We always use to serve sausage to dip into the warm bubbly cheese fondue. That isn’t traditionally how you eat fondue. You won’t find sausage served with traditional cheese fondue in Switzerland, Austria, etc. It’s not like The Melting Pot. These are things we’ve learned from the past few years on how to eat fondue like the Swiss.
How do you make fondue?
Traditional fondue is a mixture of Gruyere and Vacheron cheese. Do not use American Swiss Cheese. Typically, Swiss will buy premade fondue cheese mixes at the grocery store or farm stand. They even have fondue vending machines. The fondue mixes often include a bit of cornstarch, so all you have to do is add white wine. Some restaurants will serve it with added ingredients like truffle fondue.
What do you serve with fondue?
You don’t dip sausage, broccoli, or grapes into fondue. You dip bread. For example, when you order fondue in Gruyere (top photo), you are served boiled potatoes, bread, and gherkins with your cheese.
What is fondue Chinoise?
There are two kinds of fondue: cheese and fondue Chinoise, which uses broth like a hot pot. With fondue Chinoise, you can dip thin slices of meat, vegetables, or fish into the broth to cook it. In the end, you drink the broth. In Klosters, they added sherry at the end and served it in giant mugs.
It’s the perfect way to warm up on a cold, snowy night. It comes with various sauces like cocktail sauce, curry sauce, tartar sauce, and Asian sauces. You can also purchase platters of seafood or meat in the grocery stores in the fresh and frozen sections. They even have pouches for the broth with dehydrated mushrooms that you can buy. It’s almost like buying a packet of Lipton soup in the US.
How do Swiss eat fondue?
Add cracked pepper to your plate. Put your bread on your fondue stick. Dip the bread into the cheese and swirl swirl swirl clockwise. Some people also like to eat their fondue with a bit of Kirsh, a cherry-flavored liquor. You can lightly dip your bread into it before going into the cheese.
What do you drink with fondue?
Traditionally, you’ll want to order white wine or tea. In our region, Chasselas wine is very popular. Don’t order drinks with bubbles like water with gas, beer, or Champagne. It’s believed that it’s not good for digestion, especially after you just had a lot of bread and cheese.
What do you drink after fondue?
Many people will have a glass of Eau de Vie Poire. It’s a pear liquor with a pear grown directly in the bottle. Or, try other liquors or coffee. Some people eat meringues that you dip into double cream or berries with the double cream for a lighter dessert. Then we recommend a long walk.
If you lose your bread in the pot, you’re traditionally supposed to kiss the person next to you. At the end of your fondue, they’ll scrape the bit at the bottom (la religieuse) that you can eat.