I recently read and enjoyed an article on The Daily Meal by its editor-in-chief, award-winning food and wine writer Colman Andrews, also a co-founder of Saveur. The title of the article, “The Unexpected, Very Good Wines of Switzerland,” tells you what it’s about, as well as Andrews’s take on the situation. I was, however, disappointed by the writer’s characterization of the country as a “land of cuckoo clocks and chocolate.”
It reminded me of another description of this country where I – an American who also has Swiss nationality – have lived my entire adult life: that of Paul Krugman, American economist, Nobel Prize winner, writing a couple of years back in the New York Times about the great American health care debate. Krugman gave the thumbs up to the Swiss health insurance system but describes the country as a nation of “lederhosen-wearing holey-cheese eaters.”
So just what is typically Swiss?
Here’s my problem. Chocolate and holey cheese (Emmental) are indeed quintessentially Swiss, but it would be nice to see some of the other icons get more of a play instead of seeing these two in a constant state of overuse.
If you want the leather shorts known as lederhosen, however, try Bavaria or the Tirol: lederhosen are not a Swiss phenomenon. The cuckoo clock thing isn’t quite as bad – the clocks didn’t originate in Switzerland (they hail from the Black Forest in Germany where they were produced as early as the 18th century) but Swiss “chalet-style” clocks did start to be produced as tourist items in Switzerland when the country began to draw visitors in larger numbers at the turn of the 19th century.
So in view of all the triteness and misinformation out there (the above are just two examples out of a whole slew of them), I was particularly pleased to see while shopping this week-end at my neighborhood Coop supermarket that the chain – the second largest in Switzerland – has started to sell a shopping bag with a collage of all that is “typically Swiss” on it.
The collage covers the whole 36 x 36 cm (14 x 14 in.) bag that is part of the retailer’s “Eco-Plan.” It is made out of 100% recycled plastic, and is meant to be used over and over. It costs 2 francs ($2.20) and is available at check-out, where the cashier signs and dates the bag when you pay for it so next time you come in they can see it’s already paid for. (The tidiness of that little system being pretty typically Swiss in and of itself.)
What the Swiss See as Swiss
Now this is a bag designed for use by Mr. and Ms Swiss Person all over the country – in the German, French and Italian speaking parts. So it features things that all Swiss would recognize as being typical; unlike the chalet clocks (which are still being produced), the bag is not made for tourists.
So what’s on it? Obviously Alps, including the Matterhorn, rolling green hills, and lakes. A paper boat made out of a map is symbolic not only of sailboats and steamers that ply the country’s many lakes but of the seamless transportation network – roads, trains, trams: the map clearly shows rail and road networks – in this country of which the Swiss are justifiably proud.
Cows of course, gentian and edelweiss, a pot of cheese fondue, the red and white flag, a Swiss army knife, a skier, hiking boots, an alphorn player and a St. Bernard dog. Also Swiss francs, a reminder that unlike its neighbors France, Germany, Italy and Austria, Switzerland is not a member of the EU or euro and has its own currency – of which, once again, it is very proud.
In an interesting twist, instead of a gold bar, another Swiss icon, the bag’s designer has chosen to symbolize the country’s great wealth by a jumble of showy jewelry next to a copy of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, the newspaper of the Swiss-German elite.
Switzerland: An Intensely Foodie Country
Not surprising for a food retailer, food plays a prominent part in the imagery – but credit to them, not all of the food would be bought by Swiss at a store (the Swiss are great gatherers of wild mushrooms, chestnuts and walnuts, all of which feature on the bag) and in any case Switzerland is an intensely foodie country and getting more so every day. The Swiss are into buying local, seasonal, fresh, and each region has its own sausages, cheeses, breads and other baked goods, chocolates and of course wine.
So it’s not just about a food retailer featuring items it sells: these genuinely are icons that Swiss recognize as being utterly typical of their country. A plate of buttery rösti with a St. Galler bratwurst (a roasted veal sausage). A walnut tart and air-dried beef sliced sliver-thin, both specialties of the part of the country known as Graubünden (Grisons) where a few people still speak Romansh. Meadow grasses and flowers beloved as ingredients for soothing tisanes.
A zopf, or tresse – semi-sweet braided bread. Pickles served with cheese dishes, fondue but also raclette. Apples, pears and plums because the Swiss are not only great pie eaters, they like to preserve some fruits in fruit brandy – and they make a lot of fruit brandy called schnapps or eau de vie from pears (Williamine), plums and cherries. Meringues, eaten with some of that alcohol-soaked fruit or on their own with double cream from the Gruyère region. A nice cup of espresso is also on view, from the country that has perhaps the dubious honor of having given the world Nespresso but is also a hub for global coffee traders.
Two Scherenschnitte – folk art in which scenes of traditional rural life are cut out of black paper – show chalets, but also wild animals in the forest, the fall hunting season being a favorite time of year in Switzerland when everyone streams to the restaurants to have game with spätzle, red cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and poached pears filled with cranberry sauce.
Swiss Identity Remains Rural
Another typical scene from Swiss folk art is also featured on the bag – the annual coming down from the mountain where dairy cows spend the summer months grazing. The cows wear huge bells and elaborate floral headdresses and the farmers their traditional costume (sorry, no lederhosen).
Perhaps it more than anything reveals that despite Switzerland’s heavy industry and pharmaceuticals, banking, insurance and trading, flavors and fragrances giants, watch makers, and more, the shared identity of Swiss remains rural, very geared to their landscape and farming – and indeed this is officially part of the country’s identity, with its policies of food sovereignty and heavily subsidized farming to support that.
So let’s can the misinformation and change the cliché tunes. Land of fondue and St. Bernards? Alphorn-playing rösti eaters?
Gail Mangold-Vine - Based in Geneva, Switzerland, Gail Mangold-Vine is the author of two books. Her work as a journalist is published worldwide.
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