Swiss cuisine
Encyclopedia
Swiss cuisine bears witness to many regional influences, including from Italian
, French
, and German cuisine
, and also features many dishes specific to Switzerland. Switzerland was historically a country of farmers, so traditional Swiss dishes tend to be plain and made from simple ingredients, such as potatoes and cheese.
There are a many regional dishes in Switzerland. One example is Zürcher Geschnetzeltes
—thin strips of veal
with mushroom
s in a cream sauce served with rösti
. Italian cuisine is popular in contemporary Switzerland, particularly pasta
and pizza
. Foods often associated with Switzerland
include cheese
and chocolate
. Swiss cheeses
, in particular Emmental cheese, Gruyère, Vacherin, and Appenzeller, are famous Swiss products. The most popular cheese dishes are fondue
and Raclette
. Both these dishes were originally regional dishes, but were popularized by the Swiss Cheese Union
to boost sales of cheese.
Rösti
is a popular potato
dish that is eaten all over Switzerland. It was originally a breakfast
food, but this has been replaced by the muesli
, which is commonly eaten for breakfast and in Switzerland goes by the name of "Birchermüesli" ("Birchermiesli" in some regions). For breakfast and dinner many Swiss enjoy sliced bread
with butter
and jam. There is a wide variety of bread roll
s available in Switzerland. Bread and cheese is a popular dish for dinner.
Tart
s and quiche
s are also traditional Swiss dishes. Tarts in particular are made with all sorts of toppings, from sweet apple
to onion
.
In the Italian speaking part of Switzerland, the Ticino
area, one will find a type of restaurant unique to the region. The Grotto is a rustic eatery, offering traditional food ranging from pasta to home made meat
specialties. Popular dishes are Luganighe and Luganighetta, a type of artisan sausage
s. Authentic grottoes are old wine cave
s re-functioned into restaurants. Due to their nature they are mostly found in or around forests and built against a rocky background. Typically, the facade is built from granite blocks and the outside tables and benches are made of the same stone as well. Grottoes are popular with locals and tourists alike, especially during the hot summer months.
Cervelat
or cervelas is considered the national sausage, and is popular all over Switzerland.
, Switzerland ranks 2nd worldwide in terms of stars awarded per capita.
Rivella
, a carbonated Swiss drink based on lactose
, is one of the most popular drinks in Switzerland. Apple juice
, both still and sparkling, is popular in many areas of Switzerland, and is also produced in the form of apple cider
. The chocolate drink Ovomaltine (known in the USA as "Ovaltine") originates in Switzerland and enjoys ongoing popularity, particularly with young people. Aside from being a beverage, the powder is also eaten sprinkled on top of a slice of buttered bread.
Wine
is produced in many regions of Switzerland, particularly the Valais
, the Vaud
, the Ticino
and the canton of Zurich
. Riesling X Sylvaner
is a common white wine produced in German-speaking parts of the country, while Chasselas
is the most common white wine in the French-speaking parts of the country. Pinot Noir
is the most popular red grape in both the French-speaking and the German-speaking part, while this position is held by Merlot
in the Italian-speaking part.
Absinthe
is being distilled officially again in its Val-de-Travers
birthplace, in the Jura
region of Switzerland, where it originated. Long banned by a specific anti-Absinthe article in the Swiss Federal Constitution
, it was legalized again in 2005, with the adoption of the new constitution. Now Swiss absinthe is also exported to many countries, with Kübler
and La Clandestine Absinthe
amongst the first new brands to emerge. Wine and beer
can legally be purchased by youths of 16 or more years of age. Spirits and beverages containing distilled alcohol (including alcopops like Bacardi Breezer
) can be bought at 18. Socialization with alcohol begins early and many have their first taste of alcohol in the family at the age of 14.
Damassine
is a liqueur produced by distillation of the Damassine prune
from the Damassinier tree
and is produced in the Canton of Jura
.
Italian cuisine
Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots as far back as the 4th century BCE. Italian cuisine in itself takes heavy influences, including Etruscan, ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Byzantine, Jewish and Arab cuisines...
, French
French cuisine
French cuisine is a style of food preparation originating from France that has developed from centuries of social change. In the Middle Ages, Guillaume Tirel , a court chef, authored Le Viandier, one of the earliest recipe collections of Medieval France...
