Fondue
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2008-07-15T00:24:50Z
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[[Image:Swiss fondue.jpg|thumb|right|A cheese fondue]]
'''Fondue''' is a [[Switzerland|Swiss]] communal dish shared at the table in an [[earthenware]] pot (''[[caquelon]]'') over a small burner (''rechaud''). The term is derived from the French ''fondre'' (''to melt''), in the past tense ''fondu'' (''melted'').
Diners use forks to dip bits of food (most often bread) into the warm semi-liquid [[sauce]] (commonly a cheese mix). Heat is supplied by a [[Candle wick|wicked]] or gel [[Portable_stove|alcohol burner]], or a [[tealight]].
While cheese fondue is the most widely known, there are other pot and dipping ingredients.
==History==
A recipe for a sauce made from [[Pramnos]] [[wine]], grated [[goat's cheese]] and white [[flour]] appears in Scroll 11 (lines 629-645) of [[Homer]]'s ''[[Iliad]]'' and has been cited as the earliest record of a fondue. [[Switzerland|Swiss]] communal fondue arose many centuries ago as a result of [[food preservation]] methods. The Swiss [[Staple food|food staples]] [[bread]] and [[raclette]]-like [[cheese]] made in summer and fall were meant to last throughout the winter months. The bread aged, dried out and became so tough it was sometimes chopped with an ax. The stored cheese also became very hard, but when mixed with wine and heated it softened into a thick sauce. During Switzerland's long, cold winters some families and extended groups would gather about a large pot of cheese set over the fire and dip wood-hard bits of bread which quickly became edible.<ref>Fonduecity.com, ''[http://www.fonduecity.com/fonduehistory.htm Fondue History]'', retrieved 9 November 2007</ref>
Modern fondue originated during the 18th century in the [[canton]] of [[Neuchâtel]]. As Switzerland industrialized, wine and cheese producers encouraged the dish's popularity. By the 20th century many Swiss cantons and even towns had their own local varieties and recipes based on locally available cheeses, wines and other ingredients. During the 1950s a slowing cheese industry in Switzerland widely promoted fondue since one person could easily eat half a pound of melted cheese in one sitting. In 1955 the first pre-mixed "instant" fondue was brought to market. Fondue became very popular in the [[United States]] during the mid-1960s after American tourists discovered it in Switzerland.
==Preparation==
[[Image:Full cheese fondue set - in Switzerland.JPG|thumb|right|A full cheese fondue set in Switzerland. Apart from pieces of bread to dip into the melted cheese, there are side servings of [[kirsch]], raw [[garlic]], pickled gherkins and [[onions]], and [[olives]].]]
There are many kinds of fondue, each made with a different blend of cheeses, wine and seasoning, mostly depending on where it is made. The ''caquelon'' is first rubbed with a cut [[garlic]] clove, then wine and cheese slowly added until melted. A small amount of potato starch (or [[corn starch]], [[cornflour]] or [[flour]]) is added to prevent separation and the fondue is almost always further diluted with either [[kirsch]], [[beer]], [[black tea]], and/or [[white wine]]. The most common recipe calls for 1 [[deciliter|dl]] (100 [[Litre|ml]]) of dry white wine per person and a 200 [[gram|g]] mix of hard (such as [[Gruyère (cheese)|Gruyère]]) and semi-hard (such as [[Emmental (cheese)|Emmental]], [[Vacherin (cheese)|Vacherin]] or [[raclette]]) cheeses: The mixture must be stirred continuously as it heats in the ''caquelon''. Crusty [[bread]] is cut into cubes which are then speared on a fondue [[fork]] and dipped into the melted cheese.
===Temperature and ''la religieuse''===
A cheese fondue mixture should be held at a [[temperature]] warm enough to keep the fondue smooth and liquid but not so hot as to allow any burning. If this temperature is held until the fondue is finished there will be a thin crust of toasted (not burnt) cheese at the bottom of the ''caquelon''. This is called ''la religieuse'' (French for ''the nun'', more or less). It has the texture of a thin [[cracker]] and is almost always lifted out and eaten.
==Varieties==
===Swiss===
* Neuchâteloise: [[Gruyère (cheese)|Gruyère]] and [[Emmental (cheese)|emmental]].
* Moitié-moitié (or half 'n half): Gruyère and Fribourg [[Vacherin (cheese)|vacherin]].
* Vaudoise: Gruyère.
* Fribourgeoise: Fribourg [[Vacherin (cheese)|vacherin]] wherein potatoes are often dipped instead of bread.
* Fondue de Suisse centrale: Gruyère, Emmental and [[sbrinz]].
* Appenzeller: [[Appenzeller (cheese)|Appenzeller]] cheese with cream added.
