Easy Cheese Fondue Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What type of cheese is best for fondue? ›

The best cheese for fondue is a buttery, creamy cheese that melts smoothly. 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.

Lemon juice helps stabilize the emulsion of melted cheese and wine, while providing a bright flavor to balance the dairy-fat richness. Keeping the heat low while melting the cheese prevents the fondue from breaking.

When making cheese fondue, always use a thickener. Cheese should be shredded and tossed with flour or cornstarch to aid in thickening and to improve the viscosity of the fondue. A good rule of thumb is to use one tablespoon of flour or cornstarch per pound of cheese.

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

Canola oil and peanut oil are both excellent options for fondue, and both have a high smoke point so that they won't burn as quickly as other oils. Peanut oil also has a milder taste than canola oil, which may be preferable if you want neutral-tasting food.

What Are the Best Gruyère Substitutes? There are plenty of other premier cheeses that can serve as good substitutes for Gruyère cheese. Depending on whether you're melting cheese or adding more variety to your charcuterie board, you might consider Beaufort, Comté, Jarlsberg, Emmental, or Fontina.

Fondue rules

You must not double dip, and never put your fork directly into your mouth.

This German meat fondue (or fleischfondue) is cooked in hot broth instead of hot oil, which is delicious and lower in fat, which many people prefer. Because broth boils at 212 F/100 C, the meat will take longer to cook, but that only enhances the party experience.

When cheese gets too hot, its protein, called casein, can coagulate into a toughened mass, squeezing out liquid and fat. This is probably what happened with your fondue last year. Pots specially designed for cheese fondue insulate the cheese from the heat.

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.

How much cheese per person for fondue? ›

How Much Cheese Per Person for Fondue? Plan to purchase around eight ounces of cheese per person when serving fondue. An intimate date night meal for two would require about a pound of cheese, while a meal for four would require two pounds, a dinner party with eight guests would need four pounds, and so on.

Bring the oil to a low simmer in the fondue pot. Season meat with salt and pepper and pierce it with the fondue spears. Carefully place the steak pieces into the fondue pot and cook until browned–about 5-7 minutes. Remove from pot and season again with salt and pepper if desired.

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).

Never double dip unless you ask first. Never dip with your fingers. Those pots are hot! Never lick the fondue pot, no matter how tempting.

Bread is an excellent choice for cheese fondue because it soaks up the warm cheese and creamy flavors, creating a delicious combination. There are so many options to choose from for this classic side, such as French baguettes, sourdough, breadsticks, bagels, croutons or pretzels.

What is the best melting cheese? Cheeses with more moisture and lower melting points - cheddar is one of the most popular choices, but Swiss and Gruyère are also terrific options. Which melts better, mild or sharp cheddar? Mild cheddar melts more smoothly than sharper (more aged) cheddar.

If the fondue has been over-cooked and the cheese is turning into hard lumps then adding a teaspoon or two of lemon juice should help to restore the texture. If the cheese has split and looks greasy but not lumpy then adding extra cornflour (cornstarch) will help to re-emulsify the mixture.

Emmi Swiss Knight is the best fondue cheese, and it just happens to be the premade fondue I see most often in grocery stores. The pull is incredible—when you dunk a piece of bread in this fondue cheese, you truly have to twirl and twirl to get the cheese pull to break.

Bread is an excellent choice for cheese fondue because it soaks up the warm cheese and creamy flavors, creating a delicious combination. There are so many options to choose from for this classic side, such as French baguettes, sourdough, breadsticks, bagels, croutons or pretzels.