, and German cuisine
German cuisine
German cuisine is a style of cooking derived from the nation of Germany. It has evolved as a national cuisine through centuries of social and political change with variations from region to region. The southern regions of Germany, including Bavaria and neighbouring Swabia, share many dishes....
, and also features many dishes specific to Switzerland. Switzerland was historically a country of farmers, so traditional Swiss dishes tend to be plain and made from simple ingredients, such as potatoes and cheese.
Foods and dishes
Zürcher Geschnetzeltes
Zürcher Geschnetzeltes is a Swiss dish from Zurich region.Its main ingredients are veal, sliced in to small pieces, sliced mushrooms and cream...
—thin strips of veal
Veal
Veal is the meat of young cattle , as opposed to meat from older cattle. Though veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any breed, most veal comes from male calves of dairy cattle breeds...
with mushroom
Mushroom
A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...
s in a cream sauce served with rösti
Rösti
Rösti is a Swiss dish consisting mainly of potatoes. It was originally a common breakfast eaten by farmers in the canton of Bern, but today is eaten all over Switzerland and also in many restaurants in the Western World. Many Swiss people consider rösti a national dish...
. Italian cuisine is popular in contemporary Switzerland, particularly pasta
Pasta
Pasta is a staple food of traditional Italian cuisine, now of worldwide renown. It takes the form of unleavened dough, made in Italy, mostly of durum wheat , water and sometimes eggs. Pasta comes in a variety of different shapes that serve for both decoration and to act as a carrier for the...
and pizza
Pizza
Pizza is an oven-baked, flat, disc-shaped bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese and various toppings.Originating in Italy, from the Neapolitan cuisine, the dish has become popular in many parts of the world. An establishment that makes and sells pizzas is called a "pizzeria"...
. Foods often associated with Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
include cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
and chocolate
Swiss chocolate
Switzerland's chocolates have earned an international reputation for high quality.The famous Toblerone came from Switzerland; a man named Jean Tobler started the business in 1867.-History:The 17th century saw the start of chocolate processed in Switzerland...
. Swiss cheeses
Cheeses of Switzerland
Switzerland is home to about 450 varieties of cheese. Cows milk is used in about 99 percent of the cheeses produced. The remaining share is made up of sheep milk and goat milk.- Hard :*Emmentaler*Gruyère/Greyerzer...
, in particular Emmental cheese, Gruyère, Vacherin, and Appenzeller, are famous Swiss products. The most popular cheese dishes are fondue
Fondue
Fondue is a Swiss dish of melted cheese served in a communal pot over a spirit lamp , and eaten by dipping long-stemmed forks with bread into the cheese...
and Raclette
Raclette
Raclette is both a type of cheese and a Swiss and French dish based on heating the cheese and scraping off the melted part.-Cheese:Raclette is a semi-firm, cow's milk cheese - most commonly used for melting...
. Both these dishes were originally regional dishes, but were popularized by the Swiss Cheese Union
Swiss Cheese Union
The Swiss Cheese Union was a cartel in Switzerland engaged in the promotion of cheese and cheese products from Switzerland....
to boost sales of cheese.
Rösti
Rösti
Rösti is a Swiss dish consisting mainly of potatoes. It was originally a common breakfast eaten by farmers in the canton of Bern, but today is eaten all over Switzerland and also in many restaurants in the Western World. Many Swiss people consider rösti a national dish...
is a popular potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
dish that is eaten all over Switzerland. It was originally a breakfast
Breakfast
Breakfast is the first meal taken after rising from a night's sleep, most often eaten in the early morning before undertaking the day's work...
food, but this has been replaced by the muesli
Muesli
Muesli is a popular breakfast cereal based on uncooked rolled oats, fruit and nuts. It was developed around 1900 by Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner for patients in his hospital...
, which is commonly eaten for breakfast and in Switzerland goes by the name of "Birchermüesli" ("Birchermiesli" in some regions). For breakfast and dinner many Swiss enjoy sliced bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
with butter
Butter
Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...
and jam. There is a wide variety of bread roll
Bread roll
A bread roll is a piece of bread, usually small and round and is commonly considered a side dish. Bread rolls are often used in the same way as sandwiches are—cut transversely, with fillings placed between the two halves.-Various forms:...
s available in Switzerland. Bread and cheese is a popular dish for dinner.