* Tomato: [[Gruyère (cheese)|Gruyère]], [[Emmental (cheese)|Emmental]], crushed tomatoes and wine.
* Spicy: Gruyère, red and green peppers, with [[Chili pepper|chili]].
* Mushroom: Gruyère, Fribourg vacherin and mushrooms.
====Meat fondues====
[[Image:Meat fondue.jpg|thumb|right|A ''fondue bourguignonne'': At top is a pot of hot oil for quickly cooking the meat, at middle a caquelon for a further cheese fondue and at bottom more sauces for dipping.]]
* Bourguignonne: During the late [[middle ages]] as grapes ripened in the [[vineyard]]s of [[Burgundy]] a quick harvest was needed and the noontime meal was often skipped. Johann du Putzxe was a [[monk]] who made a kind of [[fast food]] by dunking pieces of meat into hot oil. The Swiss later adapted this as a variety of fondue. The pot is filled with oil (or butter) and brought to simmer. Each person spears small cubes of [[beef]] or [[horse meat]] with a long, narrow fondue fork and fries them in the pot. An assortment of [[sauce]]s and sometimes a further cheese fondue are provided for dipping.
* Bressane: Small cubes of chicken breast are dipped in cream, then in fine bread crumbs and at last deep fried, as with a bourguignonne.
* Court Bouillon (or Chinoise): A Swiss traveling in [[China]] ate a dish called Chrysanthemum which was dunk-cooked in a pot of [[bouillon]]. Fondues based on this became popular when he returned to Switzerland. The diner dips rolled shaved meat (traditionally beef) into a simmering [[broth]]. As with a bourguignonne, dipping sauces are served. This dish is still somewhat like a Chinese [[hot pot]] (''[[huoguo]]'' in Chinese, or [[steamboat (food)|steamboat]], which is popular across Asia). At meal's end the much flavoured broth may be served to the participants, with or without sherry wine.
===French alpine===
* Savoyarde: [[Comté (cheese)|Comté]] savoyard, [[Beaufort (cheese)|beaufort]], and emmental.
* Jurassienne: Mature or mild [[Comté (cheese)|comté]].
===Italian alpine===
* Fonduta: [[Fontina cheese|Fontina]], milk, eggs and [[truffle]]s, known as [[Fonduta valdostana]] in the [[Aosta]] valley and [[Fonduta piemontese]] in [[Piedmont]], both in northern [[Italy]].
===Instant===
Refrigerated fondue blends are sold in most Swiss supermarkets and need little more than melting in the caquelon. Individual portions heatable in a [[microwave oven]] are also sold.
===Dessert===
Dessert fondue recipes began appearing in the 1960s. Slices of [[fruit]] or [[pastry]] are dipped in a caquelon of melted [[chocolate]]. Other dessert fondues can include [[coconut]], [[honey]], [[caramel]] and [[marshmallow]].
==Etiquette==
As with other communal dishes fondue has an [[etiquette]] which can be both helpful and fun. Most often, allowing one's tongue or lips to touch the dipping fork will be thought of as rude. With meat fondues one should use a dinner fork to take meat off the dipping fork. A "no [[wikt:double-dip|double-dipping]]" rule also has sway: After a dipped morsel has been tasted it should never be returned to the pot. In longstanding Swiss tradition if a nugget of bread is lost in the cheese by a man he buys a bottle of wine and if such a thing happens to befall a woman she kisses the man on her left.<ref>[http://www.gofondue.com/fondue_101.htm Fondue 101 Guide<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.digsmagazine.com/host/host_fondue4.htm DigsMagazine.com | how to have a fondue party]</ref> Lately, rather more humorous twists on this have shown up in Switzerland such as young diners diving into the snow whilst clad only in underwear.<!-- This one indeed happens and was shown in an ad on Swiss Television SF1 -->
In Switzerland sometimes children fight over the burnt cheese at the bottom.
Those who succeed in following the etiquette of fondue can share the cheese cracker-like ''la religieuse'' left at the bottom of the emptied caquelon.
==See also==
* [[Welsh rarebit]], a Welsh variant.
* [[Bagna Càuda]], an [[olive oil]]-based Northern Italian variant.
* [[Chocolate fountain]]
* [[Hot pot]]
==References and notes==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{Commonscat|Fondue}}
* [http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/fondue.htm The Gourmet Sleuth - Fondue]
*[http://www.fonduebits.com/index.html FondueBits]
*[http://fantes.com/fondue_instructions.htm Fondue/alcohol burner safety tips]
*[http://www.fondueforyou.com Fondue tips, tricks, and etiquette]
*[http://www.fonduerecipe.net Tasty collection of fondue recipes]
[[Category:Swiss cuisine]]
[[Category:Cheese dishes]]
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