Racletti??

Cheese shop where I buy my cheeses here in Montreal not only sells Raclette cheese, but will rent you a raclette maker. If you can't buy Raclette in your city try going on line for a source.

Hi Jodi,

It is more commonly known as Raclette, which is the French name for it. Wikipedia has a nice article on raclette. If you go to any good cheese shop just ask for a good raclette, as some specific good-quality cheeses are marketed as being used exclusively for raclette.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raclette

Imported Raclette cheese is not that difficult to find in Northamerica. The small appliance (picture in the link) with all the little fry pans you need to do a propper Raclette event is a different matter. You may have to look around a bit to find a good one and they may be quite a bit more expensive than in Europe. It's a great way to have a fun dinner party, especially if you want to sit around the table for a bit longer. It's very popular for New Year's Eve dinners in Germany. In fact, the last time I had Raclette was for New Year's Eve 2008/09 with our German friends here in town ;-)

If you go to a specialty cheese store they may be able to rent out a Raclette applience. I know "Say Cheese" here in Calgary does it for $10

man, you guys are fast! Thanks for the great responses!

You can buy a raclette pan from Williams=Sonoms and I am sure that if you use google you can find it elsewhere.

I would like to know if anyone has ever made Raclette without a special plan?

If you want to buy your own Raclette here a couple of tips:

• Make sure you get one with 8 fry pans (6 just isn't enough)

• The top should be removable and dishwasher safe otherwise it's a heck of a cleaning job.

• To understand the pricing here are some comparisons: in Europe you can get one for about 30 Euro. Sears sells them for $80 and Williams-Sonoma for $140. Considering that such an appliance doesn't really get that much usage the cheaper ones usually last well enough.

"I would like to know if anyone has ever made Raclette without a special plan?"

We usually put the word out to our friends that they can just show up, but if they feel like bringing along a vegetable mix-in or a drink then that is fine too. I buy the cheese and set up bowls with all of the mix-ins and have the raclette grill all fired up before the guests arrive.

So, there's really no special planning at all here :) It's an easy low-key thing to throw together and it's a very good social food event. I don't know if it is the most authentic experience ever, since I haven't done it in Switzerland or France yet. But we all seem to have a good time, so that's what matters :) We were lucky to find the raclette grill and pans in a re-sale shop.

You can check prices for them online at froogle.com. Newegg has one for $30 w/ free shipping.

I'm thinking maryAnne's questin was about making raclette without a special PAN.

I first had reaclette more than 30 years ago, prepared by my in-laws who had lived in Switzerland. They made it front of an open fire---put the cut face of the half-wheel of raclette cheese on a heat-and fire-proof surface, and pushed it close enough to the fire to melt the surface and scorch the rind. Then scrape the melted part off onto a plate (especially the rind, which is very tasty) and return the raclette to its place in front of the fire, and repeat, and repeat. You pass a basket of the cooked potatoes and also pass around the little Gerkins and Bundnerfleisch (dried meat slices). It makes for a fun and social winter evening.

You could also just run slices of raclette under the broiler in little pans to melt, but that's no fun.

Hi - easy enough to do in a tephlon or non stick pan. Many larger stores with good cheese shops have it (sometimes its french Raclette - other times swiss). Try WHole foods, Gelsons, or cheese/gourmet shops. Many sell on line too if youre out too far. Add boiled new potatoes and small pickles and yorue good to go. (I and my family are swiss and do it often- best outside as it smells up the house!)

If youre a big fan - just get the small grill-heater table top version. www.shopswiss.com is roberts Imports - has an all swiss stuff mail order - not cheap but fun!

I've made raclette without the special heater, but it takes some trial and error. I bake it in the oven at low temperatures for about 10 minutes, then carefully scrape it onto the potatos. Then, replace in the oven until the next layer is soft enough to scrape off. It takes some experimenting with your particular oven and the size of the cheese wedge to get it right (I've had different results with the same settings on different ovens). I've tried to make it with Gruyere, but it doesn't melt as smoothly or evenly as raclette.

Jodi, as a former Minnesotan, I doubt you will find raclette cheese in Baudette. You've probably already discovered that! You may have to order it online or find it if you go down to The Cities sometime. Possibly you could find it in International Falls. I've made raclette without the special pan. I did this by spraying a teflon baking sheet with non-stick spray and putting thin slices of the cheese on it--spacing them well apart--and placing that under the broiler. It had none of the romance of the "official" raclette maker at the table, but worked. We then just slid the melted cheese off the baking sheet onto bread and topped that with the goodies. We had eaten raclette with friends we stayed with in Lucerne and loved it but didn't want to invest in a raclette maker we would rarely use.

"I'm thinking maryAnne's questin was about making raclette without a special PAN."

Haha, oh geez! I never really would have thought to try doing it without the pans, so the fact that might be a typo totally escaped me.

Oops! O_o

Lots for sale on Ebay i have had raclette several times in Germany lots of fun there not so much fun here

You can make it with a well seasoned cast iron pan. Put it under the broiler to melt, then bring the pan to the table--the cast iron retains heat well enough so the cheese doesn't congeal TOO quickly. You can just pop in back under the broiler if it does. No, not as much fun as having the tabletop melter but I hate having large kitchen gadgets/appliances I would only use a couple times a year, so I don't have one.

Raclette is widely available where I live, but I have relatives in Minn and Iowa and it's always surprising to me how hard it is for them to get imported/gourmet foods.

lol...yeah, Dwayne, we don't exactly have specialty cheese shops up here....maybe 300 miles south in the twin cities, but I'm thinking that an online resource would be my best option. Thanks to everyone for the replies!

We use Gruyere. You need a soft, easy-melting cheese, but I would experiment since there are probably many cheeses that would be really good.