switzerland

FAST FACTS OFFICIAL NAME: The Swiss Confederation

POPULATION: 7,446,000

CAPITAL: Bern

AREA: 15,940 square miles (41,284 square kilometers)

OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: German, French, Italian, Romansch

MONEY: Swiss franc MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES: Jura, Alps

MAJOR RIVERS: Rhône, Rhine

Swiss Flag

 Map of Switzerland

NATURE The Swiss Alps are high, snow-covered mountains most of which are over 13,000 feet (4,000 meters). The most famous peak is the Matterhorn which is 14,692 feet (4,478 meters) tall, but the highest peak is Dufourspitze at 15,203 feet (4,634 meters).

Scientists are concerned that glaciers in the Swiss Alps have lost a lot of ice coverage in the past 40 years. This may be related to global climate change. Rapid melting of the glaciers could cause flooding to the villages below.

Most animals in Switzerland live in the mountains. The ibex, a species of mountain goat, was hunted to near extinction in the early 1800s. The species has since been reintroduced and more than 15,000 ibex now live in the Swiss Alps. Hikers may also encounter chamois, another goatlike animal, and marmots. The forests of Switzerland are also home to deer, rabbits, foxes, badgers, squirrels, and many bird species.

PEOPLE & CULTURE Switzerland is one of the world’s wealthiest countries. The Swiss are well known for their watches and clocks.

There is not a single official language in Switzerland. People speak one of several languages, including Swiss German, French, and Italian.

GEOGRAPHY Switzerland is a small mountainous country located in central Europe. This landlocked country is about the size of New Jersey and is between France and Italy. It is also bordered by Austria, Germany, and Liechtenstein.

Most of the population lives in the plateau which is between the high Alps in the south and the Jura mountains in the north. The mountainous area in the south is sparsely populated.

Swiss franc Photograph by Mrtolc, Dreamstime

GOVERNMENT The country is made up of 26 cantons or states, which form the confederation. The leader of the government is the president. Both the president and vice president are elected by the Federal Assembly from the Federal Council. They serve a one-year term. Elections are usually held in December.

Representatives of the cantons are elected to the assembly for four-year terms.

 HISTORY Switzerland was formed in 1291 as a union of three states and became an independent country in 1815. The constitution, adopted in 1848, does not allow for troops to be sent to serve in foreign wars. The country has remained neutral in conflicts around the world, including both world wars.

Switzerland did not become a member of the United Nations until 2002, and is not a member of the European Union.

 [|Switzerland]  World Cup     =Top 10 Swiss foods – with recipes =  == **Swiss food is influenced by French, German and Italian cuisine, but each region adds its own traditional touch. Explore Swiss cuisine by canton with this list of top foods in Switzerland.** == Swiss food is influenced by French, German and north Italian cuisine with lots of regional dishes, many of which are based on cheese and potatoes, the ingredients readily available to the Alpine farmers of old. One thing's for sure, you won't go hungry in Switzerland.

Cheese fondue is a great meal to share with friends. It's a dish made of melted cheese (//gruyère// and //emmentaler//) and other ingredients, such as garlic, white wine, a little cornflour/corn starch and often kirsch (cherry brandy), served up at the table in a special ceramic pot called a //caquelon,// with a small burner underneath it to keep the fondue at constant temperature. You spear small cubes of bread onto long-stemmed forks and dip them into the hot cheese (taking care not to lose the bread in the fondue). The term ‘fondue' has come to describe other dishes where food is dipped into a pot of hot liquid, such as //fonduebourguignonne// (beef cooked in hot oil) and chocolate fondue. __Make your own:__
 * Cheese fondue **
 * Here's the classic fondue recipe – from Switzerland.
 * Jamie Oliver has this easy cheese fondue recipe.
 * Try this 5-star recipe with 100 great reviews.
 *  This recipe uses beer in place of wine.
 * Sweeten up with a chocolate version.

<span class="article_content">//** Rösti **// //Rösti// is a potato dish made by frying (or occasionally baking) flat round patties of coarsely grated raw or parboiled (semi-cooked), seasoned potato in oil. They're crisp on the outside and soft and melting inside. Sometimes bacon, onion, cheese – and even apple – are added to the mix. Eat it as a side dish to accompany fried eggs and spinach or a sausage meat called //fleischkäse.// It was originally eaten as a breakfast by Bern farmers but these days you'll find it enjoyed all over the world as well as here in Switzerland where it's considered a national dish. <span class="article_content">__Make your own:__
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Kalimati,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">A Swiss recipe for a national dish.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Kalimati,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"> This version is baked in the oven.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Kalimati,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">A delicious English version with cabbage and cheese from Delia.

You may have had muesli for breakfast before, but did you know that it was invented in Switzerland around 1900, by a Dr Maximilian Bircher-Benner? Believing that a diet of cereals, fruits and vegetables was better for humans than a heavy meat-based diet, he created //birchműesli// – a mix of rolled oat flakes, fruit, nuts, lemon juice and condensed milk – for patients in his Zurich sanatorium. It's still eaten today, and not only eaten at breakfast but sometimes in the evening, too.
 * //[[image:http://www.expatica.com/upload/casey/CHfood3.jpg width="164" height="236" align="right" caption="Top 10 Swiss foods: Birchermuseli"]]Bircherműesli// **

__Make your own:__
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Kalimati,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"> This recipe has good reviews.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Kalimati,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">Try this one in German.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Kalimati,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">Yotam Ottolenghi's experimental take on the classic.

