Swiss Speciality --- Fondue

Eating cheese fondue is a very old tradition in Switzerland. Originally a poor mountain people's food using old, ripe cheese and leftover bread, fondue parties eventually became a frequent and beloved social event all over Switzerland.

For most people, growing up in Switzerland means growing up with fondue. Swiss learn at very young age how to eat fondue: how to put the little bread cubes on the special three-tined fork without pricking your finger, how to stir the ready-to-eat fondue with the fork and bread for a moment before pulling the bread out again, in order to keep the consistency of the cheese creamy and prevent the cheese from burning on the bottom of the caquelon. The caquelon, by the way, is the special earthenware pot used only for cheese fondue.

To make a great fondue dinner actually takes little effort. A mix of two or three hard or semi-hard cheeses (personally I prefer a mix of Vacherin Fribourgeois, Gruyére, and Appenzeller), any kind of bread (I recommend a rather heavy and dense kind, as it tends to fall off the fork less), some good quality dry white wine (Fendant, for example), garlic cloves (in my opinion the more the better), and some Kirsch (cherry brandy) to drink after eating, as it helps the digestion process. For a non-alcoholic alternative, black tea is often served with cheese fondue. To make sure the fondue stays creamy and does not separate, add a little cornstarch (about 2 tsp) and a few drops of lemon juice. Freshly ground pepper and a pinch of nutmeg will add some extra flavor.

While cheese fondue is typically Swiss and often eaten during winter time, broth or oil fondues are less common and considered more of a festive meal. In our family, for example, Fondue Chinoise, the broth fondue, is the traditional Christmas Eve dinner. Both the Fondue Chinoise as well as the Fondue Bourguignonne, which is made with oil, feature pieces of meat (mostly beef) cooked in the broth or oil, then dipped in a variety of dipping sauces (curry, garlic, tartar, etc.), and eaten with bread and/or mixed pickles. The broth and oil are not cooked in a caquelon but a metal pot. The meat fondue forks typically have two tines instead of three, and should have some color code. As one lets the fork with the meat sit in the broth or oil for a while, until the meat is cooked, the color code will help you find your fork again, especially if several people eat together.

The meat fondues allow for a lot of creativity with the side dishes. While in Switzerland the cheese fondues are basically eaten with bread only, the meat fondues can be accompanied by rice, steamed vegetables, garlic bread, potato chips, etc.