The ultimate Swiss cheese fondue
- Published: 25 Feb 19
- Updated: 26 May 25
Learn how to make the ultimate fondue with seasoned skier Olivia Spurrell’s expert recipe.
- Fondue origins: The first fondues were made using leftovers (ends of cheese, bread and so on) but they definitely weren’t peasant food – Swiss cheese was, and still is, a valuable, much-exported ingredient. The name ‘fondue’ is derived from the French word fondre, which means to melt. A recipe for fondue first featured in an early 18th-century book on modern cookery by the French chef Vincent La Chapelle, but the dish described is more like scrambled eggs with cheese. Recipes for a mixture of melted cheese and wine did appear before that, but it wasn’t until 1875 that the sublime, melty mix was described as a fondue. The Swiss Cheese Union heavily promoted fondue in the first half of the 20th century. It was served at the 1964 New York World’s Fair and went on to become theheight of fashion during the 1970s.
- Traditional recipe: Cheese, garlic and white wine are the three key components, with the garlic cut and wiped around the cooking pan before the cheese is melted with the wine. Gruyère is often used (its inclusion is what legitimised fondue as a Swiss national recipe, rather than French or Belgian) and frequently paired with vacherin fribourgeois (this combo is known as moitié- moitié or half-half). Depending on where you eat fondue, the blend of cheeses varies and can include raclette, comté, emmental and others.
- Key ingredients: Use well ripened, quality cheeses that melt well. The wine should be on the acidic side to balance the richness. Mustard, kirsch and various herbs and spices are optional extras. The caquelon or fondue pot is central to the ceremony of this dish, which everyone gathers around and shares. Its base needs to be thick to distribute the heat evenly and prevent burning, as the fondue is continually kept warm from beneath by a candle or spirit lamp.
Time for dessert? How about chocolate fondue…
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Serves 4-6 -
Hands-on time 15 min
Nutrition
For 6
- Calories
- 525kcals
- Fat
- 37.2g (23.6g saturated)
- Protein
- 30.3g
- Carbohydrates
- 5g (1.9g sugars)
- Fibre
- 0.1g
- Salt
- 1.6g
delicious. tips
Buy reblochon from cheesemongers or larger supermarkets.
How to serve fondue
When cutting or tearing the bread for dipping, make sure each small piece has some crust attached. This bit of structure will help keep your bread from escaping and getting lost in the cheese.Cornichons offset the richness of the cheese, but serving a fresh leafy salad alongside with a sharp, lemony dressing works well, too.
As a savoury accompaniment, thinly sliced cured meats work well.
Roast new potatoes make a great addition to a fondue spread. Roast with garlic and rosemary, or use smaller chunks of large floury potatoes instead. Chunky oven chips are a simple alternative.
Roasted veg, such as cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts and carrots, all work for dipping. Try raw radishes, cherry tomatoes and celery, too.
The sharp sweetness of green apple chunks works well – or try other cheeseboard staples such as grapes or chunks of pear.
According to Swiss lore, you should only drink white wine, kirsch or herbal tea with a fondue. Anything else, whether water, juice or beer, is said to cause the cheese to coagulate in your stomach (see our wine editor’s recommendation, below).
Never clean up all the dregs from the pan for yourself, as the crusty layer of cheese that forms at the bottom is regarded as a delicacy – so much so that it’s referred to as ‘la religieuse’.
Packs of ready-grated cheese contain cornflour to prevent it sticking together. If you buy these for your fondue, you’ll need to omit the cornflour in the recipe.
A crisp, lemony white, lightly chilled, is the refreshing match here – try a French sauvignon blanc or muscadet.