For true dairy lovers, there is perhaps no higher order in the world of food than melted cheese, particularly during the frigid nights of winter. It satisfies our appetites, warms our souls and makes our taste buds dance away the February blues.
While thoughts of melted cheese might immediately turn to hot pizza or French onion soup gratinée, its truest incarnation is pure and simple: fondue. Calories aside, there is nothing more tempting after a long, hard day of play in the snow.
Fondue refers to French and Swiss family-style dishes that are shared at the table from a specialized pot kept over a burner. Diners typically use long forks to dip various foods into the content of the pot.
The term "fondue" is derived from the French verb "fondre," meaning "to melt." Cheese and chocolate fondues hold true to the name, while traditional meat fondue really involves no melting, instead employing hot oil to cook the meat, which is then dipped in a sauce.
As the story goes, cheese fondue was invented in the small mountain villages of the Swiss Alps. In winter, when local foods were scarce, the villagers found that melting stale cheese made it palatable, especially if wine or seasonings were added. And, it was discovered, dry, hard bread took on a whole new life when cubes of it were swirled in the melted cheese. Eventually, the dish became a winter favorite in Switzerland and the Alpine regions of southeastern France.
Cheese fondue comes in many varieties, but most share the similarity of being cooked in an earthenware pot—called a "caquelon"—rubbed first with a clove of garlic. The types of cheeses used in the fondue can vary from region to region, as can the types of wine and seasoning added in the cooking process.
In classic Swiss fondue, hard or semi-hard cheeses from the Alps are cubed or coarsely grated and melted in the pot with white wine and a touch of kirsch, a clear cherry brandy. Gruyère, Emmental and Vacherin are the most commonly used cheese varieties, but some others, including raclette cheese, also work well. Combined, Gruyère and Emmental provide a fine balance of sharpness and delicacy. Some recipes call for adding a touch of lemon juice, which adds an element of acidity to help keep the consistency smooth.
For dipping, cubes of crusty, slightly hard French bread work best, but variations are employed. Sliced apples are a favorite choice that never disappoints.
Eating cheese fondue comes with one primary rule. Try not to allow the fondue fork touch one's lips or tongue—after all, it will be reinserted in the pot. (If you drop your bread or fruit into the pot, you might be asked to provide the table with a round of drinks, preferably a Swiss white wine.)
In serving cheese fondue, the key challenge is keeping the heat source hot enough to keep the mixture smooth and creamy and low enough to prevent burning. Constant stirring is generally necessary to prevent burning and to maintain a consistency that makes dipping easy. A secondary challenge lies in making sure there is enough cheese, bread and wine in the kitchen to keep people from wanting more.
Classic Swiss Cheese Fondue
(Serves 4)
1 clove garlic, sliced in two
12 ounces dry, white wine
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp. corn starch
Splash of kirsch
14 ounces coarsely grated Gruyère
14 ounces coarsely grated Emmental
Cubed French bread and sliced apples
Brush an earthenware fondue pot with the garlic. Add the wine and the lemon juice and bring to a simmer. Mix together in a cup the kirsch and the corn starch. Over a low heat, add the cheese to the pot and stir consistently until melted and smooth. Add the kirsch mixture and stir until even. Transfer to a table burner and serve with bread and apples.
