Last chance to try some uniquely Swiss foods

So many threads about things people miss from home... what about the opposite?

I'll be on my way back home to the good ol' US of A soon, and this might be my last few weeks in Switzerland for the foreseeable future. I can already see this conversation happening as soon as I get back...

Them: "So did you try ?? It's amazing!"

Me: "Err... no? What did I miss?"

Them: "Only the most uniquely Swiss awesomeness ever!"

So. I'm taking suggestions. What will I kick myself for having not tried my entire time here? Preferably things I can try for lunch and/or pick up in small shops around Zürich.

Examples:

- Weird (but tasty!) meats/cheeses that rarely get exported

- Baked goods that don't really have an American equivalent

- Beverages that would be rare to find, even in US speciality shops

- Fresh made goods that are only packaged/preserved abroad

What foods would you absolutely miss if you left Switzerland?

I would had expected more replies at a thread like this.

Either way gastronomy here is a mixture of german(sausage, potatoe, bread, beer), french(wine, cheese, sauces), and Italian(Pastas).

The unique aspects of Swiss cuisine is the awkward mixture of potatoe an cheese( raqluette) and Fondue, but they are not wild or crazy in anyway).

Just remember to buy enough chocolate for everyone back home, and cheeses of course, they make excellent gifts specially the chocolates.

Edit: I understand that eating cat used to be a thing here specially in Christmas but it is phasing out, also have yourself some horse meat I understand it is extremely delicious( and it is illegal in the USA, hard to believe they are exporters), so there you have it go get some pfeferdfleisch and some Dog sausages(the activists hate these).

I'd miss everything from Wildsaison: hirschpfeffer with chestnuts and rotkraut, wild boar, chamois... all of it!

I'd miss Schabziger butter on my pork steak.

I'd miss Belper Knolle cheese, rolled in black pepper.

I'd miss the coarse Buurewurscht they sell at Luzern Fasnacht.

You're just in time for the first; the second and third are easy to get hold of round Zurich; you're out of luck for the last one, I'm afraid.

From my area specifically, good absinthe and Oeil de Perdrix (very dry rosé, and Pinot Noir). Also absinthe flavoured 'saucisson Neuchâtelois', Jura salé cheese (like aged Gruyères but from here)- tomme au cumin, Jacot chocolats made with the finest Criollo chocolate and NO palm oil, Neuchâtel 'saucisse à rôtir', gâteau aux noisettes (hazelnut tart) et gâteau au vin blanc (white wine tart).

Oh and Cenovis and Rivella bleu

Foods I would miss (and which are available/in season at this time of year) if I moved to the US:

Speckwürfeli. Nothing special, they are just bacon bits - but I appreciate the small diced form factor instead of slices that I then have to cut up or crumble myself.

Burrata. It's a little pouch of mozzarella (and you ain't never had mozzarella like this either) with a ridiculously delicious oozy mozzarella-and-cream filling.

(Yes, I know it's not Swiss, it's Italian, yada yada. Don't care. The OP can at least get it in Zürich and chances are he won't be able to in the US.)

Saucisson fribourgeois or saucisson vaudois (fribourgeois is smokier, vaudois easier to find in supermarkets). The typical preparation is just simmered (don't boil it) for about an hour but treat yourself: do that, and then stick it in a hot oven for a few minutes before serving to crisp up the skin. No Swiss I know eats it this way... and none of them know what they're missing. Seriously I could eat this, with mashed potatoes and leeks, about three nights a week this time of year if my waistline would permit it.

Blut- und Leberwurst . Blood sausage and liver sausage. Simmer one of each in hot water (again, don't boil, they will burst) and eat with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. You don't eat the casings of these so no point crisping them up in the oven á la recipe above.

Game (venison, wild boar, etc.) with all the trimmings. We're right in the middle of the season for that now, so go find a restaurant that's known for it and eat Hirschpfeffer (or Rehpfeffer , or anything else on the menu ending in -pfeffer ) with all the trimmings. Did I mention the trimmings?

Heisse Marroni . Hot roasted chestnuts sold by street vendors in a special two-sided paper bag. One side is for the nuts, the other side for the shells so you don't have to litter. Very Swiss and also very tasty.

Rösti. Similar to hash browns, a bit butterier and crustier. There are packet mixes in the supermarket but just don't. Find a restaurant where they do it really well and have it there.

ETA: Ovomaltine crunchy cream . Forget Nutella. Eat this.

Foods I wouldn't personally miss, but can imagine you might someday be asked about :

Rivella. Soft drink made from whey. Something of an acquired taste.

Cervelat. A sort of overstuffed hot dog, nationally beloved for reasons unfathomable to me. I think it must be a childhood nostalgia thing. But yes, if you are out on a hike and you stop for lunch and there is a fire, grill a cervelat over that fire and eat it. It's not unpalatable and then you can say you've done it.

Yeah I forgot Absynthe is original from Switzerland, I believe that ban of this drink has been lifted, so you can bring a couple home for presents.

Edit: Cervelats are delicious they are awesome for salads.

The Basler leckerlies are absolutely addictive, they also make sensational gifts, if you start eating them you won't be able to stop.

I think might have to pass on the dog sausage (not against it... just those old pet-not-food thinking is hard to shake)

...and I've heard good things about horse steaks. Last time I had horse was in Tokyo, and it definitely wasn't a steak. But since I don't trust myself cooking one up myself, the real trick would be to find a steak restaurant I can afford in this town!

I have hunters in the family, so the wild game meat is not so uncommon. But chamois... is it more antelope than goat? Funny how I only ever thought of them as ways to keep the water spots off my car!

Is this normally served on something? Some of the google images seem to indicate it's works on top of simple pasta?

It's as much the trimmings as the meat itself. It's the whole package, if you like.

Yeah, it's like a Swiss Parmesan. But I used to shave it off and eat it on buttered crackers...

Oh dear, did I forget to mention the trimmings? Silly of me.

Note to self: another time be sure to mention the trimmings.

The stuff I miss when I am not in Switzerland (in no particular order)

Hard boiled eggs from the Coop

Caotina

Kaggi Fret

Sunday bread

Knopfli

Proper Rosti

Cervelat

Aromat

Floralp Butter

Branche bars (Coop Bio)

Dole & Fendant

And my kids love Rivella (but it's not quite my tempo)

Like 'Spätzli' you can't have game without 'spätzli'. Buy a special 'spätzli' making 'lid' (like a lid with large holes, and you 'grate' the spätzli mixture over a pan of hot water.

... but if you're moving to the US soon, eat Spätzli (and the other trimmings, did I mention yet that the trimmings are important?) in a restaurant first so that you can see if you actually like them well enough to want to schlep an additional kitchen gadget across the ocean.

Spatzli is good with anything, specially goulash.

And soooo easy and quick to make, anywhere in the world:

Swabian egg pasta sieves

[](http://www.ottmetall.ch/75008/Uploaded/admin%7Cknoepfli.jpg)

with recipe suggestions complete with pastry beak robust metal designs thermal-insulated reinforced plastic handles easy to clean

Swabian egg pasta sieves no. 11620 Privat

Thermal-insulated reinforced plastic handles

Eat your way through this thread

Bon appétit

Or just heat up a skewer and poke holes in a large plastic lid for a quick and easy spazzlisieb. (it solved my problem when in Ozz)

You clearly have no knowledge of either Swiss or Italian food.

Tom