Can there be some ingredient? If you’ve ever been tempted to fly to Italy just to get a slice of pizza, then you’ll want to read on, as I reveal where it is appropriate to order an entire plate of melted cheese. Be warned: The call of cheesy foods may have you buying a plane ticket.
Cheesy Foods Worth Traveling For
From bread ships carrying cheese to fromage that is flaming, here are seven foods worth traveling for.
Raclette (Switzerland)
Whereas fondue requires some sort of superfluous automobile for ingesting it (such as bread), raclette doesn’t force you to the illusion that you are here for anything but melted cheese. This famed Swiss dish is produced of the eponymous Valaisan cheese, a wheel of that is cooked along with the melted cheese scraped out right on to your plate. The Swiss will throw on a couple of small berries, gherkins, and pickled onions, but they are mainly for decoration. You’ll be eating a plateful of cheese with a knife and fork. And you’re going to have an excuse to drink–based on the Swiss, only wine, beer, or hot tea ought to be consumed with raclette, since they believe that routine water will cause the cheesy food to congeal in your gut.
Cheese Wheel Pasta (Various)
If you are the sort of person who says “stop” when the waiter is grating fresh cheese on to your pasta, then you’re likely to love cheese wheel pasta. This cheesy food unites two of your favorite ingredients (carbohydrates and cheese) into one beautifully decadent dish. It’s made by taking a complete round of Parmigiano-Reggiano that’s been partly hollowed out into a bowl shape. Hot cooked pasta or risotto is added into the wheel of cheese and tossed until it creates the greatest gooey sauce. You can get this dish in Italian restaurants across the U.S., or in Italy. Can not wait to travel for pasta? You can purchase a complete 82-pound wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano on Amazon and create your own.
Khachapuri Adjaruli (Georgia)
Fluffy, crispy, pizza crust-like dough is formed into a boat shape, and that boat is filled with melted cheese, hunks of butter and a cracked raw egg and introduced to you. This is Georgia’s famous khachapuri Adjaruli, and your job is to combine the butter, egg, and cheese together and then devour it.
Cheese Saganaki (Greece)
Cheese saganaki is a classic Greek appetizer that entails frying the external edges of a hunk of cheese, which makes the outside crispy and the interior melty. Many U.S. tavernas put a star-spangled twist on this cheesy dish by pouring a shot of ouzo within the cheese and lighting it on fire tableside, which generates not only an enjoyable spectacle, but an even crunchier crust.
Provoleta (Argentina)
Argentina is famous for its world-famous steaks, but locals know that the nation’s real specialty is provoleta–provolone cheese that is seasoned with a magic blend of spices, thickly sliced and cooked on the grill. It’s usually served alone on a plate as an appetizer with a basket of bread, but you will also find versions that are stuffed with meat or vegetables.
Aligot (France)
If you’ve ever looked at rich, buttery mashed potatoes and wondered how to make them even more unhealthy, France has the answer for you, in the kind of aligot. Aligot takes traditional mashed potatoes and blends in sufficient cheese that if you take a forkful, long strings of cheese will cling to a fork. Next step: French fried aligot?
Fondue (Switzerland)
Can there be anything more glorious over a cold day than a literal pot of melted cheese? Not according to Switzerland, which will be where fondue was invented, supposedly as a way for peasants to consume aged cheese and stale bread. Although it’s tempting to order an entire fondue on your own, it’s designed to be more of a societal dish, with friends gathering around a table for hours at a time to gratify together. Be warned that Swiss tradition dictates that if you drop your bread into the pot, you are going to need to pay a penalty (like finishing a dare).