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Zmittag - A Typical Swiss Lunch

In this mini series I'll write about the five daily meals people eat in Switzerland: Zmorge, Znüni, Zmittag, Zvieri and Znacht. What do we typically eat? When do we eat? What is the proper conduct at the table? Today, I'll write about lunch.

A Swiss Zmittag

Zmittag is the Swiss German word for lunch and is a short form of "zu Mittag" which means "at noon". This also implies that in Switzerland Zmittag is eaten at mid-day which means exactly at 12.00 and not 12.15 pm or even later. Our stomachs will start rumbling if they don't get filled at the usual time. Swiss punctuality is the key!

What is special about Swiss Zmittag? In Switzerland, the time between 12am - 1pm is considered a quiet time or rest time. Any kind of loud noise is not allowed during this time. Lawn mowing and drilling holes in the wall are frowned upon. Some people even consider it rude to call someone on the phone during this hour although mobile phones have changed this custom quite a bit.

What the Swiss eat for lunch

The food eaten at Zmittag is not very representative of Swiss culture. Lunch in Switzerland is usually a hot meal and hot meals here have become very international. The Swiss like to eat Italian, Thai, Chinese, Vegetarian and pretty much everything you can think of.

There are some traditional dishes like Züri Gschnätzlets (Zurich-style ragout of veal) or Basler Mehlsuppe (flour soup from Basel) that are great for Zmittag but we don't eat typical Swiss foods for every lunch meal! 
Zmittag - birgitH  / pixelio.de



More articles in this mini series:
Zmorge - breakfast
Znüni - mid-morning snack
Zmittag - lunch
Zvieri - mid-afternoon snack
Znacht - dinner




© 2016 IRENE WYRSCH "A HUMOROUS GUIDE TO SWITZERLAND" ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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  1. ShonaJuly 4, 2016 at 10:34 PM

    Your blog is fantastic! I have just found it but I wish I had last year when I first moved to Zürich. It's so informative. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete

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