Traditional Cheese Fondue

I did a little research on fondue. Fondue originated in Switzerland as a way for the peasants to use their odd bits of cheese and day-old bread. They would throw the cheese in a pot, pour in some liquor or wine for good measure, and dip in their day-old bread. Voila! The fondue pot was born. I thought I was all fancy when really I was copying farmers in Switzerland. Fancy or ordinary, fonduing is casual, relaxing, and straightforward. You do not need to have killer cooking skills to pull off great fondue.

*post is under construction, new photography coming soon

Why we love fondue

A three-course fondue meal has become the tradition around our home on Christmas Eve. Which just so happens to be my birthday.  We used to go out for dinner, but at some point when the kids were little, going out for dinner with them was not actually relaxing, so we started fondue. (Forgive me, Sweet Seestor, but if my memory serves me correctly, you gave me a fondue pot for my birthday?) A fondue pot as a gift, and now, six years and 3 additional fondue pots later, we consider ourselves fondue aficionados. Humbly speaking, of course. The very best aspect of having fondue for dinner is that it is a process that takes time. Therefore, no gobbling down your food and sneaking off to your screens. It’s a meal that takes time for conversation and practice in sharing and eating slowly. Sharing because you need to share the pots that you are either cooking your food in (oil or broth) or dipping your food into cheese. Not everyone can dip at once or cook all at the same time. If you have the patience, this is a great learning experience for children. Because cooking with kids and boiling oil over an open flame is not for the faint of heart. You might want to just start with melted cheese!

Fondue is all about taking your time. One bite at a time. Conversation. Moving around a little. Taking turns. Remembering which fork is yours. Patience. Laughter. Lots of good food, one bite at a time.

Gather these ingredients

How do make traditional cheese fondue

1. Grate cheese. This can be done ahead of time and kept in the refridgerator. You do not want to use pre-shredded cheese it’s important that you grate the cheese yourself, because there are some additives in pre-shredded cheese that do not aid in the best outcome for your fondue.

2. Whoof my fingers need some manicuring. Anyway, on to step two, peel garlic clove, cut in half and rub the inside of the fondue pot with the garlic. Discard garlic.

3. After rubbing pot with garlic, plug in or light heating element and set pot on the fondue pot stand. Add half of the wine and the lemon juice into the pot.

4. Now start to gradually add in the shredded cheese and cubes of brie. (Brie needs to have skin but off and be cut into cubes.) Be patient. Just add a little at a time and stir as the wine heats up the cheese will start to soften and melt, continue to gradually add in cheese as it melts.

5. It will get worse before it gets better. Do not be alarmed if your cheese looks like one weird lump. Add the remaining half of the wine as you add the last of the cheese. Continue to stir. As the pot gets warmer and you stir, the cheese will loosen up and become dippable. If your pot is heated by a sterno or some sort of lightable heating fluid, you have less control over the heat; if it seems to be burning, either remove it from the heat source for a few minutes or use a shield over the flame to back down the amount of fire that is heating the bottom of the pot. 

When the cheese has fully given itself over to becoming one with the wine it will still be very much one large piece of stretchy cheese, keep stirring add in the Kirsch liquor, nutmeg and fresh ground black pepper. Continue to stir over heat until it loosens up and becomes dippable. This may take 15 minutes or more.

Fondue is not for the hurried eater, relax, pour your guest a glass of wine and take turns stirring your cheese fondue.

This is what I mean when I say dippable. (Spell check is hating me for this; apparently, dippable is not a word!). You should be able to dip into the cheese and have your food come out covered with silky, delicious fondue. 

Favorite items to dip in fondue cheese

• French baguette cut into cubes
• sweet mini gherkins or plain pickled gherkins
• roasted mini onions
• red pepper slices
• sauteed mushrooms
• roasted or boiled fingerling potatoes
• apple slices
• my finger

Equipment you will need.

A fondue pot can be purchased for relatively little money. If you like thrifting, this is a great place to find fondue pots. Electric or open flame / sterno are the two choices of heating elements for fondue pots. I personally have both. The problem with the electric pot is that you have to accommodate the cord, and when sitting at a table, this can be awkward and dangerous if someone were to trip on the cord and send the hot pot of cheese, oil, or broth flying across the room. For this reason, we use our open flame pots the most when eating a fondue meal. I use my electric fondue pot if I am serving fondue as part of an appetizer spread. My second piece of advice when purchasing a fondue pot would be to answer the question: how easy is this fondue pot to clean. The simpler, the better. The one in the photos of this post is my oldest and most used fondue pot. 

This is called ‘the mother’. After consuming all the fondue, some of the cheese will burn in the bottom of the pot. Do not be tempted to leave this in the pot and soak it away! Use a knife or a spatula of some sort to loosen the mother from the bottom, break it into pieces, and share it with your guests! Cheers!

If you have a fondue pot, you should haul that baby out, dust it off, and use it. New Year’s Eve is coming up, ya know. What better way to reminisce over the past year than hanging out around a pot of cheese fondue!

Bon Appetit! Sheila