Ten Tips For Great Fondue

Just like with any cuisine it's often the small details that can really make or break your meal. To ensure success with your fondue take note of the little things that can be done to take your fondue to a new level of tasty! Here are Ten Tips to make your fondue experience delicious and fun!

Tip #1 Always, always, always start with high quality products to make your fondue out of. There’s a reason that fondue originated in Switzerland - the glorified home of all things cheese and cheese related. The Swiss know that the key to the best tasting fondue is to start with the best tasting ingredients. Whether that’s cheese or chocolate or oil - whatever your choice of fondue remember to start with the very best you can. Hit up your local gourmet food store and find a really nice European chocolate or a hearty wedge of foreign cheese to try out. Gourmet food stores can also be a great place to find unique things to dip in your fondue and lovely appetizers to accompany your fondue meal.

Tip #2 When you begin making your fondue always start it in a saucepan over the stove instead of in the actual fondue pot. Fondue pots are generally used to keep food that has already been heated at a consistent, warm temperature. They aren’t really designed to actually cook your fondue in. If you start by dumping a whole bunch of ingredients into your fondue pot you’ll more than likely overwhelm it and end up with mushy mess instead of a nice rich and creamy fondue. Also by beginning your fondue in a saucepan over the stove you allow your fondue a chance to mix evenly and you give all the ingredients the time to blend together in a pleasing way. By slowly adding to your saucepan you can guarantee that your fondue will not only be well cooked it will also be tasty!

Tip #3 Make sure that while cooking your fondue and while keeping it warm during dinner that your fondue remains at an even temperature. If you’re constantly fiddling and adjusting the temperature it takes away from the fun of the fondue and it can present a hazard to your guests and even ruin your meal. No one likes to burn their mouth on too hot cheese or oil and if your temperature is too high over a chocolate fondue you can actually remove the moisture from your chocolate and end up with a dry lumpy mass with little appeal. Always be sure to test the temperature of your fondue before serving it and to keep it at an even, fairly warm setting throughout the course of your meal.

Tip #4 As important as it is to start with high quality ingredients, it’s equally as important to make sure you are using a high quality fondue pot and utensils. A good fondue put ensures a nice even temperature, easy assembly, easy cleanup, and a sterile environment for your fondue. Nicer fondue pots often have special features such as being made of cast iron, having a splatter guard, and having small notches for diners to rest their dipping forks in. Fondue pots range a great deal in price anywhere from lower end pieces that can start around twenty dollars to more expensive styles that can move up to eighty or ninety dollars. A nice set can be found somewhere in the middle around fifty dollars. Be sure that your dipping forks are nice ones as well. Cheap sets with forks that break or bend easily are fun for no one - least of all the person that has to clean up the mess they make or repair them at the end of the night.

Tip #5 Stir stir stir! One of the most important things to remember is that because fondue is such a versatile dish (depending on the type of fondue you’re making) it can set up very easily. This is especially important with cheese and chocolate fondue. Even at a regulated temperature fondue can still set up and become thicker and harder to work with. This makes dipping and scooping more difficult for guests and makes cleanup a great deal more time consuming as well. It’s also vital that you stir frequently while you’re first making your fondue. This allows for an even distribution of the heat and for all the ingredients to incorporate nicely with each other.

Tip #6 Have a variety of foods to dip with. Nothing takes the fun out of fondue like having a boring selection of dipping foods to choose from. You certainly don’t need to go overboard here but offering a nice selection of ready to eat foods makes the entire event more fun. If your fondue night is a family affair its a lot of fun to let each family member choose one or two foods they would like and then prepare those foods to be dipped - this also spreads out the responsibility of preparing the meal. If your having more of a party or event be sure to have a fair amount of different foods so that everyone can find something that they like to eat.

Tip #7 When choosing what kinds of foods to have available for dipping in your fondue a big factor is ensuring that you have fresh foods. Just like making sure that your fondue is being made with the highest quality ingredients you can manage you also want to have the freshest ingredients available to eat your fondue with as possible. A good fondue can easily be ruined by less than fresh dipping choices. Just because the Swiss used fondue to eat stale bread doesn’t mean you should too. A nice spread of ripe fruits and vegetables as well as some soft breads, meats, and other such items will go over quite well at dinner time so long as they are nice and fresh.

Tip #8 Don’t forget the seasonings! It can be really tempting when making fondue to just toss in a bunch of chocolate chips or handful of cheese into a pot and call it good but what really brings out the uniqueness of fondue is the way it works so well with a variety of different seasonings. A few spices can give your fondue the right kick it needs to take it to a whole new level. Try adding cinnamon or mint to your chocolate fondue. Another popular choice is just a tablespoon of vanilla extract. Cheese fondue does extremely well with some cream cheese mixed in, some dried mustard powder, or even a bit of chili pepper for those that like a spicy flavor! Don’t underestimate the power a little bit of seasoning can have when it comes to the overall flavor of your fondue.

Tip #9 Remember your fondue etiquette. There is nothing less appetizing than watching the person before you double-dip in a communal pot of food. If you want your fondue companions to enjoy themselves to the fullest be sure to kindly educate everyone on how to use their dipping forks and offer polite reminders to not use their fingers, to only dip food once in the pot, and to make sure not to touch the end of their dipping fork with their mouth or their hands.

Tip #10 Make the fondue fun! Fondue is meant to be a communal meal. It’s not a stiff formal occasion - it’s party food! Complement your fondue with fun bright colored plates, colorful drinks, special music, and great conversation. Let everyone feel at home and involved in the meal. And remember the best way to make a great fondue is to have a great time making it!