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1
Preheat the terracotta pot over the lowest possible heat before adding any cheese. Place the Graukäse pieces in the warmed pot and pour over the schnapps or grappa. The alcohol is added first, before any heat reaches the cheese, to support cohesion during melting.
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2
Set the pot over very low heat. Stir the cheese slowly and continuously in a figure-of-eight motion. This is where the dish lives or dies: Graukäse's high moisture content makes it acutely vulnerable to excessive heat — any rush at this stage seizes the proteins into a rubbery, unrecoverable mass. The cheese is ready when it has collapsed to a smooth, lava-like consistency with no remaining solid pieces.
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3
Stir in the pinch of caraway seeds. If the mixture is too thick, add a small measure of additional schnapps or warm milk — never water, which breaks the emulsion. The correct consistency coats the back of a spoon and falls in a slow, unbroken ribbon.
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4
Transfer the pot, or keep it, over a candle flame or spirit lamp at table to maintain temperature throughout the meal. Set the day-old rye bread slices and a dish of cornichons alongside. The bread must resist the molten cheese on dipping — it holds firm when it is sufficiently staled.