The ''Berner Platte'' (
English: Bernese plate) is a traditional
meat
Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...
dish of
Bernese cuisine
A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, List of cooking techniques, techniques and Dish (food), dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, ...
in
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
.
It consists of various meat and
sausage
A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs, may be included as fillers or extenders.
...
varieties such as smoked
pork
Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE.
Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...
and
beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...
,
pork belly
Pork belly or belly pork is a boneless, fatty Primal cut, cut of pork from the Abdomen, belly of a pig. Pork belly is particularly popular in American cuisine, American, British cuisine, British, Swedish cuisine, Swedish, Danish cuisine, Danish, ...
, sausage,
bacon
Bacon is a type of Curing (food preservation), salt-cured pork made from various cuts of meat, cuts, typically the pork belly, belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central in ...
and pork ears or tails cooked with
juniper
Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south ...
-flavored
sauerkraut
Sauerkraut (; , ) is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria ferment the sugar ...
, and other foods such as
potato
The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...
es and green and/or dried
beans
A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are tradition ...
, which are served on a large plate.
The Berner Platte is not a stew; rather, the different meat ingredients and side dishes are each separately prepared or cooked. Berner Platte dishes are sometimes served within the context of a
buffet
A buffet is a system of serving meals in which food is placed in a public area where the diners serve themselves. A form of '' service à la française'', buffets are offered at various places including hotels, restaurants, and many social eve ...
.
History
The Berner Platte originated on March 5, 1798, when the Bernese defeated the French army at the and returned as the victor. A victory celebration had to be organized in a very short time.
For this purpose, the community contributed the best of their supplies.
Due to the late winters, mainly durable or
preserved foods were used, which were combined to create the well-known dish.
See also
*
Choucroute garnie
''Choucroute garnie'' ( French for ''dressed sauerkraut'') is an Alsatian recipe of sauerkraut with sausages and other salted meats and charcuterie, and often potatoes.
Although sauerkraut is a traditionally German and Eastern European dish, wh ...
– a similar French dish
*
Schlachteplatte – a similar German dish
*
List of meat dishes
This is a list of notable meat dishes. Some meat dishes are prepared using two or more types of meat, while others are only prepared using one type. Furthermore, some dishes can be prepared using various types of meats, such as the enchilada, whic ...
*
Swiss cuisine
Swiss cuisine (, , , ) is an ensemble of national, regional and local dishes, consisting of the ingredients, recipes and List of cooking techniques, cooking techniques developed in Switzerland or assimilated from other cultures, particularly ne ...
References
External links
* {{commonscat-inline
Berner Platte: a gourmet celebration Myswitzerland.com.
Swiss cuisine
Meat dishes
Food combinations