Andie Pilot - Helvetic Kitchen: Swiss Cooking

whose c lean l i ness and or gan isation i n the kit c hen put me t o shame. Ber gl i Bo oks is the r ec i pient o f a gr ant fr om the S wiss F eder al Of f ic e o f C u ltur e, 20 6-20 C op yrigh t 20 7 Ber gl i Bo oks. A l l righ ts r eserved. T e xt and i mages c op yrigh t Andie P i lot. ISBN P ri nt 8- 3-03 -03 7- ISBN ePU B 8- 3-03 -04 -2 ISBN mobi 8- 3-03 -04 2- 2 Helvetic Kitchen www .ber gl i.c h

Helvetic Kitchen 3 I wa s born and raised i n Cal gary, A lb erta by my Swiss mot her, who i mmig rated t o Can ada as a y ou ng wo man. I spent m y c h i l dho od sum mer s with m y gr andpar ents on the W alense e i n E astern S witz erland, en jo yi ng r oasted c ervelat, Migr os ic e tea, and paprik a c h i ps. I tr ai ned as a pastry c he f i n C anada, but the pu l l o f c he ese and c hoc olate br ough t me bac k t o the motherland. No w l ivi ng i n Bern, I have t o balanc e m y desi r e t o sample e very ki nd o f R omandie sausage with m y S wiss husbands oc c asional c r avi ngs f or r e tr o S wiss dishes l ik e T oast Haw aii and leave enough r o om f or al l the f ondue. Inc lud in g both modern and traditional r ec ipe s (and heavi ly ske we d to war ds t he Swis s German si de of th ing s), th is is b y no means an e xhaustive surve y o f Helve tic c u isi ne, but r ather a gl i mpse i nt o m y e very day S wiss kit c hen. F or best r esu lts, do as the pr ec ise S wiss and use a sc ale t o measur e y our i ngr edients. Helve tia is the f igur e y ou se e on S wiss c oi ns and st amps. Named f or the Helve tii, a tribe o f C elts who l ived on the S wiss P lateau be f or e the R oman c onquest, she isnt an actual per son, but r ather a symbol o f the c on f eder ation. S witz erland, a diver se nation with f our o f f ic ial languages and at least as man y c u ltur al gr oups, uses Helve tia t o ac kno wledge a shar ed past. S he also o f f er s a un ifyi ng name f or the c ountry: Conf oe deratio Helve ti ca or CH . U n iti ng the man y i nt o one is aki n t o turn i ng a varie ty o f i ngr edients i nt o a del ic ious, edib le whole. Her ti ps c an be f ound thr oughout the r ec i pes.

4 Helvetic Kitchen S wiss Mealti mes Zmo rge 7 Dr Maxi milli an Oska r Bir che r-Benn er Bir che rmesl i Belo ved, Buttery, Br ai ded Br ead Gros smuet i El sbet hs Z pfe Rs ti Zn ni A T art f or E very Oc c asion Apriko senw he S wiss C he ese Chs wh e Zibelemrit 1 Zibele whe T art Dough Zmit ta g 2 Dinne r on the A lp l plermagr onen A F east P latter f or the V ict orious! Berner Pl atte Bndnerfl eisch Bndner Gers tensuppe C apuns dal la T att a Capuns The Swiss Arm y Mi l it rk sesc hn itten Mushr o om Hunti ng Mushr o om P aste tl i V audois Sausages and the t ale o f C harles the F at P ape t V audois Plai n in Pigna P olent a Ns sli salat 38 To mme burger Schab zi ger 40 Zigerhr li Zuri chs F av ourite Meal Z ri G sc hntz le ts Sc hn itz und Drunder Zv ieri 45 Schoggi 46 Basler Sc hoggit orf Enga din er Zu ck erbc ker T urt a da Nusc hs

Helvetic Kitchen 5 Bi rnen hon ig and Bi rnel F ab ianas L z arner L eb k uc hen Ovomaltin e 5 C hoc omalti ne Banana Br ead Helve tic I n no vation i n the Kit c hen Rebl it or te Spi rits and F ai ries Booz y Ch oco late Mousse Kloster S t Gal len S t Gal ler Klostert orte To bler on e 60 To bler oa tmeal Co okies G riessk pf l i Zna cht Cerve lat 6 W ur stsalat L o ve and F ondue Che ese Fo ndue V ac heri n Mont dOr Racl et te Alpa bz ug 70 G riesssc hn itte Migr os K u lt T oast Haw aii and Appen z el ler T oast R osa von Guntens Bac on and T omat o T art Zfii re Fas nach t Basler Mehl suppe Dec or ati ng E aster E ggs Osterfl aden Schmutz li s Sac k fo r Naugh ty Ch ild re n Sami chla us Bars M y Mums Mai lnderl i Basler Brunsl i Zimt sterne Spitzbuben Josys Ro sin en Gue tz li Swiss Sausages Swiss C he ese Swiss W ine Reso urc es Ackn ow ledgements 93 Ind ex E n Gue t

