Raclette is the name of a Swiss cheese made from cow's milk (slightly nutty, a little like gruyère) but it's also the name of a very popular meal. In the old days, an entire wheel of cheese was held up in front of a fire and as the cheese melted, it was scraped off onto a plate to be eaten. The name is derived from the French racler, meaning ‘to scrape'. Today, slices of raclette are melted in table-top raclette pans or grills, and can be accompanied by small potatoes cooked in their skins, vegetables, charcuterie, pickled gerkins and onions, and bread. With a modern raclette grill, you melt the cheese on one layer and can scrape it over the grilled vegetables and meats.