Okay cheese lovers, the fondue is back, and it’s better than ever. We here in America are seeing a resurgence of a 1970s dinner-party set piece, and across the pond, Oxford University research has concluded that the fondue’s potential as a sharing dish and conversation piece is part of the attraction, but the comforting enveloping nature of all that melted cheese-y goodness doesn’t hurt, either. What better excuse to break out your fondue set and get melting than National Cheese Fondue Day?
So, how do you make a classic fondue, anyway? Well, the classic is cheese, usually a mix of a nutty meltable cheese such as comte, emmenthal or gruyere with a creamier one such as fontina, reblochon or port salut.
Once you have the base, you need to look at what to dip. Traditionally, your first choice would be a crusty rustic white bread chopped into cubes. But you could think outside the box and go for a hearty brown, multi grain, or even rye bread to add texture and interesting flavor profiles. Or, following the 70s theme, how about the renaissance of the cruditeés? A raft of raw vegetables and perhaps even some pickled ones are a good way to add a fresh element to this sleep-inducing dish. Little boiled potatoes or chargrilled leeks and squash would work well too.
The origin of fondue is traced back to when isolated communities had limited access to fresh food in the colder months so they used old bits of cheese and bread, turning them into a rich, warming meal with the help of some local high-acidity white wine. But today, instead of the Swiss high-acidity wine, you could also try a deep fruity red like a Zinfandel or Syrah, or if you’re a beer lover, go for a pale ale or gose beer, some English mustard powder and finish with a few drops of tabasco and Worcestershire sauce – with extra Worcestershire sauce to hand around with sourdough toast for dipping.
If you’re lactose intolerant, well frankly you shouldn’t even be thinking about trying a fondue, but you do have some options. You could try something along the lines of the east-Asian steamboat – a pot of boiling, well-flavoured stock (chicken, beef, fish or vegetable depending on proclivity) with vegetables and thinly sliced meat to dip in and cook. Or a cauliflower puree might just do the trick.
What are you waiting for? Go Get Cheesy With It!
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