it is also known.
- The Beaufort has won the name of “Prince des Gruyères”.
- Many Alpines cheeses will be describe as Fruity or Nutty.
- The Beaufort is both, and therefore is goes well with fruits, especially grapes, & nuts.
- Because of its slight sweetness is can be baked in Tartes, Souffle, Fondue(more of that to come) & even in waffles.
Gratin dauphinois
- What a dish.
- Finely sliced blanched Potatoes & Heavy Cream.
- Embellished with a thin coat of grated cheese.
- That’s quite the contrast.
- The Gratin dauphinois is the potato at its finest.
- Many other dishes in this list will drown the potato’s taste under cream, cheese & charcuterie.
- This one does not.
- Here, the potatoes are the cream.
- If you want to enjoy potatoes with only a little bit of garnish & spices this is the dish.
- Subsequently, the potatoes should be cooked with more care.
Fondue savoyarde
- When you place a large variety of cheeses in a hot pot & it turns into the savoriest lava.
- Usually multiple cheeses are used.
- If you’ve never tried a Fondue Savoyarde before we recommend something neutral such as Comte, Beaufort & Emmental,
- These 3 are fruity enough, and not too strong to begin with.
- Put your little cube of bread on your fork & dive into the pool of cheese.
- Fondue can contain white wine, ask for an alcohol-less version if necessary.
Noix de Grenoble
- Is it a dish?
- It may as well be, you can eat it just like that & it will be satisfying.
- Cultivated on the borders of the Isère since the XIth century, it was already a delicacy.
- Used in the confection of Confitures, Crèmes de noix, Crèmes aromatiques, and other confectioneries such as Nougat.
- The oil will add an original taste to your salads, tartines & pastas.
- It is even used in the fabrication of Mustard.
- The Noix de Grenoble pairs perfectly with regional cheeses.
- It goes also well with honey & chocolate.
Raclette
- La Raclette is the Dish.
- Melted cheese on potatoes.
- And as you roll these potatoes in, you make the raclette flow.
- Raclette is the festival food, because raclette is a festival.
- Aromatic, salty, sweet, pungent, raclette is the cheese of the Alpes.
- The texture of the raclette cheese is smooth, soft, creamy and firm, hard and slightly crumbly.
- It comes with lots of charcuterie : ham and saucisson, and rosette, and salami & so on.
- Sometimes they will be served with herbs, garlic & pickles(cornichons).
- You could also go for more unusual garnishes such as truffles or tomatoes.
Tartiflette
- Savoyard gratin composed of soft potatoes, roasted bacon, minced golden onions & heavy cream.
- The tartiflette can be freshen with a selection of aromatic herbs: persil, coriandre, cerfeuil.
- Ask for these if you want a greener version.
- Covered with Reblochon this gratin is one of the most memorable dishes of the region.
Reblochon
- Quite the fatty cheese.
- Produced with a milk coming from second milking, or fattier, giving it its creaminess.
- ‘Reblocher’ means in French to pinch the cow’s udder a second time.
- Supple, soft & unctuous with a nutty after-taste the Reblochon is piece of choice on your plateau de fromage.
Tomme de Savoie
- A Cheese that tastes like Butter.
- Originally, la Tomme de Savoie was made with the skimmed milk remaining from butter’s fabrication.
- Therefore, it is quite lean compared to many other French cheeses.
- This peculiarity made its popularity even at an European scale.
- As with many other French cheeses the milk used in its fabrication comes from its region.
