Fondue

Switzerland

Also known as Cheese Fondue

About Fondue

Fondue is a Swiss dish of melted cheese served in a communal pot (caquelon) over a small burner. Diners dip cubes of bread into the cheese using long forks.

The classic recipe mixes Gruyère and Emmental or Vacherin cheese with white wine, garlic and a splash of kirsch (cherry brandy), thickened with cornstarch. The name comes from the French fondre, to melt.

Fondue began as a way to use up hard cheese and stale bread in winter. In the 1930s, the Swiss Cheese Union promoted it as the national dish, and it became fashionable worldwide in the 1960s and 70s.

Ingredients

• gruyère cheese
• emmental cheese
• white wine
• garlic
• cornstarch
• kirsch
• bread