Cheese Fondue
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Being a quintessential Swiss dish, cheese fondue conjures up images for me of alpine ski huts, deep snow and 20°F weather. Well, we don't get much snow or cold weather in the California central valley, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy a good fondue party.
The trick to a successful fondue (other than the obvious one of having wonderful people around with whom to share it) is to ensure that the cheese dipping sauce stays smooth. Cheese has a propensity to get stringy or to "seize up" into clumps, the fat separating from the proteins. Food science author Harold McGee suggests several things in his book On Food and Cooking to ensure a perfect fondue.
Well-aged or moist grating cheeses work well in sauces. Don't heat the cheese beyond its melting point, cheese tends to ball up at higher temps, and don't let the cheese cool down too much before serving, as it tends to get stringier and tougher as it cools. Don't over stir the cheese, doing so will encourage stringiness. Coating the grated cheese with a starch such as flour or corn starch will help stabilize the sauce. Also,
The combination of cheese and wine is delicious but also savvy. The wine contributes two essential ingredients for a smooth sauce: water, which keeps the casein proteins most and dilute, and tartaric acid, which pulls the cross-linking calcium off of the casein proteins and binds tightly to it, leaving them glueless and happily separate. (Alcohol has nothing to do with fondue stability.) The citric acid in lemon juice will do the same thing. If it's not too far gone, you can sometimes rescue a tightening cheese sauce with a squeeze of lemon juice or a splash of white wine.
Cheese Fondue
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Ingredients
- 1/2 pound Swiss-style cheese such as Jarlsberg or Emmenthaler, shredded
- 1/2 pound Gruyere cheese, shredded
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 garlic clove, peeled, halved crosswise
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon kirsch (cherry brandy)
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
- Pinch nutmeg
- Assorted dippers - cubed ham (skip for vegetarian option), blanched broccoli, carrots, or cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, chopped green bell peppers, cubed French bread (skip for wheat-free version), peeled and chopped apples or pears
Special equipment recommended
Method
1 Place the shredded cheese and cornstarch in a plastic freezer bag. Seal, shake to coat the cheese with cornstarch. Set aside.
2 Rub the inside of a 4-quart pot with the garlic, then discard. Over medium heat, add the wine and lemon juice and bring to a gentle simmer. Gradually stir the cheese into the wine. Stir constantly in a zig-zag pattern to prevent the cheese from seizing and balling up. Cook until the cheese is just melted and creamy. Do not let boil. Once smooth, stir in kirsch, mustard and nutmeg.
3 Transfer the cheese to a fondue serving pot, set over a flame to keep warm. If your pot is thin-bottomed, a lit candle will probably do. If thick-bottomed, you can use a small Sterno.
4 Arrange an assortment of bite-sized dipping foods on a lazy Susan around fondue pot.
5 Spear dipping foods with fondue forks or wooden skewers. Dip to coat with the cheese, and eat.
Serves 4.
Recipe inspired by reader comments in Epicurious and Tyler Florence of the Food Network.
Links:
Aged cheddar and Guinness fondue - from Jaden of Steamy Kitchen
Chevre and Herb Fondue from Je Mange la Ville
Peter Hertzmann on Fondue
Cheddar, Roasted Garlic, and Zinfandel Fondue from Je Mange la Ville
Fondue party with oven baked fries from Nupur of One Hot Stove
A Swiss mom's recipe for fondue from Maki of Just Hungry
Mr. Obermayr's Cheese Fondue with gherkins, onions, and sausages for dipping, from the Passionate Cook
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Sounds like a great recipe we'll be sure to try. When our children were young, we decided that each New Year's Eve we were going to have a fondue party. I set about purchasing fondue pots at garage sales for $1.50 - $2.00 a piece and ended with quite a collection. The kids always enjoy dipping and dunking the night away with good friends. Thanks for giving us another recipe to try.