Easy Cheese Fondue Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What type of cheese is best for fondue? ›

The best all-around cheeses for fondue are fontina, Gruyère, and gouda. If you aren't sure what to pick, use even amounts of these three. Together are lush and complex. For classic Swiss cheese fondue (meaning one like what you would find in Switzerland), a mix of traditional, firm mountain-style cheeses is best.

Nacho cheese dip is made from pasteurized process cheese, or, if you make it at home, cheddar, Monterey Jack, and/or Pepper Jack and perhaps some chopped jalapenos. Fondue is made from Gruyère cheese, Emmentaler cheese, dry white wine, cornstarch, lemon juice, kirsch, black pepper, and nutmeg.

A mild-flavored sourdough or baguette will work well. You can also use a loaf of dense rye bread, but you may want to cube it instead of tearing it into chunks. Baguettes are the traditional choice for dipping in fondue because they have a mild flavor and crisp crust that's perfect for dipping in creamy, melted cheese.

There are four commonly prepared types of fondue: cheese fondue, chocolate fondue, oil fondue (also known as meat fondue), and broth fondue.

Bread, Crackers, and Chips

Bread is the most popular dipper for cheese fondue. There are many excellent options to choose from. French bread, breadsticks, and croutons are always favorites, but also consider multigrain bread, rye, sourdough, pumpernickel, and even bagels.

Fondue rules

You must not double dip, and never put your fork directly into your mouth. You can grab it off with just your teeth, but the best way is to slide it onto your plate and use a regular fork to eat it.

Blanched vegetables: broccoli, asparagus, green beans, snow peas, or snap peas. Blanch in a pot of lightly salted boiling water for a minute or two to soften them up just a bit. Drain them well before putting them out on a serving tray.

Plan on cooking, steaming and blanching veggies and potatoes an hour or so before the party. Don't serve damp veggies. Cheese fondue won't stick to damp veggies, so make sure they're dry before serving. There's nothing sadder than watching fondue slide right off your broccoli and back into the pot.

A cheese fondue mixture should be kept warm enough to keep the fondue smooth and liquid but not so hot that it burns. 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).

Cheeses with more moisture and lower melting points make for mouthwatering, creamy cheese sauces. Cheddar is one of the most popular choices, but Swiss and Gruyère are also terrific options.

Is fondue just queso? ›

Queso means cheese in Spanish, melted or not. Fondue is French for melted. Fondues are often made with melted cheese and some kind of alcohol. But you can also get fondue that has melted chocolate into which you dip pastry, or hot oil or broth into which you dip pieces of meat.

Steamed red-skinned potato chunks, grilled or toasted Tuscan bread cubes, and pear slices are all great for dipping in fondue cheese. Be sure to stir the Swiss fondue as you dip.

Before you serve fondue, suitable starters include some dried meat (e.g. Bündnerfleisch, Walliser jerky or Mostbröckli), raw vegetable sticks with a light quark dip or a fresh, crunchy salad. But you certainly don't need a starter – you can simply dive straight into this rich dish.

The best cuts of beef for fondue include top sirloin, ribeye, and tenderloin. Cut or slice the meat according to personal preference. Some prefer to slice steaks into long strips, while others cube the meat into small pieces. Prepare the fondue oil or broth according to the recipe's directions.

Mozzarella, he adds, “melts beautifully and produces those extraordinary stretches because it's at that pH sweet spot of about 5.2”. Then there's the age of the cheese to consider.

Emmental. For another smooth, semi-hard Swiss cheese, Emmental is a great choice. In fact, it's often used with Gruyère when making fondue, so you know it will have a similar melting power.

Swiss. Vacherin Fribourgeois and Gruyère are commonly used for fondue. Ready fondues sold in a Japanese supermarket. The regional names used for some of these variants are factitious, and do not reflect genuine regional traditions. Vaudoise: Gruyère.