Raclette cheese

Raclette, a pressed uncooked cheese, is a cheese defined in France under the 2007 cheese decree. In 2020, it represented just over 3% of French production, and its consumption is highly seasonal, strongly influenced by weather conditions. The vast majority of production is consumed in autumn and winter.

Its production involves a succession of operations to transform liquid cow's milk into a three-dimensional gel, which is then cut (décaillage) to produce curd. This curd is then delactosed, heated, molded, pressed and ripened before giving rise to raclette cheese. The parameters used to control these operations are key elements in guaranteeing a quality product with the expected sensory and functional properties, including the ability to spread when used hot. The physico-chemical mechanisms of this spreading are multifactorial and strongly influenced by the state of the fat, the protein network, but also the minerals and the water content of the cheese.