{"id":28759,"date":"2016-10-24T22:36:37","date_gmt":"2016-10-25T02:36:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?p=28759"},"modified":"2022-05-11T06:08:20","modified_gmt":"2022-05-11T10:08:20","slug":"wheys-less-traveled-bovine-battles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wheys-less-traveled-bovine-battles\/","title":{"rendered":"Wheys Less Traveled: Bovine Battles"},"content":{"rendered":"

I thought the Swiss were a low-key group\u2014politically neutral, lacking religious fervor, not terribly excited by celebrities or sports\u2014that is, until I moved to the Va de Bagnes. There, in the steep valley squished between the border of Italy and France, I found something that really gets people jazzed: cows. And not just any cows\u2014queen cows.<\/p>\n

Known in French as reines<\/i>, females of the dark, stocky He\u0301rens<\/i> breed instinctively organize themselves into a hierarchy. When brought to fresh pasture in spring, they butt heads to assert dominance, the winner scoring dibs on the most pristine patches. Humans have been looking on for generations, turning the natural phenomenon into a spectator sport. Cows face off several times each summer in the Val de Bagnes at Combats des Reines<\/i> (Queen Fights), which draw thousands of attendees. I\u2019d been working in a Swiss cheese cave all summer and the time had come to melt those cheeses into raclette<\/a> alongside other valley cheesemakers at the big event\u2019s food tent.<\/p>\n

On the eve of that first combat, I pictured a scene straight out of Gladiator<\/cite>\u2014I was scared. Would my compassion for animals override my cultural sensitivity? The thought wasn\u2019t a stretch: Cow fights have garnered backlash from animal rights activists recently. Today they’e forbidden in Switzerland except for here, in the state of Valais, where matches are argued to be an integral part of local tradition.<\/p>\n

\"sum16_wheyslesstraveled_1\"<\/center>As battles go, this one was anti-climactic. It seemed as if most cows would rather eat grass than face a rival, and those that turned away lost the fight automatically. Occasionally some head-butting occurred, but typically one cow would bow out within a couple of minutes. There were no injuries.<\/p>\n

Maybe it was all that Fendant<\/i> wine, but I nearly shed a tear watching Christophe Cloi\u0302tre, proud owner of champion cow Tracy, rush into the ring (along with his entire family\u2014and village) to embrace his winning queen. As it turns out, the local cows have it pretty good: They all have names, live on small farms, and spend summers outdoors in the mountains. And they should be treated well\u2014they supply the precious milk used to make Fromage de Bagnes<\/i>, the original raclette cheese.<\/p>\n

If livestock fighting isn\u2019t your scene, there\u2019s always a tent nearby, like the one I worked at, where you can gorge on raclette dishes\u2014including signature Crou\u0302te au Fromage<\/i> (recipe below)\u2014until the cows come home.<\/p>\n

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Cro\u00fbte au Fromage<\/h2>\n
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Elevate simple cheese toast with this baked French-Swiss version.<\/div>\n
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Servings <\/span>2<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

Ingredients
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