Swiss Fondue

The Matterhorn

I have been fortunate enough to do a fair amount of traveling over the years and one thing that stands out when I think back on it, is the variety of different food it has exposed me to. From England it’s a short hop across the English Channel to France and suddenly it seems the world is your oyster. You can head in any direction and you are bound to discover cultural diversity and along with it a cornucopia of delectable cuisine.

Now I have bought baguettes in many different places, but for some reason a French baguette has a taste and quality all its own that just yells France. And it’s not just baguettes or France but I find that to be true for lots of different foods and places around Europe. The beauty of it is that this diversity is packed into a relatively small area by North American standards, which makes travelling in Europe such fun.

Take Switzerland for example, here is a beautiful, picture perfect country of high alpine passes, rugged mountain scenery and pastoral valleys. It is known for its clean mountain air and pollution free environment. Whilst we have become accustomed to seeing litter, garbage and graffiti throughout our suburbs and along our highways it is a real eyesore. Switzerland on the other hand, sets a pretty high standard that we would do well to follow. I am not saying you will never see any litter there, but it is the exception rather than the norm and I believe their laws are pretty strict in this regard.

No wonder that Switzerland produces great cheese when their dairy animals live and graze on such clean and healthy pasture. Who hasn’t heard of Gruyere and Emmenthaler or Swiss fondue. It was in Switzerland that I first got to enjoy and appreciate what all the fuss was about. Before that I equated cheese fondue to a pot of hot cheese whiz, so when I had my first taste of the real thing I was hooked. I went out and bought a fondue set, in fact I bought two, one as a gift for my sister’s birthday, and I am still using that set today, 20 years later.

To make a traditional Swiss Fondue is fairly easy and the required ingredients are readily available at most grocery stores. It is better if you have the fondue set but you can get away without it if you have a good saucepan and a warming tray to maintain the temperature of the fondue after it is served. You will also require long handle forks for dipping, which are normally included in a fondue set.

Ingredients for 4 persons:

• 1 clove of garlic.
• 1 ½ cups of dry white wine.
• 1 teaspoon of lemon juice.
• 2 cups (10 oz/284 g) grated Emmenthaler cheese.
• 2 cups (10 oz/284 g) grated Gruyere cheese.
• 1 tablespoon corn starch.
• 3 tablespoons Kirsch.
• White pepper, grated nutmeg and paprika to taste.
• French bread or crusty white loaf chopped into 1” cubes for serving.

Sliced green apple makes a nice addition.

• Rub the inside of the fondue pot or saucepan with the clove of garlic.
• Blend together the corn starch and kirsch and set aside
• Heat the wine and the lemon juice together over medium heat stirring gently in a figure of 8.
• Gradually add the grated cheese stirring continuously until the all the cheese has melted.
• Add the Kirsch/corn starch and blend together.
• Continue stirring in a figure of 8 until the mixture is bubbling.
• Add fresh grated nutmeg, white pepper and paprika to taste.
• Transfer mix to the fondue burner or warming tray and serve.

This traditional fondue, delicious in itself, can also form the base for other fondues.

After a day skiing what a great meal to come home to!