Switzerland
Photo: Juliano Mendes, CC BY 2.0, croppedCheese fondue
fondue
/fɔ̃dy/fon-DEW
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- When
- Lunch & dinnerFestive
- Taste
- RichSavory
- Made with
- Dairy & cheeseWheat & flour
History
Fondue comes from the French verb fondre, to melt. Cheese melted with wine in a pot over a flame was a mountain meal in the Alps, and a recipe for cheese with wine to dip bread into appears in a Zurich book of 1699. The Swiss cantons of Fribourg, Vaud and Valais each claim their mixture, such as moitié-moitié, half Gruyère and half Vacherin fribourgeois. Fondue became a national dish in the 1930s, when the Swiss Cheese Union promoted it to sell more cheese, and later it was served at army and national events. Diners dip cubes of bread on long forks, and by custom whoever loses their bread in the pot pays a forfeit.
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