Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A Swiss dish consisting of cheese melted and served on boiled potatoes or bread.
  • noun A firm cheese used in making this dish.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A dish, of Swiss origin, similar to a fondue, consisting of melted cheese traditionally served on boiled potatoes and accompanied with pickles.
  • noun A firm cheese suitable for use in this dish.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French, from racler, to rake, scrape, from Provençal rasclar, to rake, from Old Provençal, from Vulgar Latin *rāsculāre, from *rāsculum, diminutive of Latin rāstrum, rake; see rēd- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French raclette, the diminutive form of racler

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word raclette.

Examples

  • As the cheese melts you scrape it off the word "raclette" comes from the French word "racler," which means "to scrape" and put it on the potatoes.

    Raspberry Shortcake 2006

  • As the cheese melts you scrape it off the word "raclette" comes from the French word "racler," which means "to scrape" and put it on the potatoes.

    Raclette 2006

  • According to wikipedia, "Drinking water along with your raclette is said to interfere with the digestion of the cheese, in rare occasions causing death by cheese balls forming in the stomach"

    zigzag e 2009

  • A few weeks ago, at Sur la Table, I taught a class in raclette.

    Tigers & Strawberries » Pastry for Butterfingers 2005

  • Being the uneducated culinary dolt, I had to look up 'raclette'.

    zigzag e 2009

  • Here my mom is receiving the "raclette" that Nadia, Julie and I got her and dad.

    Happiness and Bliss!!! Carlo Artieri 2005

  • Here my mom is receiving the "raclette" that Nadia, Julie and I got her and dad.

    Archive 2005-12-01 Carlo Artieri 2005

  • homemade raclette, which is, in fact, right up there with fondue as the official melted cheese dish of the Alpine nation.

    NPR Topics: News 2010

  • On one of the conference nights, participants were taken to a lovely restaurant miles above the city for meat fondue, raclette and other delicacies.

    Magda Abu-Fadil: "Bezaubern" Zurich on a Short Business Trip Magda Abu-Fadil 2011

  • On one of the conference nights, participants were taken to a lovely restaurant miles above the city for meat fondue, raclette and other delicacies.

    Magda Abu-Fadil: "Bezaubern" Zurich on a Short Business Trip Magda Abu-Fadil 2011

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • A semi-soft cows' milk cheese originally from the Valais region of Switzerland, but now also produced in France and Michigan. This cheese has it's own special grill! See raclette grill.

    September 15, 2009

  • Tonight I'll eat lightly grilled halved pears and plums topped with a dollop of raclette and prosciutto, and perhaps a drizzle of fruity olive oil....

    September 15, 2009

  • psst... I think you want another T in prosciutto, no?

    September 15, 2009

  • Tanks c_b. Added a "t".

    September 15, 2009

  • Paired this salty swiss cheese (sans holes) with sliced tomatoes, plums, and pears this week. Recommended!

    September 20, 2009

  • methinks someone might be suffering from a raclette addiction....

    *wonders idly about the concept of a semi-soft cow*

    September 20, 2009