Being served out of a big pan represented the togetherness of the hiking community, and my friend, host family, and I all enjoyed eating this rewarding warm meal after our collective effort to hike to the top of the mountain!
Yes! This food is a great example of how Switzerland’s unique geographic position allows other cultures to pour into its cuisine and lifestyle. I ate the German choucroute and the yummy French dessert pear pie.
Choucroute is a great example of how people’s environment, in the mountains, shapes their eating habits. Since the climate is so cold, food has to be preserved. The alpine winters limit the amount of fresh vegetables people can eat, so they preserve cabbage through fermentation, creating the yummy, savory, and slightly sour choucroute.
The freshness of the dish coming straight off the big pan made it all the more enjoyable because of how cold I was from the hike. The temperature was below freezing, so the warmth of the choucroute truly mattered! After eating the meal, my energy was revitalized, and I posed for this awesome picture at the top of the mountain before beginning my trek back to the base.
