Raclette: the stupid mistake we all make when buying our appliance (and which ruins the evening)

It’s the French’s favorite dish when temperatures drop. Friendly, comforting, raclette seems unmissable. However, who has never railed against a sluggish device that takes 10 minutes to melt a slice? Or against this cheese which systematically overflows on the tablecloth? Blame it on your unsuitable equipment. On Les Numériques, we give you the keys to choose wisely.

1. The geometric error: the triangle trap

This is the most annoying design flaw on the market. Many raclette grills are round or oval. To optimize space, manufacturers therefore provide triangular pans. But usually cheese slices are square, right? So, you spend your evening folding the cheese or you let it stick out. The problem is that the cheese flows onto the heating element, burns and smokes the room. It’s a pain to clean.

Our solution is therefore to opt for a device supplied with square or rectangular pans. It’s silly, but it’s life (and cleaning) changing.

2. Power: the “150 Watts” rule

The other enemy of raclette is waiting. There’s nothing sadder than watching your potato cool while waiting for the cheese to bubble. The power of the devices varies enormously (from 600 to more than 1000 W). Don’t just look at the overall figure, but relate it to the number of guests. We give you a golden rule: allow around 150 Watts per person.

So, for a family device of 8 people, don’t buy anything below 1,200 Watts. Below this, melting will be slow, especially if there are many of you pulling the coil at the same time.

3. Watch out for “cold areas”

Rectangular models are practical for long tables, but they often have a drawback: the corners heat less well. If you sit at the end of the table, you will eat more slowly than the others. Round models heat more evenly, but brings us back to the first problem: triangular pans.

The right compromise? Modular devices that connect to each other. They allow everyone to have their own heat source right in front of their plate, without sacrificing the shape of the pans.