Raclette Gex (or "Bleu du Haut Jura) and Morbier, both PDO are used as variants. Raclette Raclette is a semi-hard cheese that is usually fashioned into a wheel of about 6 kg (13 lb). The Alpine cow milk based dairy product is most commonly used for melting, but is also consumed as a slice. Raclette is a Savoyard (French) as well as Swiss dish based on heating the cheese and scraping off (from French: ) the melted part. Raclette was mentioned in medieval texts from Swiss-German convents dating from as early as 1291. The cheese was originally consumed by peasants in
Cheese matrix that is broken down by heat. When enough protein bonds are broken, the cheese itself turns from a solid to a viscous liquid. Soft, high-moisture cheeses will melt at around , while hard, low-moisture cheeses such as Parmesan remain solid until they reach about . Acid-set cheeses, including halloumi, paneer, some whey cheeses and many varieties of fresh goat cheese, have a protein structure that remains intact at high temperatures. When cooked, these cheeses just get firmer as water evaporates. Some cheeses, like raclette, melt smoothly; many tend to become stringy or suffer from a separation of their fats.