✳PROTECTED ORIGIN (AOP)
Raclette du
Valais AOP
Made only in Valais from raw milk, in mountain and alpine dairies, and ripened for at least three months on spruce boards.
RAW MILKVALAIS ONLYAOP / PDO
AOP SINCE 2007↗INDEPENDENT RACLETTE GUIDE · DE / FR / EN
Raclette in
Switzerland,with sources.
Which cheese, how much per person, how to scrape a half wheel: practical guides to a Swiss raclette night, with sources for the figures.
Plan your next raclette↗
Valaisraclette1574
ILLUSTRATION: RACLETTE PLATE WITH POTATOES AND CORNICHONS
200–250gCHEESE PER PERSON,
ACCORDING TO SWISSMILK
ACCORDING TO SWISSMILK
1574CHEESE ALREADY BEING
MELTED IN VALAIS
MELTED IN VALAIS
3 monthsMINIMUM RIPENING, RACLETTE DU VALAIS AOP
(2 MONTHS «À LA COUPE»), SPECIFICATION ART. 11
(2 MONTHS «À LA COUPE»), SPECIFICATION ART. 11
01 / KNOW YOUR CHEESE
Two kinds of
raclette cheese.
Raclette du Valais AOP: raw milk only. Raclette Suisse: raw, thermised or pasteurised milk. For the electric grill, Swissmilk prefers pasteurised.
Raclette du
AOP SINCE 2007↗✳MADE IN SEVERAL REGIONS
Raclette
Suisse
Can come from central Switzerland, Graubünden or the Bern region, made from raw, thermised or pasteurised milk, and ripened 3 to 6 months.
SWISS REGIONSPEPPER, HERBS, GARLIC3–6 MONTHS
NO ADDITIVES↗02 / HOW IT IS DONE
How raclette
is done
in Valais.
Raclette du Valais was first melted at an open wood fire. Since the 1950s the raclette oven has increasingly taken over, yet many Valais restaurants still use the fire. In many homes, the electric grill is standard.
01Warm the cheese
02Wait for the melt
03Scrape & serve
04Next round
PHOTO: VALAIS, 20 JULY 2019, KA23 13 / CC BY-SA 4.0
MORE ON THIS SITE
Ready for
the first pan?
01
How-to & planner
Work out how much cheese and potatoes to buy, then serve it the way it's done in Valais.
Open page 02Three recipes
The original, pear & thyme, and mixed mushrooms. Ingredients and method for two.
Open page 03Gear guide
Tabletop grill, half-wheel melter or open fire: what each one needs.
Open page05 / VALAIS CHEESEMAKERS
Nine dairies
in Valais.
Nine producers from the directory of the Raclette du Valais AOP association, grouped by region.
Select a region. Explore the cheesemakers, then follow the official links to check opening hours, ordering and visits directly with them.
CANTON OF VALAIS
Valais,
Switzerland.
Milk, cheesemaking and ripening for Raclette du Valais AOP all happen in Valais.
Laiterie de Verbier
Verbier / Val de Bagnes
Fromagerie d'Orsières
Orsières / Entremont
Fromagerie d'Etiez
Vollèges / Val de Bagnes
Fromagerie d'Anniviers
Vissoie / Val d’Anniviers
Laiterie Centrale d’Evolène
Les Haudères / Val d’Hérens
Fromagerie de Saint-Martin
Saint-Martin / Val d’Hérens
Bio-Bergkäserei Goms
Gluringen / Goms
Sennerei Simplon
Simplon Dorf / Simplon
Sennerei Visperterminen
Visperterminen / Visp
Independent selection from the official association directory. Visits are not guaranteed; check with each producer.See the official producer directory ↗
THE RACLETTE ATLAS MANIFESTO
More time
together.
Less hurry.
Alexander and Nicolas Walker of the Walker mountain dairy in Bitsch usually take turns scraping. The pause between servings lasts as long as it takes to tell a hearty joke (Swissmilk).
Set your table↗06 / GOOD TO KNOW
Questions
and answers.
Short answers; the guides go into detail.
Is Raclette du Valais AOP different from Raclette Suisse?
Yes. Raclette du Valais AOP has a protected Valais origin and uses raw cow’s milk. Raclette Suisse is made in several Swiss regions and can use raw, thermised or pasteurised milk.
How much raclette cheese should I buy?
Plan about 200–250 g of cheese and a similar amount of potatoes per person. Allow another 150–200 g per person for all other sides together. Scraping a wheel? Add around 300 g to the total cheese amount.
Is raclette only a winter thing?
Not at all. Raclette Suisse says raclette suits winter, spring, summer and autumn, indoors or outdoors: at the table, on the balcony, when camping or in the garden.
Can I eat the rind?
Raclette Suisse states that the rind of its natural cheese is edible. For a particular wheel or flavoured variety, follow the producer’s instructions.
What should I drink with it?
The Raclette du Valais producers recommend a Valais Fendant. Raclette Suisse lists herbal or black tea, dry white wine, rosé, light red wine and sparkling apple juice.
Is raclette cheese vegetarian?
Not always. Raclette du Valais AOP uses animal rennet, and some other Swiss raclette cheeses do too. For a strictly vegetarian meal, look for cheese explicitly made with microbial rennet.
Sources
Sources for the figures in the numbers, cheese, ritual, map and manifesto sections and the drinks answer. All checked on 1 November 2026.
- Swiss PDO-PGI Association: “Walliser Raclette AOP”: 1574, raw milk, at least 3 months, Valais only, AOP since 2007
- Raclette Suisse: “Our cheese”: 3 to 6 months, flavours, no additives
- Swissmilk: “20 Dinge, die du über Raclette noch nicht wusstest” (in German): regions and milk types of Raclette Suisse, pasteurised milk for the electric grill
- Swissmilk: “Endlich geklärt: Wie man Raclette richtig zubereitet.” (in German): the Walker family, Bitsch
- Raclette du Valais: “Originalrezept” (in German): wood fire, raclette oven since the 1950s, Fendant
- Raclette Suisse: “Preparation”: electric grill at home, drinks