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Kalbsbratwurst, the traditional veal-based bratwurst of St. Gallen, is the oldest of the Swiss veal sausages and was first mentioned in writing in 1438. The original recipe based on veal, bacon, spices and fresh milk has changed only minimally since those days. Nowadays hardly a festival or trade show in Switzerland will take place without featuring a barbecue booth offering these popular sausages. In contrast to other bratwursts, it is traditionally served without mustard.

The St. Galler Kalbsbratwurst is a boiled sausage suitable for roasting over the barbecue or in a pan, its white colour comes from the milk used. This St. Gallen specialty has been nominated for the PGI quality award.

In the tough mountain climate of Valais, adequate stores were essential for survival in earlier times. For this reason, creative shepherds had already worked at refining various curing and drying methods many centuries ago. This led to the region’s local dried meat that is so popular today. And the perfect accompaniment is not long in the finding: the people of Valais have a long tradition of exclusive winemaking.

Walliser Trockenfleisch is made of leg of beef from Swiss cattle. It is marinated in salt and spices, rinsed off and hung up to dry in the air. An edible mold forms on the drying meat and gives it its distinct flavour. Walliser Trockenfleisch meets the PGI criteria.

The unmistakable taste and brown colour of this sausage specialty from the Canton of Vaud develops during the cold-smoking process. The type of wood used and the smoking time required are secrets known only to the smoking master. This is a sausage that needs time, and not just for its production alone: it must also be cooked for approximately 60 minutes at a maximum temperature of 75°C and then left for 10 minutes to “settle”. It tastes wonderful with leek, potatoes, beans, sauerkraut or lentils.

The saucisson vaudois is made in the Canton of Vaud and is based on Swiss pork. It is a smoked, semi-ripened raw sausage that is eaten warm. It can also be dried and then eaten cold. It meets the PGI criteria.

Where exactly this sausage’s name, «Landjäger», comes from is not quite clear. Some say that its stiffness is reminiscent of a policeman’s. Others think that the name is an etymological distortion of the Appenzell term «lang tige» meaning long hard sausage. Outside Switzerland, it has been rumoured that the Landjäger consists mainly of the meat of Alpine ibex and marmots – or even of murdered bailiffs!

The Landjäger is a smoked, raw beef and bacon sausage and is eaten cold. It was registered in the official Swiss foodstuffs manual as a national specialty in 1999.

No platter of cold meats in Switzerland is complete without the spicy thin slices of a salami – a Swiss salami. This salami is made in Switzerland’s Italian-speaking region Ticino (amongst others) , also known as the sunny side of Switzerland. Generation after generation has passed down the secret of how to turn premium Swiss beef and pork into these aromatic delicacies.

Ticino salami is an air-cured raw sausage that is usually eaten cold. During the curing process, an edible mold forms on the skin which adds to the flavour of the salami.

This specialty from Heidi’s home country, Grisons, can be found at regional traditional festivals as well as on the menus of the canton’s top hotels. It is not only an essential ingredient for traditional recipes such as «Capuns» but also ideal as an energy-boosting «Znüni», the snack enjoyed by hikers on the trail around 9 a.m.

The Salsiz is an air-cured raw sausage made of beef, pork and bacon and is eaten cold. It is usually rectangular in shape.

Bündnerfleisch is the most typical and popular of all Swiss meat specialties. Choice quality pieces of meat are dried in the pristine mountain air of Grisons and preserved by natural curing. This tradition goes back to the Middle Ages. Today, the specialty is known and enjoyed far beyond the borders of its home canton and Switzerland.

Bündnerfleisch is air-cured, pressed and seasoned raw beef and is served cold in finely shaven slices. The finished sausage is rectangular and is dark red in colour. Bündnerfleisch meets the PGI criteria.

The people of Appenzell are well known for their humour, wealth of tradition, music for string orchestras and, last but not least, for their unique recipes. These include the famed Appenzeller cheese, the herbal digestive bitters – and the inimitable Appenzeller Mostbröckli.

The Appenzeller Mostbröckli is a raw-meat sausage product made of beef. It is smoked and then dried. This specialty is a PGI candidate.

The production of Swiss cured ham is reminiscent of viniculture: from the selection of the correct material to the ripening process that takes place over many months, skilled craftsmanship is decisive for the flavour of the finished product. Cured ham is not quite as strong in aroma as Bündnerfleisch and it is finer in consistency. It can be enjoyed as a main gourmet goody in endless combinations with other ingredients – such as asparagus, melon, rye bread and much more.

It is made from boneless ham or leg of pork. The meat is salted and air-dried but not smoked.

Cervelat is the national sausage of Switzerland – an indispensable culinary institution. It would be hard to find a fridge in Switzerland devoid of cervelat and no Swiss hiker would contemplate setting out without an adequate supply in his or her knapsack. The sausage is frequently speared onto a self-carved skewer and lovingly roasted over the camp fire. Or it is sliced up into slivers to provide the main ingredient of the unique cold-sausage Swiss salad known as Wurstsalat. Even would-be stars or wannabe big shots from Switzerland are known by the nickname of Cervelat Celebrities.

The cervelat is a boiled sausage. It can be heated up, eaten cold or barbecued.