How to eat cheese fondue

Eating cheese fondue requires some nuances.

Accompaniments? The best things to eat with fondue are pickled things, such as pickles, or onions. Also extremely good are thin slices of air-cured beef such as Bündnerfleisch from the canton of Graubünden, or Italian Bresaola from over the alps in Italy. The meats should be extremely lean – avoid anything with fat, as the cheese has enough fat in it.

Keep stirring. The fondue should be continuously stirred while heating on the rechaud. A figure-8 pattern will keep the cheese homogenized until you reach the bottom of the pan. If the pan isn’t stirred, the cheese will start to form a crust at the bottom with the possibility of burning.

Don’t drink anything cold. The Swiss would say to limit accompanying drinks to three: white wine, kirsch, or herbal tea. Folklore says that anything else, be it water, juice or beer will cause the melted cheese to coagulate, causing indigestion.

End of the fondue = fried cheese. Once the cheese has disappeared, at the bottom of the pot a crust of fried cheese will form. In French this is called “la religieuse,” the pieces of crispy cheese have a toasty crunch. Be careful though, the crust needs a slow heat to form – too high a heat though, and the crust can burn.

Chocolate fondue for dessert? The obvious dessert seems like it would be a chocolate fondue. This may be somewhat heavy after a cheese fondue, but can work if made with a mixture of dark and milk chocolate. For dipping in the chocolate – fruit like strawberries, bananas, and especially pineapple are great.