Cheese Fondue

2 lbs

Swiss or French Mountain Cheese, grated (see below for specific recommendations)

1 tsp

potato starch (or corn starch)

1-2 cloves

garlic, cut in half

8 oz.

dry white wine

4

peppercorns

1 oz

Kirsch or other dry fruit-based distillate (e.g. plum brandy)

1 tsp

fresh lemon juice

Fondue pot (caquelon) with heat source (Sterno or alcohol)

crusty bread cut into cubes and other accompaniments (see below)

Preparation

1. Cut bread into 1-inch cubes.
2. Mix the grated cheese together and toss with the starch in a bowl.
3. Rub the bottom of the fondue pot with the cut side of a garlic clove and toss the halves in.
4. Add the wine, spirits, lemon juice and peppercorns to the pot and begin heating over medium heat on the stove.
5. When hot, but not boiling, begin melting the cheese mixture in the pot a handful at a time, stirring all the while with a wooden spoon.
6. When all the cheese has been melted and is very gently bubbling, remove the pot from the stove and place on the table over a heat source (Sterno/alcohol) set to keep the fondue very gently bubbling.
7. Serve communally at the table by inviting each person to spear cubes of bread with a long-handled fork and dip them into the cheese in the pot. Be sure to keep stirring occasionally as you eat to keep the cheese from curdling or burning.

Tips

• Cheese selection: in the end your fondue can only be as good as the cheese you use, so get the best you can; look for artisanal products handmade on a small scale with unpasteurized Alpine milk from a single source of animals. Although everyone is quite particular about exactly how they make fondue, there are few hard rules that apply across the board. Cheese selection is considered an art form and the blending can be a significant part of the fun. The following are a few classic combinations:

  Swiss	French
  1/2 Gruyere 1/2 Vacherin Fribourgeois (Moitié-Moitié)	Beaufort Ete (Savoyarde)
  2/3 Gruyere 1/3 Emmental (Neuchatel)	1/2 1-year Comte 1/2 18-month Comte

• If the consistency isn't liquid enough, turn up the heat a bit and stir in a little more wine or Kirsch.
• If the fondue separates (into a milky liquid on top and a blob underneath), remove it to the kitchen and stir vigorously, adding a little more starch mixed into wine or Kirsch if necessary.

Accompaniments

The traditional accompaniment to fondue is cubed crusty bread. In addition to bread, there are several other accompaniments that are quite delicious. We like:

• Cornichon pickles or sweet gerkins (the crisp crunch and nice acidity or sweetness, respectively, offset the rich cheese)
• Crisp sweet/tart apples
• Boiled fingerling potatoes
• Bundnerfleisch (Swiss-style air-dried beef)
• Prosciutto
• Vegetables (fresh carrot sticks, blanched cauliflower or green beans)

A simple salad or fresh fruit is a good way to follow fondue.

Beverages

A dry white wine is the most traditional, but dry cider or beer are either one quite tasty in or alongside fondue. Black or peppermint tea are also commonly drunk with fondue.

Notes and Trivia

• Nearly obligatory when eating fondue is the "coup du milieu", or shot of kirsch or other distillate halfway through the pot. It serves both as a way to slow down the enjoyment, which always seems to be over too soon, as well as an aid to digestion.
• Traditionally, whoever loses a piece of bread off of their fork into the pot must either buy the next round at a restaurant or kiss everyone at the table, your choice.
• If everything has gone just right when the fondue nears its end, there should be a delicious golden brown crust on the bottom of the pot. Those in the know will gently loosen and lift it out, carefully divide it up and very intently savor this last bit of the experience. This crust is so prized by the Swiss that they refer to it reverently as "la religieuse." Some aficionados will even fry or gently scramble an egg on top for the ultimate finish.