A FONDUE FEELS RETRO? IT’S HOT AGAIN
Did fondue ever really go away? Did people’s love of melted cheese go away?
Of course not.
As executive chef David Fritsche of Washington’s Swiss-themed restaurant Stable explains: “It’s good. It’s cosy. … It is very accessible.” It’s also very fun.
Fondue has its probable origins as 19th-century peasant food, a way to use up stale bread and cheese.
Then fondue suddenly became what all the cool cats did in the 1960s.
Thankfully, you don’t need a fondue set today to make and enjoy a pot of delicious, warm cheese. Following are some tips on how to make and share this treat.
THE CHEESE
Fondue can skew milder or sharper depending on your personal preference, as long as you keep texture in mind. “You’ve got to stick with cheeses that melt well,” says Lenny Moonsammy, senior dairy buyer at Amy’s Kitchen.
Keep in mind that very soft cheeses will liquefy, and hard ones won’t melt sufficiently to incorporate into the mix.
In other words, avoid Parmigiano-reggiano, cheddar and feta. If you want to include something like a little brie or blue cheese, just fold it in at the end as an accent.
Moonsammy encourages people to consult a cheesemonger, who can point them to varieties they may not have heard of.
Fritsche and Stable general manager Silvan Kraemer recommend an approximate 2-to-1 ratio of cheese to wine. According to Hallie Harron in Not Your Mother’s Fondue (Harvard Common Press), plan on 1/3 to 2/3 cup (80-160 ml) of fondue per person.
I tried both shredding and finely chopping the cheese, and both worked well. Do whatever you feel like.
THE BOOZE
Swiss wines aren’t always the easiest to source. I was happy with tests that featured Pinot Grigio and Riesling, though you could also use Sauvignon Blanc. Just don’t feel like you have to spend a ton.
“Pouring good pricey wine into fondue is basically a waste of money,” opines Daniel Gritzer at Serious Eats. Fondues made with beer or cider are not unheard of, either.
Just steer clear of red. “It often makes it grey and ugly,” says Moonsammy.
Fondue typically includes additional liqueur, most often kirschwasser or cherry brandy. If you have another fruit brandy you like, try that. Stable also offers pear schnapps.
Fritsche says his ideal dipper is crusty on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside. Anything too delicate will disintegrate.
The 1979 Post article from which I sourced my recipe recommends a country bread, “not French baguette, Italian, rye or pumpernickel.”
Let the bread stale for a few days so it’s less doughy. One-inch (2.5-cm) cubes are an ideal size. Or very lightly toast cubes in a 350 F (175 C) oven for 10 minutes.
EQUIPMENT
If you have a fondue set, great! Options include ceramic (easy to crack), stainless steel (light but less even heat), electric (no burners required but mind the cord) and enamelled cast-iron (heavy, heat-retaining and relatively easy to clean).
Some sets include pots that are safe to put on your stove top. Otherwise, you can cook in a different pot and then transfer to the fondue pot to keep warm, over a candle or other low-heat source, such as Sterno gel.
If you don’t have a set, fear not. “The equipment makes for a nice experience, but you don’t need it,” Fritsche says.
I successfully cooked and served numerous batches of fondue in an enamelled cast-iron Dutch oven on the stove top. I had to fiddle with the heat a bit to keep it warm and smooth, switching between low and medium-low.
Transferring the fondue to a slow cooker is another possibility. Regardless of what you end up serving the fondue in, you may find you need an occasional splash of liquid to maintain a fluid consistency as it thickens.
If you’ve played it right, at the end you should have a crispy, crackerlike layer of cheese on the bottom that is a special treat.
Have the included forks at hand, or at the very least the longest dinner forks you can manage. Skewers work in a pinch, but the single tip as opposed to prongs can make it more probable that food will be lost in the cheese.
COOKING
High heat is the enemy of fondue, as it can make the mixture separate. Including starch is one insurance policy against that sad result.
My preferred starch is potato, which is gluten-free and ideal for an especially silky fondue.
Batches with all-purpose flour skewed grainy if not catastrophic, but you could try arrowroot or tapioca starch. In my experience, tossing the cheese first with the starch ensured the fondue thickened reliably and evenly.
Make the fondue over nothing higher than medium heat. Gradually add cheese a little at a time, stirring constantly. Fritsche cautions against using a whisk, which he says can turn the texture stringy, so pull out a spatula or wooden spoon for stirring.
Once the fondue just starts to bubble and you feel it thicken, it’s ready.
ACCOMPANIMENTS
Fondue is “technically a meal in itself,” Kraemer says, but that doesn’t mean people don’t want other food served with the bread and cheese.
Try brussels sprouts, cornichons, boiled potatoes and apples as sides or dippers. A light salad and charcuterie are also options.
Moonsammy suggests an even longer list of possibilities for dipping, such as sliced fennel, peppers, sausages, ham, broccoli, cauliflower and pearl onions. “Everything’s better with cheese, right?” she says. In summer, she considers tomatoes and radishes fair game, too.
As far as drinks, think about sticking with the same kind of dry whites that go into the fondue. Hot tea is also traditional.
Whether it’s actually true or just makes for a dissonant eating experience, conventional wisdom says not to serve fondue with cool water, lest the cheese lump in your stomach. Or follow Fritsche and Kraemer’s lead and enjoy the cheese with schnapps.
ETIQUETTE AND HOSTING
Rule No. 1: “No one likes double dipping,” Moonsammy says.
Each guest should have a fork and you should never put your mouth on the actual tongs, instead pulling the food off with your teeth.
Even better, if you can, provide enough forks so that guests can dip with one and eat with another — for example, dip with the fondue fork and eat with a regular dinner fork.
When you’re dipping, move the fork around in a figure-eight shape along the bottom of the pot. This also stirs the cheese and keeps the bottom from scorching. And if something falls off the fork? Come up with your own rules, though traditional lore often involves having to take a shot, buy a round or kiss someone.
Harron advises having plenty of napkins available, as “fondue can be a little drippy.” For fondue sets, she recommends putting the pot in the centre of a table. Be sure it’s on a stable surface and easy for guests to reach.
For parties in which you might serve multiple batches of fondue, Moonsammy likes to position them in different parts of the house to encourage mixing and mingling. The idea is to make it as relaxed and enjoyable as possible. “Everyone loves a fondue party, I’m telling you,” she says.