Raclette seasoning is sprinkled onto the melted cheese to enliven its flavor. Finding none in the US, I figured out how to make it from scratch.
Raclette, a dish served during the chilly Alpine winters of Switzerland, Austria, Germany and France, is essentially cheese heated until it begins to melt and bubble. There is a special grill for the dish; sausages and potatoes are placed above the heat source to sear while below, paddles filled with cheese are placed to perfectly melt. Required in my house are the traditional accompaniments of pickled onions, cornichons, endive salad and a lively, minerally white wine. And a jar of raclette seasoning.
Raclette seasoning, a spice blend including paprika and pepper, is sprinkled onto the cheese to enliven its flavor. It is a must on our table. Stefan once had a small bottle of Zurich-based Butty Fondue-Raclette spice that we hauled out of the darkest reaches of the spice cabinet anytime raclette is called for, typically during the cooler, winter months. When that little bottle was just about empty and no trip to Switzerland was planned, we needed Butty, stat. Butty is not sold Stateside. And the internet proved useless in this quest. So I figured out how to make raclette seasoning.
With no other path forward, I attempted to replicate the raclette seasoning to match the taste of the Butty Fondue-Raclette seasoning. Note that thyme and caraway seeds are NOT used to season raclette in the Canton of Zurich. (Well, at least in the house Stefan grew up in, in the Canton of Zurich.) If you find a recipe that includes either, please report your results.
Here are mine:
Raclette Seasoning
Note: Beau Monde seasoning, around since the days of Ernest Hemingway (he liked it in his hamburger), is a mix of salt, onion and celery seed. It is available at Safeway and other stores. If you cannot find it, substitute ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon finely ground celery seed, and ½ teaspoon onion powder.
3 teaspoons (8 grams, .3 oz.) cumin
2 teaspoons (6 grams, .2 oz.) finely ground black pepper
2 teaspoons (6 grams, .2 oz.) ground nutmeg
1 ½ teaspoons (4 grams, .15 oz.) ground mustard
1 ½ teaspoons (4 grams, .15 oz.) California paprika (sweet)
1 ½ teaspoons (4 grams, .15 oz.) Beau Monde seasoning
1 ½ teaspoons (4 grams, .15 oz.) ground fenugreek
1 ½ teaspoons (4 grams, .15 oz.) finely ground garlic powder (not salt)
Thoroughly mix spices together and place in a spice jar. Seal tightly until needed. Before use, have the Zürcher in the house taste it. Additional nutmeg and cumin are invariably requested.
As for the Butty, we will pick some up the next time we are in CH.