Raclette is the name of a Swiss cheese made from cow's milk (slightly nutty, a little like //gruyère//) but it's also the name of a very popular meal. In the old days, an entire wheel of cheese was held up in front of a fire and as the cheese melted, it was scraped off onto a plate to be eaten. The name is derived from the French //racler//, meaning ‘to scrape'. Today, slices of //raclette// are melted in table-top raclette pans or grills, and can be accompanied by small potatoes cooked in their skins, vegetables//, charcuterie////,// pickled gerkins and onions, and bread. With a modern raclette grill, you melt the cheese on one layer and can scrape it over the grilled vegetables and meats.
 * //Raclette// **



__Make your own:__
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Kalimati,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">Try this traditional Swiss recipe;
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Kalimati,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">or this one, which pairs the rich cheese with carrot and celeriac salads;
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Kalimati,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"> here's a Swiss recipe (in German) for a //raclette// with chicken.

The //bűndnernusstorte//, sometimes called an //engadinernusstorte//, is a yummy caramelised nut-filled pastry originating from the canton of Graubűnden. It's made in small independent bakeries all over the canton, each of which have their own variation on the basic recipe of short-crust pastry made from flour, sugar, egg, butter and salt with a filling of caramelised sugar, cream and chopped nuts, usually walnuts. Enjoy it a piece as a dessert (it's very rich), with a cup of coffee or tea. <span class="article_content">__Make your own:__
 * //Bűndnernusstorte// **
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Kalimati,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">Follow the photos in this simple step-by-step recipe.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Kalimati,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"> Here's a Swiss recipe – in German,
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Kalimati,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">...and another, with five-star reviews.

Saffron is grown in the Swiss canton of Valais, and it's an essential ingredient of a traditional Ticino dish often served with a//luganighe// sausage, a raw sausage made with pork, spices and red wine. Ticino is the southern most canton of Switzerland, sharing a border with the Italian regions of Piedmont and Lombardy, and the one canton where Italian is the official language. Saffron risotto is a comforting dish made from risotto rice cooked slowly with onions, stock, saffron threads, wine and cheese, and easy to make at home.
 * Saffron risotto **

__Make your own:__
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Kalimati,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"> Here's a recipe for saffron risotto with //luganighe// sausage;
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Kalimati,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">this is a Swiss recipe in German for the same dish;
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Kalimati,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">or try this recipe, which uses charred leeks in the saffron risotto.

This translates as ‘cut meat Zurich style', but if you see it on a menu in Switzerland the dish will be made using strips of veal (calf meat) and sometimes veal liver. The veal is cooked with mushrooms, onions, wine and cream and usually eaten with //rösti// (see above), noodles or rice. You can substitute the veal with chicken or pork if you're making it yourself. <span class="article_content">__Make your own:__
 * //Zurchergeschnetzeltes// **
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Kalimati,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"> Classic, all star recipe.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Kalimati,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">Try it out in German.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Kalimati,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">Here's another version.

There are many types of bread in Switzerland but one of the most popular and delicious is a soft white loaf called //zopf.// You'll be able to recognise it easily because it's a plaited loaf (the word //zopf//means ‘braid'), with a golden crust, very much like the Jewish bread called //challah//. Some say it originates from an ancient custom of widows cutting off their braids and burying them with their husbands. The dough is made from white flour, milk, eggs, butter and yeast, plaited into a braid and then brushed with egg yolk before baking. It's traditionally eaten on Sunday mornings.
 * //**//Zopf//**// **

__Make your own:__


 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Kalimati,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"> This recipe has rave reviews.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Kalimati,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">There are great photos with this recipe, including how to braid the bread (it's easier than it looks).
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Kalimati,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">Here's an authentic Swiss recipe translated into English.

If you like meat and are feeling very hungry, then you'll love the Bernese speciality the //Berner platte// (‘Bernese platter'). It consists of a whole range of meats and sausages, which may include beef, ham, smoked bacon, smoked beef and pork tongue, spare ribs, pork knuckle, pork loin and shoulder, marrow bone­­ – oh and there's some juniper-flavoured sauerkraut, potatoes and dried beans in there, too. The dish was created on March 5, 1798 after the Bernese defeated the French army at Neuenegg. To celebrate they held a huge feast, with everyone bringing along whatever they had to hand, hence the variety and predominance of preserved meats and other foods. <span class="article_content">__Make your own:__
 * //Berner platte// **
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Kalimati,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"> This recipe is in German;
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Kalimati,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">...and so is this.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Kalimati,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"> This recipe in English uses a slow cooker.

<span class="article_content">** //Älplermagronen// ** Sometimes called herdsman's macaroni, //alplermagronen// ­is a traditional all-in-one dish from the German part of Switzerland. It uses all the ingredients that were available to the herdsmen who were looking after their cows on the mountain pastures of the slopes of the Alps: cheese, potatoes, onions, macaroni, milk or cream – and apples. The classic version is made by layering cooked potatoes and macaroni with cream and cheese, baking it in the oven and then serving it with fried onion rings and a stewed apple sauce on top. Sometimes it comes with bacon as well. It's a hearty meal that will really warm you up a cold night.

__Make your own:__
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Kalimati,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">Try this authentic recipe from Switzerland (in English).
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Kalimati,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"> This recipe, in German, is easy and delicious.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,Kalimati,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"> Here's one expat's take on the dish.