Cheese addict that I am, I figured I’d finally have to put down my misconceptions about fondue and make the stuff. Many of us still have the ’70s vintage set in some long-forgotten closet corner, thinking it passé, or too complicated. But there are many others who would say that fondue has never gone out of style.
Fondue recently reared its gooey head to the delight of six dinner guests. A friend donated a handsome (yet never-used) stainless steel and ceramic pot, burner and forks, but you can use any heavy earthenware or enameled cast iron container if it has handles. Fondue sets using gelled “fuel in a can” are easy to find at department stores, online—even at some supermarkets. Each can lasts about 45 minutes, but can get a little fumy; candles are cleaner but aren’t as hot. Use a metal pot with hot oil for cooking meats, or with a vegetable broth called bouillon fondue.
A time-tested Swiss recipe is the best place to start, since it’s simple to make and most ingredients are readily available. What triggered the idea in the first place was a hefty three-pound wheel of domestic Swiss, purchased at a Purdue University fundraiser and sent to me by Indiana relatives as a Christmas gift.
I doubled a four-person recipe and shredded about a pound of the wheel. To that I added half a pound of shredded Gruyere, a hard yet creamy cow’s milk cheese that melts well and has a wonderfully nutty, sweet flavor.
The fun of fondue is that you can tinker endlessly with the cheeses, proportions and “dippers.” Classic Swiss-style fondue often calls for a combination of Gruyere and Emmenthaler, another Swiss variety with a slightly sharper bite, but different regions have their own unique recipes and accompaniments. Vacherin and raclette cheeses are good choices, and a lower-calorie modern version even uses mozzarella.
Start with a base of dry white wine and a little bit of lemon juice, and if you can find it, a splash of kirsch, or cherry brandy. I used a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, but German Rieslings also work well. The acids from the wine and lemon help make the cheese melt properly, while dredging the shredded cheese with a few tablespoons of starch (flour, potato or corn starch) will prevent the milkfat from separating.
Rub a peeled clove of garlic along the inside of the empty fondue pot for subtle flavor. To a saucepan of simmering wine, gradually add the dredged cheeses, then the kirsch, a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg, dry mustard and ground pepper. Stir the cheese in a zigzag or figure-eight pattern to help it melt without clumping into a ball (I used a chopstick). When the mixture is smooth but not boiling, transfer it to your fondue pot, or caquelon, and set over the flame, stirring occasionally. If the cheese tightens, add more wine or increase the fire slightly. Keep stirring! Less cheese seems to work better than more.
We ate the fondue with cubed French bread and boiled red-skinned potatoes—the smaller the better—as well as pumpernickel, sliced Polish sausage and blanched veggies. The bread, potatoes, sausage and carrots were favorites.
The cheese fondue was followed by a sinful chocolate version using semisweet Ghirardelli chocolate, orange zest and heavy cream. I forgot to add instant espresso and skipped the Grand Marnier, but my dear friends were too busy putting away pound cake and strawberries to notice.
The Swiss have some folksy yet commonsensical rules of etiquette concerning their national communal meal. The correct method is to gently twirl the cheese around the food, then eat it without touching your mouth to the fork, which goes back in the cheese. Tradition insists that any woman who loses her food in the fondue pot must kiss the man to her left. And if the cheese browns and hardens into a delicious crust at the bottom, they say, you’re in luck. Just don’t tell that to the person cleaning up.
Classic Swiss Fondue serves 6
1/2 lb imported Swiss cheese, shredded · 1/2 lb Gruyere cheese, shredded · 2 tbsp corn or potato starch · 1 garlic clove, peeled · 1 cup dry, acidic white wine (such as a Sauvignon Blanc) · 1 tbsp kirsch (a cherry brandy; optional) · 1/4 tsp dry mustard ·
1/8 tsp nutmeg · assorted items for dipping
Coat the shredded cheeses with starch and set aside. Rub the garlic clove around the inside of a fondue pot. Discard garlic.
Over medium heat in a medium saucepan, bring wine to a gentle simmer. Gradually stir in the cheese, stirring with zig-zag motions rather than in circles, until the fondue is smooth. Stir in kirsch, mustard and nutmeg. Transfer the cheese to the fondue pot and set over a low flame. Once cheese level gets low, let it get crusty—then enjoy a Swiss delicacy!
Serve with chunks of fresh French and pumpernickel breads, slices of cooked sausage and a variety of blanched, bite-sized vegetables.
Chocolate Fondue serves 6-8
1/2 cup heavy cream · 2 tsp orange zest, grated · 7 oz good-quality semisweet chocolate, chopped · 1/2 tsp instant coffee granules (optional) · 2 tbsp Grand Marnier liqueur (optional) · assorted items for dipping
Heat the cream and orange zest over a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over simmering water. Add the chocolate and instant coffee and stir until the mixture is smooth. If a stronger orange flavor is desired, add the Grand Marnier and stir to combine.
Place the chocolate into a pre-warmed fondue pot and serve with accompaniments.
Serve with organic strawberries, clementine segments, lemon or orange pound cake, pretzels, thin wafer cookies and marshmallows.