Tart
Tart
A tart is a baked dish consisting of a filling over a pastry base with an open top not covered with pastry. The pastry is usually shortcrust pastry; the filling may be sweet or savoury, though modern tarts are usually fruit-based, sometimes with custard....
s and quiche
Quiche
Quiche is a savory, open-faced pie of vegetables, cheese, or meat in custard, baked in a pastry crust.The quiche is sometimes regarded as the savoury equivalent ofegg custard tart.- Etymology:...
s are also traditional Swiss dishes. Tarts in particular are made with all sorts of toppings, from sweet apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
to onion
Onion
The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
.
In the Italian speaking part of Switzerland, the Ticino
Ticino
Canton Ticino or Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland. Named after the Ticino river, it is the only canton in which Italian is the sole official language...
area, one will find a type of restaurant unique to the region. The Grotto is a rustic eatery, offering traditional food ranging from pasta to home made meat
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...
specialties. Popular dishes are Luganighe and Luganighetta, a type of artisan sausage
Sausage
A sausage is a food usually made from ground meat , mixed with salt, herbs, and other spices, although vegetarian sausages are available. The word sausage is derived from Old French saussiche, from the Latin word salsus, meaning salted.Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made...
s. Authentic grottoes are old wine cave
Wine cave
Wine caves are subterranean structures for the storage and aging of wine. They are an integral component of the wine industry world wide. The design and construction of wine caves represents a unique application of underground construction techniques....
s re-functioned into restaurants. Due to their nature they are mostly found in or around forests and built against a rocky background. Typically, the facade is built from granite blocks and the outside tables and benches are made of the same stone as well. Grottoes are popular with locals and tourists alike, especially during the hot summer months.
Cervelat
Cervelat
Cervelat, also cervelas, servelat or zervelat, is a kind of cooked sausage produced mainly in Switzerland, Alsace and in parts of Germany...
or cervelas is considered the national sausage, and is popular all over Switzerland.
Recipes from the French part of Switzerland
- Papet vaudois: the Canton of Vaud is home to this filling dish of leeks and potatoes (hence the name vaudois). It is usually served with Saucisse au chou (cabbage sausage).
- CaracCarac (pastry)Carac is a swiss pastry made of chocolate, usually found in the French part of Switzerland.It consists of a pie crust filled with chocolate and covered with green icing. Size varies from about 25cm in diameter to 8cm....
: A Swiss pastry made of chocolate.
- FondueFondueFondue is a Swiss dish of melted cheese served in a communal pot over a spirit lamp , and eaten by dipping long-stemmed forks with bread into the cheese...
: This is probably the most famous Swiss menu. Fondue is made out of melted cheese. It is eaten by dipping small pieces of bread or potatoes in the melted cheese.
- MeringueMeringueMeringue is a type of dessert made from whipped egg whites and sugar, occasionally some recipes may call for adding an acid such as cream of tartar or a small amount of vinegar and a binding agent such as cornstarch found in icing sugar which may be added in addition to the corn starch which...
: Swiss Meringue with double cream from GruyèreGruyère (district)Gruyère District is a district of the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. It has a population of . Its capital is Bulle.-Municipalities:-Mergers and name changes:...
.
- RacletteRacletteRaclette is both a type of cheese and a Swiss and French dish based on heating the cheese and scraping off the melted part.-Cheese:Raclette is a semi-firm, cow's milk cheese - most commonly used for melting...
: Hot cheese dribbled over potatoes, served with small gherkins, pickled onions etc.
Recipes from the German part of Switzerland
- Älplermagronen: (Alpine herdsman's macaroni) is a frugal all-in-one dish making use of the ingredients the herdsmen had at hand in their alpine cottages: macaroni, potatoes, onions, small pieces of bacon, and melted cheese. Traditionally Älplermagronen is served with applesauce instead of vegetables or salad.
- Cut meat, Zurich style (Zürcher Geschnetzeltes): This dish is often served with Rösti.
