Fondue Cooking Tips

There's lots of great information for both the experienced and new fondue cook that will help make your fondue cooking a smooth-sailing experience.

Below, are some fondue cooking tips from Fondue Factoids (www.homecooking.about.com).

1. If you like your fondue silky smooth, you should soak your grated cheese in cold wine for 1 to 2 hours before beginning to cook it. The texture is marvelous, but on the one occasion I tried this, I found the flavor oddly faded.

   Old Dutch 763 2 Quart Solid Copper & Brass Fondue with Ceramic Insert

2. If your fondue is too thin, turn up the heat and add a little cornflour dissolved in wine or kirsch, and stir.

3. If your fondue becomes too thick, turn up the heat, add a little white wine and stir like hell.

4. If your fondue starts to curdle, put the pot back on the stove and add a teaspoon of cornflour dissolved in a little white wine, and a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice. Mix it all in thoroughly and bring to the boil briefly while praying fervently.

5. If you can see the bottom of the fondue pot and you're still hungry, provided you still have some cheese left, you can always add a bit more. Turn up the heat, throw in the rest of your grated cheese and some wine, stirring energetically all the while. If, on the other hand, you have no cheese left, you'd better make sure you've planned something for afters.
   
   

   Rachael Ray 1-1/2-Quart Cast-Iron Fondue Set

6. If you feel like ringing the changes, why not try cider or champagne instead of white wine. You could also add a handful of finely chopped shallots, diced ham, chopped fresh herbs, green peppercorns, or a little bit of blue cheese.

7. You don't have to stick to white bread for dunking (although, IMHO, it's by far the best thing). Try buttered toast, blanched vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, baby sweetcorn,
   celery sticks or spring onions) or tomato wedges and mushrooms. If you're really adventurous, you could even try dipping apple, pear or pineapple slices.

8. If you need something to nibble before you get down to business, traditional amuse-gueules include small silverskin onions, cornichons (gherkins) and dried meat. The latter might sound alarming, but it's just a kind of ham, really. Salami, Parma ham... anything like that will do. But make sure it's good quality.

9. DON'T, whatever you do, drink water with your fondue. The cheese will congeal into an enormous ball in your stomach; you won't be able to sleep, go to the toilet, or dream of ever eating another fondue as long as you live. If you can't or won't, drink wine, have some hot black tea instead.

10. And finally, real hard-core fondue eaters do the "coup du milieu". This means having an extra wine glass by your plate, containing kirsch. Before dipping your cubes of bread into the cheese, dip them first into the kirsch. It aids digestion and is excellent for the skin. No, really.

Here are some more helpful fondue cooking tips from USA Weekend at www.homecooking.about.com.

Dipping Desire Chocolate Fondue Set by MSC

1. Use the right pot. Use a large ceramic pot for cheese and large batches of dessert fondue, a metal-lined pot for oil-based or fried fondues. Small ceramic pots are perfect for desserts. For cooks put off by the teetering pots of old, the new generation of fondue pots is sturdier and more versatile. Rick Rodgers likes those by Calphalon and Le Creuset.

2. A really useful fondue cooking tip is to do the two-step. Cook the fondue in a pan on your stove, then transfer it to the fondue pot for serving.

3. Always make the cooking liquid a little acidic. Use a dry or semi-dry wine. The acids help the proteins in the cheese melt smoothly, Rodgers says. And use flavorful liquids and seasonings - beer or broth, not water.

4. Go beyond bread cubes for dipping. Rodgers suggests dipping bagel chunks into a fondue of cream cheese and smoked salmon. "Why not chunks of cooked chicken or shrimp with a traditional Swiss fondue?"

5. And this fondue cooking tip should not be ignored! Not all cheeses make good fondue. Work in families of cheeses. "I might mix a Swiss and a cheddar," says Van Aken. "But I wouldn't mix Swiss, cheddar and Gorgonzola."

Hope this is helpful to all you fondue fanatics! Come back often and watch for more fondue cooking tips, fondue recipes, facts, and fun stuff all about fondue.

Uptown Market Chocolate Fondue Set by MSC

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The History of Swiss Fondue
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