Swiss Fondue Recipe with White Wine
As if there were not enough holidays, I recently found out that April 11 is National Cheese Fondue Day. That's a holiday I don't mind celebrating at all, especially with a good Swiss Cheese fondue made with a white wine base.
Since fondue rose to popularity in the early 1970s in the United States, I decided that I would dig out my old Betty Crocker Recipe Card Library to check for fondue recipes. I bought it at a garage sale when I was in college for about a $1. It was one of the best dollars I ever spent. It turns out the box has entire section just for fondues, including my favorite, basic Swiss Fondue recipe. The recipe might be old, but sometimes it is hard to improve upon a classic.
Betty Crocker suggests that you serve this fondue with a tossed green salad, chocolate-cherry parfaits, and white wine. I'm sure that it would be great all on its own.
Cheese Fondue (Wine) Recipe |
- 1 pound Swiss cheese (aged 6 months)
- 2 T flour
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 1 cup dry white wine (Rhine, Reisling, Chablis)
- 2 T kirsch or sherry
- 1 t salt
- 1/8 t nutmeg
- Dash white pepper
- Dippers (crusty bread, cubed cooked ham, cooked Brussels sprouts)
- Cut cheese into 1/4-inch cubes (about 4 cups).
- Sprinkle flour on cheese; toss until cheese is coated.
- In earthenware fondue pot, heat garlic and wine over low heat until bubbles rise to surface (do not allow wine to boil).
- Add cheese mixture, 1/2 c at a time, stirring after each addition until cheese is melted and blended.
- Stir in kirsch and seasonings.
- Transfer pot to source of heat at table.
Transfer pot to source of heat at table. Adjust heat to keep fondue just bubbling. Spear dippers and swirl in fondue with a figure-eight motion. Stir fondue occasionally. (If fondue becomes too thick, stir in about 1/2 c warm white wine).
Adjustments I Would Recommend
It turns out that this recipe is an awful lot like the one that I had at the Melting Pot recently. They grate their cheese rather than cut it into cubes, and I would bet that it melts better. I would also ditch the Brussels sprouts. That sounds like a perfectly good way to ruin fondue. My personal favorite dipper with Swiss cheese is a green apple.
You'll want to pair this fondue with a white wine like those featured in our Top White Wine Clubs. I actually received a bottle of white wine from the The California Wine Club last week that would also be terrific. My best suggestion would be not to wait until National Cheese Fondue Day to make this recipe. Fondue and wine are a great pairing all through the year.