- EmmentalEmmentalFor the cheese made in the region, see Emmental .The Emmental is a region in west central Switzerland, forming part of the canton of Bern. It is a hilly landscape comprising the basins of the Emme and Ilfis rivers. The region is mostly devoted to farming, particularly dairy farming...
Apple Rösti: This used to be a very popular meal, since the ingredients were usually at hand and the preparation is very simple. The recipe comes from the Emmental ("Emmen valley") in Canton Bern, the home of the famous Emmentaler cheese.
- Fotzel slices: Nobody really knows how this dish got its name. Literally, "fotzel" means a torn-off scrap of paper, but in Basel dialect it means a suspicious individual. Stale bread can be used to make fotzel slices, which made it an ideal recipe for homemakers accustomed to never throwing bread away.
- Birchermuesli: "Birchermüesli" was invented by Dr Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner (1867-1939)Maximilian Bircher-BennerMaximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner was a Swiss physician and a pioneer in nutritional research....
, a pioneer of organic medicine and wholefoods.
- Riz Casimir is a preparation of rice with curry sauce and minced pork blended with tropical fruits: pineapple, banana and cherries, sometimes with currant grape. It was first served in 1952 by the international chain of hotel and resorts MövenpickMövenpick Hotels & ResortsMövenpick Hotels & Resorts is an upscale international Swiss hotel chain. The hotels are primarily 5-star resort hotels and business/airport hotels....
.
- RöstiRöstiRösti is a Swiss dish consisting mainly of potatoes. It was originally a common breakfast eaten by farmers in the canton of Bern, but today is eaten all over Switzerland and also in many restaurants in the Western World. Many Swiss people consider rösti a national dish...
: This simple dish, similar to hash browns, is traditionally regarded as a Swiss German favorite. It has given its name to the "Rösti ditch", the imaginary line of cultural demarcation between the German and French regions of Switzerland. However, it is also eaten by the French-speaking Swiss.
- TirggelTirggelTirggel are traditional Christmas biscuits from Zürich, Switzerland. Made from flour and honey, they are thin, hard, and sweet.-History:Tirggel-like honey cakes were already popular in antiquity. The earliest known baking moulds for similar pastries date to 3rd millennium BC Mesopotamia...
are traditional ChristmasChristmasChristmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
biscuits from ZurichZürichZurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
. Made from flourFlourFlour is a powder which is made by grinding cereal grains, other seeds or roots . It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history...
and honeyHoneyHoney is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
, they are thin, hard, and sweet.
- ZopfZopfZopf or Züpfe is a type of Swiss bread made from white flour, milk, egg, butter and yeast. The dough is brushed with egg yolk before baking, lending it its golden crust. It is baked in the form of a plait and traditionally eaten on Sunday mornings...
(bread): There are dozens of types of bread in Switzerland. However, Zopf is a typical Swiss speciality for Sundays.
Recipes from the Italian part of Switzerland
- PizzoccheriPizzoccheriPizzoccheri are a type of short tagliatelle, a flat ribbon pasta, made with 80% buckwheat flour and 20% wheat flour. When classically prepared in Valtellina or in Graubünden, they are cooked along with greens , and cubed potatoes...
: Short tagliatelle made of buckwheatBuckwheatBuckwheat refers to a variety of plants in the dicot family Polygonaceae: the Eurasian genus Fagopyrum, the North American genus Eriogonum, and the Northern Hemisphere genus Fallopia. Either of the latter two may be referred to as "wild buckwheat"...
flour cooked along with greens and cubed potatoes.
- PolentaPolentaPolenta is a dish made from boiled cornmeal. The word "polenta" is borrowed from Italian.-Description:Polenta is made with ground yellow or white cornmeal , which can be ground coarsely or finely depending on the region and the texture desired.As it is known today, polenta derives from earlier...
: For centuries polenta was regarded as a meal for the poor. Corn was introduced to the south of what is now Canton Ticino as long ago as the beginning of the 17th century, which led to a change in the monotonous cuisine. But it took another 200 years before polenta - at first made of mixed flour, only later of pure cornmeal - became the staple dish of the area.
- SaffronSaffronSaffron is a spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the saffron crocus. Crocus is a genus in the family Iridaceae. Each saffron crocus grows to and bears up to four flowers, each with three vivid crimson stigmas, which are each the distal end of a carpel...
