Cheese fondue
A cheese fondue [ French a . Switzerland. ˈFõdyː , dt. Fõˈdyː ], fondue au fromage (from French fondue , "melted", from fondre ) or a fonduta al formaggio ( Italian ) is a dish made from melted cheese that comes from the western Alps - French-speaking Switzerland , Savoy and Piedmont as well as the Aosta Valley . The term fondue is now used for similar dishes.
Preparation and variations
The basic ingredients of a cheese fondue are traditionally besides cheese - depending on the type of cheese used - cornstarch and white wine as well as some kirsch , garlic , lemon juice and pepper . The starch prevents the fat and water from separating and increases the viscosity of the fondue. Wine makes the fondue thinner, not only because of the additional water but also because of the alcohol and its acidity .
Cheese fondue is prepared in numerous regional variations in Switzerland. Among other things, the moitié-moitié (French for half-half ) is widespread, in which half each of Vacherin and Gruyere are used. The Appenzell fondue is made exclusively from Appenzell cheese . In the canton of Friborg , the fondue fribourgeoise is made from the Freiburg Vacherin cheese, sometimes from Vacherin and Gruyere in equal parts. In Geneva , a mixture of two parts Gruyère and one part raclette cheese is common. The people of Eastern Switzerland prefer a mixture of equal parts Gruyère, Appenzeller and Tilsiter . A mixture of equal parts Gruyère, Vacherin and Appenzeller is widespread in the Basel region .
Fondue savoyarde (Savoy fondue) comes from France and consists of the cheeses Emmentaler, Comté and Beaufort . Specialties from the north-west of Italy are the fonduta valdostana (Aosta valley fondue) and fonduta piemontese ( Piedmontese fondue), which are prepared on the basis of Fontina with butter, egg yolks, milk and white truffles .
Another variant is the champagne fondue , where sparkling wine or champagne is used instead of the white wine . Cheese fondues are also flavored with tomatoes, herbs or other spices.
Since alcohol remains in the cheese mass despite cooking , sweet must or broth (with the addition of lemon juice to prevent the cheese from becoming tough) can be used instead of the wine for an alcohol-free cheese fondue .
In many supermarkets and dairies, fondues are available as ready-made products that can be added directly to the caquelon without any additional ingredients . Oven cheese has found widespread use as a simplified variant .
Consumption and backgrounds
Serve
The heated mixture is placed at the table in a special pot, usually made of ceramic , the caquelon , over the rechaud . The participants put pieces of bread or boiled potatoes on a long fork, hold them in the liquid cheese and make circular movements until the bread or potato is coated with it.
The pieces of bread are cut or plucked from white bread . Each piece of bread should have a bit of crust, as this makes it easier to fix the pieces on the fork. Fresh bread is considered less suitable. The Swiss trade also offers special fondue breads, flat, pre-scored white breads.
In some regions, the fondue is not eaten with skewered pieces of bread, but the pieces of bread or potatoes are poured with the liquid cheese using a soup ladle. This type of preparation bridges the gap with raclette .
Originally, no side dishes were served with the fondue. Today, however, pickled vegetables, cucumbers, pickled onions , gherkins and mixed pickles are often used , in eastern Switzerland also Bündnerfleisch and in Ticino canned or fresh fruit. In the French Savoy, raw ham is common as a side dish.
Traditionally, dry white wine (in Switzerland Fendant is preferred , in France wine from Savoy ) or tea is drunk with cheese fondue . A schnapps glass with kirsch is often served with the fondue , which - a popular misconception - is drunk as a remedy for cheese that is heavy in the stomach. If the cheese mixture is too thick, small amounts of sodium bicarbonate (or baking soda ) can be added. This forms carbonic acid with the liquid in the fondue and makes it airier and easier to digest.
At the bottom of caquelons one than arises crouton , Religieuse or nun or grandmother called crust that scraped and can be eaten. In Lower Valais it is common to mix the last fifth of the fondue mixture with aniseed schnapps and egg yolk, which makes it particularly strong.
In rural areas of French- speaking Switzerland and elsewhere in the Alps, fondue is also served as a late breakfast.
In Switzerland, the cheese fondue has the status of a national dish, and accordingly many customs and habits entwine around it. For example, it is a common custom that a participant who loses a piece of bread in a fondue pot has to pay for a round of white wine, schnapps or the like or get up and sing a song. These loser customs can vary. The comic Asterix among the Swiss takes up this custom: Here "losers" are beaten with a stick, whipped and thrown into Lake Geneva with a weight on their feet .
History and legends
The fondue is said to have been invented by Sennen . Cut off from the environment, they would have tried new recipe variants with the foods available to them - cheese and bread. However, it can be assumed that this is just a legend.
From stories showed that monks in the Lent were allowed to take any solid food; by melting cheese, hunger was satisfied without breaking the rule of fasting. In Switzerland the declaration is widespread that the origin of the fondue lies in the Kappel milk soup , which was eaten when peace was made in the first Kappel war .
The exact origin of the cheese fondue is unclear. Both Switzerland and Savoy in France (where it is known as Fondue savoyarde as a national specialty) lay claim to the origin of the fondue. The cheese fondue as the Swiss national dish has only been around since the 1950s - it was only when the dish was included in the army cookbooks that the fondue became known throughout Switzerland. The military men brought the recipe from their military service into the families.
Probably the first fondue recipe in German comes from the cookbook by Anna Maria Gessner from Zurich, which she wrote in 1699: “Thu half a glass of wine in a sheet and put the ember pan and thu scraped or melted old cheese in it and let it boil in the wine until it completely melted and you couldn't feel the wine in the coast anymore. "
The first fondue as a finished product was brought onto the market in 1955 by the Zingg AG company. In the 1970s and 1980s, a large-scale advertising campaign was carried out in Switzerland under the motto “Fondue isch guet und git e gueti luune” ( Fondue is good and puts you in a good mood ; FIGUGEGL ). You could rent sets with caquelons , rechauds and forks for a modest fee in almost every cheese dairy . Today this service is superfluous as a complete set is available in most Swiss households.
Aspect of conviviality
An important aspect of eating fondue is socializing, ideally starting with the preparation of the dish and supported by factors such as the simplicity of the meal and cooking over an open flame. In French-speaking Switzerland, for example, fondue is often prepared over a cooking fire in summer.
literature
- Lucas Rosenblatt: Cheese fondues. Fona, Lenzburg (Switzerland) 2009, ISBN 978-3-03780-361-5 .
- Jasmin Gromzik: Dr. Oetker Fondue & Raclette. Heyne, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-453-85549-6 .
- Martin Kintrup: Raclette & Fondue. Brand new recipes for hot pans and bubbling pots. Gräfe and Unzer, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-8338-0829-6 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Pascal Bertsch, Laura Savorani, Peter Fischer: Rheology of Swiss Cheese Fondue . In: ACS Omega . 4, No. 1, January 14, 2019, pp. 1103-1109. doi : 10.1021 / acsomega.8b02424 .
- ↑ Martin Sturzenegger: Fondue with Kirsch - a heavy mix. In: Tages-Anzeiger . December 14, 2010, accessed November 10, 2014 ( SDA ).
- ↑ a b c Nina Streeck: The most beautiful stirring piece in the nation. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . Retrieved November 10, 2014 .