Culinary Heritage of Switzerland (German: Kulinarisches Erbe der Schweiz, French: Patrimoine culinaire suisse, Italian: Patrimonio culinario svizzero, Romansh: Patrimoni culinar svizzer) is a partially multilingual online encyclopedia of traditional Swiss food and produce.

[edit] History

The project was initiated through a parliamentary motion of Swiss MP Josef Zisyadis in 2000.^[1] After obtaining CHF 2 million of funding by the Swiss federal government, the Swiss cantons and private sponsors,^[2] the private association "Culinary Heritage of Switzerland" was founded in 2003.

The association hired a team of researchers, including ethnologists and historians, to write the articles and carry out field research by interviewing Swiss bakers, butchers, cultural historians, archivists and farmer's wives.^[1] It made the encyclopedia, with an initial scope of some 400 articles, available to the public on 9 December 2008 at no charge.^[3]

[edit] Scope

To be included in the association's database, a food must be recognised as traditionally Swiss, have been produced for at least 40 years and remain in production.^[1] The project's scope is limited to processed foodstuffs, such as cheeses or meat products. It does not include unprocessed food (with a few exceptions), wines, recipes or dishes.

[edit] References