RisottoRisottoRisotto is a class of Italian dishes of rice cooked in broth to a creamy consistency. The broth may be meat-, fish-, or vegetable-based; many kinds include Parmesan cheese, butter, and onion...
is a common dish from TicinoTicinoCanton Ticino or Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland. Named after the Ticino river, it is the only canton in which Italian is the sole official language...
, the southernmost canton of Switzerland.
Recipes from the Graubünden Canton in Switzerland
- Bündner NusstorteBündner NusstorteThe Bündner Nusstorte , also known as Engadiner Nusstorte, is a traditional sweet, caramelised nut filled pastry from canton Graubünden in Switzerland. The modern filled Nusstorte was first widely available in the 1960s though it was invented in the 1920s...
: There are several different recipes for nut cake, but the most famous is probably the one from the Engadine, a valley in Canton Graubünden.
- ChurChurChur or Coire is the capital of the Swiss canton of Graubünden and lies in the northern part of the canton.-History:The name "chur" derives perhaps from the Celtic kora or koria, meaning "tribe", or from the Latin curia....
Meat Pie: A popular dish from Graubünden in south eastern Switzerland
- Graubünden BarleyBarleyBarley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
Soup: The most famous soup from Graubünden
- Pizokel with cabbage: Pizokel were eaten in a wide variety of ways. In some places when eaten by themselves they are known in Romansh as "bizochels bluts", or “bald pizokel”. If someone leaves a small amount of any kind of food on the serving dish for politeness sake, in the Engadine this is called "far sco quel dal bizoccal", meaning more or less “leaving the last pizokel”.
Haute Cuisine
According to the 2005 edition of world renowned Michelin GuideMichelin Guide
The Michelin Guide is a series of annual guide books published by Michelin for over a dozen countries. The term normally refers to the Michelin Red Guide, the oldest and best-known European hotel and restaurant guide, which awards the Michelin stars...
, Switzerland ranks 2nd worldwide in terms of stars awarded per capita.
Beverages
Rivella
Rivella is a soft drink from Switzerland, created by Robert Barth in 1952, which is produced from milk whey, and therefore includes ingredients such as lactose, lactic acid and minerals...
, a carbonated Swiss drink based on lactose
Lactose
Lactose is a disaccharide sugar that is found most notably in milk and is formed from galactose and glucose. Lactose makes up around 2~8% of milk , although the amount varies among species and individuals. It is extracted from sweet or sour whey. The name comes from or , the Latin word for milk,...
, is one of the most popular drinks in Switzerland. Apple juice
Apple juice
Apple juice is a fruit juice manufactured by the maceration and pressing of apples. The resulting expelled juice may be further treated by enzymatic and centrifugal clarification to remove the starch and pectin, which holds fine particulate in suspension, and then pasteurized for packaging in...
, both still and sparkling, is popular in many areas of Switzerland, and is also produced in the form of apple cider
Cider
Cider or cyder is a fermented alcoholic beverage made from apple juice. Cider varies in alcohol content from 2% abv to 8.5% abv or more in traditional English ciders. In some regions, such as Germany and America, cider may be termed "apple wine"...
. The chocolate drink Ovomaltine (known in the USA as "Ovaltine") originates in Switzerland and enjoys ongoing popularity, particularly with young people. Aside from being a beverage, the powder is also eaten sprinkled on top of a slice of buttered bread.
Wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
is produced in many regions of Switzerland, particularly the Valais
Valais
The Valais is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône from its headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps. The canton is one of the drier parts of Switzerland in its central Rhône valley...
, the Vaud
Vaud
Vaud is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and is located in Romandy, the French-speaking southwestern part of the country. The capital is Lausanne. The name of the Canton in Switzerland's other languages are Vaud in Italian , Waadt in German , and Vad in Romansh.-History:Along the lakes,...
, the Ticino
Ticino
Canton Ticino or Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland. Named after the Ticino river, it is the only canton in which Italian is the sole official language...
and the canton of Zurich
Canton of Zürich
The Canton of Zurich has a population of . The canton is located in the northeast of Switzerland and the city of Zurich is its capital. The official language is German, but people speak the local Swiss German dialect called Züritüütsch...
