Classic Cheese Fondue - Food Wishes

Cheese fondue is one of those iconic recipes that I’ve never gotten around to filming. One of those reasons was the lack of a proper fondue set, but that changed after a trip to a second hand store. With that excuse gone, I was down to finding an authentic recipe that would be both easy, and foolproof. Enjoy!

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[---Dana----]

Great recipe! It's the same as my husband's, and it is marvelous. He 1st made this for me on our 3rd anniversay with a bottle of champagne for starters, and he has made this nearly every year since. I have stayed married to this man for 47 years because of this dish. Love potion #9.

[amarug]

swiss guy here, and we indeed do eat fondue a lot, its not just something tourists think we do. however, the by FAR most popular one of called "moitee moitee", its 50/50 gruyere and vacherin. id say about 90% of all fondues eaten here are that one. emmental is hardly ever used and very unpopular. also we only dip bread in it, some people also dip boiled potatos, but 95% of all fondues are bread only. no one would ever dream of dipping a vegetable or so. but the cheeses and white wine used in it, are so out of this world epic, that using anything but neutral, semi stale bread would not add to the experience and mask the delicate fireworks of taste going on there. sorry had to be said, but im a huge fan of yours!

[MrOffTrail]

Pro tip: toss the cheese with the cornstarch instead of adding to the wine. Exactly the perfect amount needed will stick to the cheese, excess will fall to the bottom of the bowl, and the cheese will be easier to work with since it wont be sticky. Also, that’s a meat fondue pot in the video, for cooking meat in hot broth or oil. The cheese fondue pots are heavy ceramic, which diffuses the heat and retains it, so more even and less likely to scorch the cheese right above the flame. I like the ideas on foods to dip...been making cheese fondue for 40 years, and am always on the look out. My fave will always be cubed sourdough bread, but chunks of granny smith apples, small pickles (both sweet and cornichon) and even crisp roasted Brussels sprouts are nice to cut the richness of the cheese.

[angelmoonlighttarot]

Fondue is how I was the only Mom in my neighborhood whose kids ate their fruits and vegetables. We would sit at the coffee table on the floor in the living room to make it special. The kids could stand up to spear their tidbits. Great memories! Chocolate fondue for dessert!

[oDrashiao]

Here in the French speaking Switzerland, the most traditional way would be to use Gruyère and Vacherin as our cheeses (half and half). I personnaly prefer it to Emmental, so if you can buy that near you… go for it :) Also we usually just dip bread (or sometimes potatoes).

Nice to see people abroad trying it out!

[Meggs]

I haven't had fondue in MANY MANY years. It was big in the 80s and creeped into the 90s. This recipe makes me wanna find a fondue set. Thank you Chef John as always!

[lilliputlittle]

Your fondue pot is *Gorgeous*. Made this tonight with a substitution - one teaspoon vodka and two teaspoons cherry/pomegranate juice since kirsch is not available locally. It was delicious.

I didn't dirty an additional pot either. I put everything in my electric fondue pot and just let it slowly melt while giving a good stir every now and then.

[RaphisWorkshop]

Hi Chef John, great video as always :)
As a swiss guy I feel qualified to comment on this, I have some notes:
1. There is no such thing as too much garlic in a fondue
2. Why not start in the fondue pot, gives you one thing less to clean up
3. There are probably more fondue variations than there are cows in switzerland, here's my favourite way of making it:
Roughly chop 5 garlic cloves and some chilli peppers and saute them in a little bit of butter. Add the cornstarch, then the kirsch and white wine. Let it heat up, then add the cheese and let it melt. Season with pepper, nutmeg, paprika and a liiittle bit of cayenne :)

[gilanagelman]

There once was a man from Peru,
Whose fork fell into his stew.
So he found a long stick,
And whittled it slick,
And now all he eats is fondue.

[Mr.T]

If you thought getting a table at Dorsia was hard, wait until Johnny Long Forks opens.

[ellisbenm]

Knew before watching that the pun game was gonna be out of control

[MrMojitoguru]

Next i think we need a perfect dark chocolate fondue recipe so we can get the absolute MOST of our newly acquired, vintage fondue pots. 😁👍🏻

[surienwolf]

Generally we have cast iron pots over flames and we add the cheese in the pot whilst everyone is around the table and we all stir and mix until its ready before we eat, like a good party around the table. And usually only bread with the fondue is served. Now after, there is a really thick crust of cheese on the bottom of the pot that we all fight over, bug big tradition this crust of cheese. And black pepper is grinded on the plate and you put your cheese dipped bread on the pepper. Any leftovers is eaten on a slice of bread the next morning. And there is a champagne version of our fondue which is also really nice. Thanks a lot chef! You did us proud here in Switzerland with the recipe as nutmeg is a must and paprika perhaps but we all have our secret traditional recipes. 😉

[KainoaBlackeagle]

Although we could we could go with a plant based sausage, or a carnivore based guest list. Gold!! 🥇💯 Chef John is savage! Keep it up!

[ericvaninwegen]

Perfect timing, Chef John! I've been craving some fondue! You are the cheese and bread of knowing what's in my head!

[lawrencetaylor]

While I am west of Zürich, I am just a little North of Gruyère. In fact, I had an apartment about 4 kilometers from the castle. The cows were so close that I was calling my family and they knew that the cows were NOT constipated. So yes, I think I have something to say about this fondue recipe.
First of all, a metal pot? And a transfer from the cooking pot to the fondue pot? Sacré bleu, John.
Seoond, Gruyèriens but the ceramic pot with garlic. Then they put in the cheese. They would use gruyère and vacherin (moitié-moitié) but we would replace the vacherin with Appenzeller. That is also called stinky cheese. But hey, it's a fondue. Then you pour in the wine, and heat it. We'll add the corn starch in the middle of stirring with a freakishly large wooden spoon (not a whisk), and add the Kirsch at the end. Then the pot would be carried to the table, and most of them would only use bread. No problems using those other things, but they usually are on the side. No comment from me with the fruit and vegies, I think it's a nice touch.
The French use the wine first and then the cheese, and it often leads to a separation, or as we like to call it, gum.
So those are my comments. Like I said, I treated many patients who had to stir thousands of fondues and carry those things to the tables. Yes, it's hard work. We would never go to Gruyère to have a fondue, since it is a tourist trap. We'd go into Bulle to have a fondue. But the best restaurant in Bulle (my neighbors for 15 years) went bankrupt and the servers lost their pensions. The politicians (most of them deserve long forks) sold the restaurant and let them retire with no pensions. The Swiss love money, and they love keeping their money.

[madock]

Why would you ever suggest "less cheese" when you could instead say "more wine"?

[wdkerbow]

The best part is the "crouton" at the bottom of the pot. Cooked cheese full of the garlic, pepper, nutmeg, etc... Use the skewered pieces of bread to keep it stirred. When we get to the bottom, we just peel it off and share it around.

[etiennec]

If you can, try to mix Emmental, Gruyere and another one called Beaufort. Adds a lot to the complexity of flavor IMO.
Comté also works very well.

[jvallas]

Awesome - I bought a fondue set on eBay last month for who knows what reason, but I thought I’d give it a try one time when the grandkids are here. Thanks for the great sounding recipe.