Do you fondue?

pacific breeze · January 29th, 2006, 06:08 PM

I recently found a gorgeous Danish-designed fondue pot at a thrift store. It's in perfect condition and I'm thinking about doing something very retro, but currently back in style -- having a fondue party.

I've done chocolate/fruit fondue in the past, but never the cheese variety. Any tips or techniques anyone would care to share?

A*O · January 29th, 2006, 07:20 PM

You Retro Fool!
You have to use the correct cheese - I THINK Swiss gruyere (sp?) is the best because it clings to food, has a good strong flavour and goes slightly stringy when melted. As I recall, you can also add a dash of brandy but you'll have to dig out some 1970's fondue cookbooks! You can also put good quality vegetable oil (NOT corn oil) in a fondue and deep fry bits of meat, potato chunks, etc. I vaguely remember a craze at uni for fondues because it's SOOOO daggy, but also remember they are a lot more work and aggro than the end result justifies. You also have to dress the part so go and find that Pucci polyester pantsuit.

pacific breeze · January 29th, 2006, 07:30 PM

^^Love Gruyere. But fondue is a fussy thing to do. I've had the meat/veggie style at a Swiss restaurant -- come to think of it, I should just go there and satisfy my craving. There's a reason fondue pots are in abundance at thrift shops.

Used to have a funky vintage pantsuit -- chucked it in the last move!

SVZ · January 29th, 2006, 07:59 PM

i've done a meat fondue once at a friend's house...it was in pure oil, kinda...i dunno it felt a bit too unhealthy for me.

i've done the asian style hot pot though, which i love. it's basically boiling broth, and you dip thin pieces of meat in.

A*O · January 29th, 2006, 07:59 PM

I'm sure there is an unhealthier meal than dipping chunks of bread in hot, melted cheese but I can't think of it.

SammysMom · January 29th, 2006, 08:14 PM

If you go to FoodNetwork.com and enter Fondue in the search box it should bring up a number of fondue recipes. Rachael Ray did a show last week or the week before on all things fondue.

moomies · January 30th, 2006, 12:57 AM

I once bought some cheese that was specifically for fondue by accident...it was white wine flavoured.

pacific breeze · January 30th, 2006, 01:03 AM

^^I've seen that cheese at Costco.

UndercoverGator · January 30th, 2006, 01:14 AM

I've always wanted to do a cheese fondue but the closest I've come is the melted good cheddar mixed with a can of Rotel tomatoes heated together and served with whatever you could grab to dip into it, chips, tortillas, crackers or breads.

**NoDayButToday** · January 30th, 2006, 01:25 AM

It's fantastically low class, but we made fondue one girls night out of chedder and I wanna say monterey jack cheese with beer mixed in. It didn't turn out too bad at first, but the consistency as it cooled left something to be desired.

Tenaj · January 30th, 2006, 04:27 AM

I've never had a cheese fondue, but it sound devillishly tempting.

My Mum and Dad used to do the meat fondue, chopped up steak etc. She'd prepare a salad and fresh, crusty bread. Then we'd all sit around this pot while our little bit of steak cooked. The whole experience I found very fiddly and tedious. It took so long that in the end I simply stabbed all of the steak cubes onto my skewer thing at once in order not to starve.

**NoDayButToday** · January 30th, 2006, 01:50 PM

It is, but we used like the cheap supermarket bagged Kraft cheese and like leftover crappy Busch Lite that no one would ever drink because it's so gross. The consistency definitely was not appetizing as it cooled down.

tofucheesecake · January 31st, 2006, 01:51 AM

Oui! The way my mum makes it is a recipe from Sunset (so authentic, I know) with gruyere, Emmenthal, mustard, lots of white wine and two shots of kirsch. A bit on the alcoholy side for me, but that's how it's supposed to be (at least when I had it en Suisse - surprisingly, they taste the same). I also have made an Asian broth fondue (dips: broccoli is best because it "grabs" the broth) and a chocolate fondue (pretzels, 'mallows, poundcake, strawberries), but you have to be careful not to let the chocolate one burn, otherwise that's gross.

Here's the Sunset article, with lots of different ideas, like boulliabaise, dulce de leche, etc: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articl...04/ai_59247087

Mariesoleil · December 26th, 2006, 08:50 AM

We eat many types of fondues:

Italian fondue (which is cheddar with tomatoes, garlic and pepper and you dip bread in it.)

Swiss fondue (Which is the cheese fondue with Emmenthal & Gruyere, wine, kirsch and garlic. We dip bread in it but sometimes grapes as well as slices of apple)

Bourguignonne fondue (which is the one someone mentioned earlier where you dip cubes of meat in hot oil)

Chinese fondue (I don't know why it's called like that because it's not chinese at all, but this is a sort of broth where you cook thinly, thinly sliced beef, chicken or pork, you can also dip cubes of cheddar cheese and mushrooms or any type of vegetable for that matter.

Chocolate fondue of course

Maple fondue which is a mix of maple syrup with creme that you dip fruit in.

There's a special fondue pot for the chocolate and maple fondue with a candle instead of a burner so your chocolate doesn't burn.

chuckpony · December 30th, 2006, 08:11 AM

I have made chocolate fondue for the last 2 parties I hosted. Last time I swirled in a bit of melted Ghirardelli White chocolate. I serve it with strawberries, hazelnut biscotti, shortbread cookies, and mango. I will be making it again tomorrow for our NYE party. I do have a fondue pot, which I have never used (got it as a gift years ago), but it is for use with oil only(and you have to use the fuel with it, which scares me a bit). So, I have to improvise.