6 Helvetic Kitchen U n l ik e thei r c o ws, the S wiss ar e not pr one t o gr azi ng thr oughout the day, ins tead l imi tin g themselves t o fi ve disti nc t mealti me s with an Apro or tw o thr o wn i n e very other we ek end. In Switz erland , the mealti me s ar e li teral. Das Morgenessen (morn ing meal), das Mitta gessen (mi dda y meal), and das Nac h tessen (n igh t meal), si mply ge t shortened t o Zmo rge , Zmit ta g , and Zna cht . A d ditional ly, ther e are two other smal le r mealti me s, Z nn i and Zv ieri , wh ic h r efe r to the Sw iss German w or ds f or n i ne ( nni ) and f our ( vieri ), denoti ng the pr oper ti me o f day to have them. Apro is an honour ary S wiss mealti me and c an be hel d t o c elebr ate a wed di ng, a b i rth day, or si mply Fei erabend (the end o f the w orki ng day). At the most basic Apro ther e ar e glasses o f co ld wh it e win e and bo wl s of paprika ch ips . And if y ou ge t a l ittle squar e o f S wiss c hoc olate on y our pi l lo w be f or e y ou r e ti r e, th is is one f orm o f Be ttmmpf el i , some th i ng swe e t that y ou eat en r oute t o dr eam land. En G uet !* *see page 96 When tryi ng to deci de the ord er o f re cip es I had m y Swiss f am ily and friends say wh ic h meals belonged t o wh ic h mealti mes. T he c onsensus w asther e w as no c onsensus. Some people wer e happiest eati ng Bir che rmesl i fo r di nne r rather than br ea kfa st, and other s w ou l dnt dr eam o f havi ng R sti be f or e no on. I n the end, the or der is si mply a suggestion. I dont kno w about y ou but the oc c asional c o okie f or br eak f ast su its me just f i ne

Helvetic Kitchen 7 /tsmrg / noun 1. shorten i ng o f das Morgenessen , ie. br eak f ast 2.. a smal l snac k t o ti de one o ver unti l Z nn i e.g. f or c ity dwel ler s: a c up o f c o f f e e and maybe a W eggl i f or f armer s fr om the E m ment al: a plate o f R sti, eggs, c he ese, sausages, apple ju ic e

8 Helvetic Kitchen Duri ng the early 20th c entury, S witz erland w as not just an al pi ne par adise f or skier s and adventur e se ek er s, but also f or patients se eki ng r e tr eats and c ur es i n the fr esh mount ai n ai r. Sanat oriums dotted the landsc ape, and one o f the most f amous belonged t o Dr. Maxi m i l ian Osk ar Bi r c her-Ben ner, the c r eat or o f Bi r c hermesl i. I n Dr. Bi r c hers Sanat orium on the Z ric h ber g, y our day w ou l d have lo ok ed some th i ng l ik e th is: * W ak e up at 6 am * Wa lk ar ou nd the cl inic be for e br ea kfa st * T hr e e dai ly meals c onsisti ng o f r aw vege t ab les and a smal l dessert * Absol utely NO c o f f e e, c hoc olate, t obac c o, or alc ohol * All mann er o f phy sic al trai ning * As muc h fr esh ai r as possib le * Garden ing wo rk * Hy dr other ap y (mostly c ol d sho wer s) and sun tr eatments * Bedti me at 9 pm (l igh ts out b y 9:30) And t o pr ec ede e very meal, Dr. Bi r c hers Mesl i. Mesl i means l ittle mush i n German, and th is c omb i nation o f gr ated, mushed apple, oats, c ondensed m i l k, lemon ju ic e, and nuts embodied Dr. Bi r c hers nutritional i deas about the i mport anc e o f r aw f o od i n the tr eatment o f disease. R aw f o odism, l ik e other f o od tr ends, se ems t o f ade i n and out o f popu larity, but Bi r c hers Mesl i is some th i ng that has c r ept i nt o the c om mon c u l i nary pantheon. A lthough the Mesl i y ou f i nd t oday is a departur e fr om Dr. Bi r c hers r e fr esh i ng apple mush, it o f ten sti l l attempts t o embody h is i deas o f health and nutrition.