The “Ämmitaler Ruschtig” label
Once you get to know the Emmental’s soft rolling hills, sleepy
valleys and romantic farmhouses you’ll understand why the
original Emmentaler cheese tastes best. The label “Ämmitaler
Ruschtig” (Emmentaler Rustic) stands for top quality, natural
foods that have been traditionally prepared by small producers
and includes a variety of cheeses, “Hamme” (farmhouse ham),
sausages, berry wines, and liqueurs.
Bern’s peaks of pleasure
Chocolate, onions, bears, and beer are the specialities of Switzerland’s
capital city, Bern. Among them are world-famous
products as well as lesser-known treats awaiting the intrepid
gourmet. Chocolate lovers have been enjoying Toblerone and
Ovomaltine, genuine products from the Bern region, for 100
years. And if you’re not an onion lover, you’ll become one when
you visit Bern’s celebrated “Zibelemärit” (onion market). It is well
worth getting up early to see the stands of local producers sell
artfully braided bunches of onions, to soak up the infectious and
exuberant early morning market atmosphere, and of course to
taste a warm slice of Zibelechueche (onion tart). The bear,
meanwhile, which appears on the city’s coat of arms, is a popular
motif for all kinds of local specialities: try the delicious
almond bears baked by Glatz, for example, or the local Gurten
beer.
Flavours of the region
Order a regional speciality at a Schweizer Mittelland restaurant,
and you are sure to be served something wholesome. Meat
lovers should try the “Berner Platte”: all kinds of meats and
sausages served with sauerkraut, green beans and boiled potatoes.
Also very popular is the crispy Berner Rösti, a version of
homefried potatoes. Favourite desserts, meanwhile, include the
“Seeländer Nidlechueche” – a rich cream-topped tart – and
“Emmentaler Meringues”. Wherever you eat in the Schweizer
Mittelland – with or without GaultMillau points – you are sure to
make all manner of happy gastronomic discoveries – your taste
buds are in for a treat.
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