The cheese fondue is a delicious Swiss dish with a rich history. Its roots can be traced back to the 18th century. As Switzerland became industrialized, the concept behind cheese fondue was popularized by cheese and wine makers. By the 20th century, many Swiss towns and cantons offered their own varieties of the cheese fondue, using the many available local ingredients such as cheese and wine.
Ingredients of a basic cheese fondue
A cheese fondue usually consists of a blend of different cheese types, seasoning, and wine. Corn flour, potato starch, or corn starch is added into the mixture so as to avoid separation. The mixture is then diluted by adding in white wine, beer, or kirsch. For every one person, the ideal mixture consists of 100 ml white wine. This is then mixed into 200 grams of hard and semi-hard cheese such as raclette, Emmental, or Vacherin.
Tips to create the perfect cheese fondue
To create the perfect cheese fondue, it should be continuously stirred as it is heated in a caquelon. Bread or other food items are then cut into little pieces, and are dipped into the mixture with a fondue fork. You can also experiment with various types of hard and semi-hard cheese to get that taste you are looking for.
Because the cheese fondue is a communal dish, certain social rules or etiquette are followed by the Swiss. The tongue or lips shouldn't touch the fondue fork, and once a food item has been dipped and tasted, it's considered rude to dip it again into the fondue.