. Riesling X Sylvaner
Müller-Thurgau
Müller-Thurgau is a variety of white grape which was created by Hermann Müller from the Swiss Canton of Thurgau in 1882. It is a crossing of Riesling with Madeleine Royale. It is used to make white wine in Germany, Austria, Northern Italy, Hungary, England, in Australia, Czech Republic, Slovakia,...
is a common white wine produced in German-speaking parts of the country, while Chasselas
Chasselas
Chasselas or Chasselas Blanc is a wine grape variety grown in Switzerland, France, Germany, Portugal, Baja Norte, Mexico, Hungary and New Zealand.Theories of its origin vary. Pierre Galet believes it is a native Swiss variety....
is the most common white wine in the French-speaking parts of the country. Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir
Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...
is the most popular red grape in both the French-speaking and the German-speaking part, while this position is held by Merlot
Merlot
Merlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...
in the Italian-speaking part.
Absinthe
Absinthe
Absinthe is historically described as a distilled, highly alcoholic beverage. It is an anise-flavoured spirit derived from herbs, including the flowers and leaves of the herb Artemisia absinthium, commonly referred to as "grande wormwood", together with green anise and sweet fennel...
is being distilled officially again in its Val-de-Travers
Val-de-Travers (district)
Val-de-Travers District is a district in the canton of Neuchâtel, in Switzerland. It is famous for its clock industry. It is also famous for being the historical birthplace of absinthe which is now once again being distilled in the region...
birthplace, in the Jura
Jura mountains
The Jura Mountains are a small mountain range located north of the Alps, separating the Rhine and Rhone rivers and forming part of the watershed of each...
region of Switzerland, where it originated. Long banned by a specific anti-Absinthe article in the Swiss Federal Constitution
Swiss Federal Constitution
The Federal Constitution of 18 April 1999 is the third and current federal constitution of Switzerland. It establishes the Swiss Confederation as a federal republic of 26 cantons , contains a catalogue of individual and popular rights , delineates the responsibilities of the...
, it was legalized again in 2005, with the adoption of the new constitution. Now Swiss absinthe is also exported to many countries, with Kübler
Kübler Absinthe
Kübler Absinthe Superieure is a brand of absinthe, distilled in the Val-de-Travers region of Switzerland also known as the birthplace of absinthe'. Kübler Absinthe was first produced in 1863 and was the first brand to be sold legally in Switzerland after the national ban on absinthe was lifted in...
and La Clandestine Absinthe
La Clandestine Absinthe
La Clandestine Absinthe is a Swiss La Bleue, or clear, absinthe brand produced by Artemisia-Bugnon distilleries. It is an anise-flavored, distilled liquor containing the herb wormwood , and when prepared with cold water will louche.La Clandestine Absinthe comes in four main styles, as detailed...
amongst the first new brands to emerge. Wine and beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
can legally be purchased by youths of 16 or more years of age. Spirits and beverages containing distilled alcohol (including alcopops like Bacardi Breezer
Bacardi Breezer
Bacardi Breezer, Breezer for short, is a rum-based alcopop with 4% alcohol It comes in a variety of fruit flavours: lemon, peach, pineapple, apple, ruby grapefruit, lime, orange, blackberry, watermelon, cranberry, coconut, raspberry, blueberry, pomegranate and mango...
) can be bought at 18. Socialization with alcohol begins early and many have their first taste of alcohol in the family at the age of 14.
Damassine
Damassine
Damassine is a liqueur produced by distillation of the Damassine prune from the Damassinier tree..According to local tradition, the Crusaders or Bernard de Clairvaux brought seeds for the Damassinier plant back from the Orient . The Romans might have already known the fruit, cited in the Duhamel...
is a liqueur produced by distillation of the Damassine prune
Prune
A prune is any of various plum cultivars, mostly Prunus domestica or European Plum, sold as fresh or dried fruit. The dried fruit is also referred to as a dried plum...
from the Damassinier tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
and is produced in the Canton of Jura
Canton of Jura
The Republic and Canton of the Jura , also known as the Canton of Jura or Canton Jura, is one of the cantons of Switzerland. It is the newest of the 26 Swiss cantons, located in the northwestern part of Switzerland. The capital is Delémont...
.