Catfish Out of Water

I am absolutely obsessed with fondue. There's something about the holidays and cheese that I just can't get over! It's really more likely that I'm obsessed with cheese all year long. But that I indulge during the holidays and have accepted eating my body weight in cheese every holiday season. Regardless of the reason, fondue is a classic. And I'm delighted to bake a fresh loaf of bread, crack into a bottle of wine, and break out the cheese grater for Gruyère Fondue.

Ordinarily I would make this recipe with Emmentaler cheese, but my local grocery store was all out! So, I simply substituted a type of cheese that they dubbed "Swiss." Swiss cheese is more of an umbrella category for cheese made in Switzerland or the Alpines. Technically gruyère is also a type of Swiss cheese, so calling this a "Gruyère" and "Swiss" Cheese Fondue is really like calling it a "Swiss" and "Swiss" Cheese. Although you can substitute any other type of Swiss or semi-hard cheese of choice!

I also made No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread. It's the simplest bread recipe that I can manage and something that I've been making every 2 or 3 weeks for the last couple of months. You can easily buy bread, substitute in your own bread recipe, or opt for the fruit and vegetable spread, though. I like to go for apples and pears. Although a lot of broccoli, celery, carrots, bell peppers, and crackers make a good spread as well.

Gallery

Variations of Gruyère Fondue

Fondue is essentially a cheese sauce, much like a roux for something like macaroni and cheese. Although I'd dare to say that making fondue is easier than making a roux because the corn starch mixed in with the cheese prevents it from breaking. If you've ever broken a roux it's incredibly tedious and virtually impossible to remedy! But fondue bypasses all of this by simply heating dry white wine with lemon juice and then slowly adding in the shredded cheese coated in corn starch until the sauce begins to thicken.

Fondue w/ Gruyère & Swiss Cheese

Gruyère fondue is far simpler to make that most people initially expect. All that you really need is a skillet, wine, corn starch, and cheese. I added in a little lemon juice, Kirsch, and ground mustard. There's some wiggle room in how you season your fondue, though. The type of cheese that you use is also something that you can mix and match to fit your own personal preference or what you have on hand. Gruyère and Swiss cheese can be a little pricey. Really, any semi-hard cheese will do!

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine French

Servings 8 servings

Equipment

• Cheese Grater
• Small Bowl or Large Plastic Bag
• Saucepan
• Fondue Pot (optional)

Ingredients

  

• 1/2 lbs. gruyère cheese grated
• 1/2 lbs. Swiss cheese grated
• 1-2 tbsp. corn starch
• 1 c. dry white wine (I used sauvignon blanc)
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. kirsch
• 1/2 tsp. mustard
• bread, apples, and/or produce of choice for dipping

Instructions

 

Prepare Ingredients

• I served this particular fondue with bread. You can easily buy this or substitute apples or any other produce of choice! Although, if you would like to replicate this recipe, I have an entire article on this No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread.

Fondue

• Grate cheese into a small bowl and toss with cornstarch. Make sure that all of the pieces are lightly coated.

  This will help the cheese from separating when you cook it. If you're having a tedious time getting the cornstarch coated without clumping, add the mixture to a large Ziplock bag and shake.
• Meanwhile, add wine and lemon juice to the saucepan and bring to a simmer.
• Once the wine mixture begins to simmer, slowly stir in the cheese about 1/4 cup at a time. Make sure to stir constantly until fully incorporated.

  The key to a creamy fondue is adding in the cheese gradually. If it’s added too quickly, the mixture will separate!
• Once all of the cheese is incorporated and the mixture is smooth, stir in the Kirsch and mustard.
• Serve immediately.

  You can do this by transferring to a fondue pot and maintaining about a medium heat. The fondue needs to be just warm enough to maintain the consistency. Reduce slightly if it begins to simmer and increase the heat slightly if it starts to solidify. You will need to stir it occasionally and adjust the temperature while eating. The less fondue that's in the pot, the lower the temperature will need to be.

  Alternatively, place the fondue in any bowl of choice and eat quickly! Fondue will re-solidify at room temperature, but it's a lot less work to eat out of a bowl than it is to hand wash a fondue pot afterwards.

Tips, Tricks, & Notes

• Fondue can sit in the fondue pot for a little while before serving, as long as you maintain the temperature. If it begins to cool, reheating may cause separation. If it starts to simmer again, it may thicken too much. Make sure to stir occasionally and check in on it!
• If you have a teflon fondue pot, like mine, never stir with a metal or other abrasive utensil. This will scratch the surface and both leach chemicals into the food and make it no longer nonstick.
• For more tips and tricks, including what kind of wine and cheese works best, I have an entire article on The Fundamentals of Making Fondue.