Episode 2 of "Swiss specialities you should have tried"

In this video series, I will take you on a culinary tour of Switzerland. For each canton, I will introduce you to a speciality that I think you should try. In the first part, we were mainly in German-speaking Switzerland. Now we're going to take a look at the other cantons, Ticino and the French-speaking part of Switzerland. And there are a few real insider tips.

Below you will also find the content of the video in text form. More entertaining and richer in images is of course the video with English subtitles.

Freiburg

Soupe du Chalet or mountain soup is a well-known speciality from the canton of Fribourg. Leek, onion, spinach, kohlrabi and carrots form the basis here. Hörnli, beans and pasta, sometimes also potatoes depending on the recipe, provide the necessary feeling of satiety. Grated Gruyère cheese is, of course, a must in a Fribourg dish.

St. Gallen

Rheintaler Ribel used to be a staple food in the canton of St. Gallen. Nowadays, however, it has lost some of its fame. Visually, it is quite special. It is made from a traditional type of maize in the Rhine Valley and cooked in a similar way to polenta, but it has to swell for longer. Afterwards, the Ribel maize is roasted in a pan. Some people eat the ribel together with cheese, apple puree, stewed plums or milk coffee. The possibilities here are very varied.

Grisons (Graubünden)

Capuns are a genuine and tasty Grisons speciality. Grisons meat and Salsiz (also an air-dried Grisons raw sausage) give the dough packets their spicy flavour. The dough is wrapped in chard leaves and cooked in water. Finally, the capuns are sprinkled with cheese.

Aargau

In the canton of Aargau, the carrot enjoys a high status. This is also reflected in many Aargau recipes. The best known is probably the juicy Aargauer Rüeblitorte. As the name suggests, this cake speciality is made from grated carrots. The cake is covered with a sugar glaze. Finally, the cake is decorated with small marzipan carrots as a highlight. Visually, it is already a small work of art.

Thurgau

Let's stay with the cake. What the carrot is in Aargau, the apple is in Thurgau. Here, too, the cake has a distinctive look. The Thurgau apple cake is decorated with half cut apples. These are not just for decoration, however, but make it taste particularly fruity. Icing sugar must not go amiss here either.

Ticino (Tessin)

Of course, one could easily fill an episode about Ticino itself. Of course, this is also due to its cultural proximity to Italy. Polenta may not sound particularly exciting at first, and it can also be found in other countries and regions. But for me, it is typical of Ticino, very special and, above all, very versatile in its use. It makes a very good side dish and also easily as a main course. The base is always simply maize grits and water.

Vaud (Waadt)

Papet Vaudois is one of my favourite dishes and must therefore be included here. The characteristic feature of this dish is the Vaudois saucisson. A very strongly spiced raw sausage from western Switzerland, which is simply left to simmer just below boiling point. The side dish, a mixture of leeks and potatoes in a cream sauce, is also to die for. In my opinion, it's a must-try if you're not a vegetarian.

Wallis

When most people think of cholera, they probably don't think of this Valais speciality first. Like many traditional recipes, this vegetable cake originated from leftovers. According to folklore, the dish originated around 1830 during the cholera epidemic. At that time, many people from the Valais did not dare to go out on the street and simply put the ingredients they usually had at home into a shortcrust pastry and put the filled vegetable cake in an oven. The ingredients include lots of leeks, potatoes from the day before, Valais mountain cheese, apples and egg.

Neuchâtel (Neuenburg)

Jacquerie neuchâteloise is a nutritious Neuchâtel-style stew made with chicken, bacon, sauerkraut, onions, anchovies and, of course, local white wine. Depending on the recipe, sometimes even snails are used. That's where you notice the proximity to France at the latest. It's not my cup of tea, but it's a real speciality. Neuchâtel

Geneva (Genf)

Here, at the latest, you can feel the closeness to France. But the choice of a dish was not easy either. In the end, I decided on Gratin de Cardon genevois, a classic gratin from Geneva whose main ingredient is cardon. Cardon, also known as cardy, is a thistle-like vegetable that resembles artichoke. In this dish, cardon is covered with bechamel sauce and gratinated with cheese.

Jura

Toétché Jurassien is difficult to pronounce and something special. Toétché Jurassien, also called Saint Martin's cake, is a savoury cake with yeast dough and a cream made of whole and sour cream, as well as a little saffron. The cake captivates with its characteristic taste between sour and salty.

Here is the first part of the series "Swiss specialities you should try". If I know you, you have a lot more delicious specialities in store. Please write them down in the comments on YouTube. If you liked the video, I would be happy if you liked it and subscribed.