National Dish Switzerland: Cheese Fondue (Recipe)
In this article
Cheese Fondue is cheese melted in white wine with a little cornflour and kirsch, eaten by dipping bread. The pot is rubbed with a cut garlic clove first. There is no butter in it and there is no Worcestershire sauce, whatever some recipes suggest.
About Cheese Fondue
Moitié-moitié, half Gruyère and half Vacherin Fribourgeois, is the standard Swiss mix. The wine must be dry and acidic, and the acid is structural: it keeps the cheese proteins from clumping.
Losing your bread in the pot carries a forfeit, which varies by region and usually involves buying a round.
Ingredients (serves 1–2)
- 2 cups grated cheese, e.g. Emmental, Gruyère or Appenzeller
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 clove garlic, halved
- 1/2 teaspoon cornflour
- 1 tablespoon kirsch
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- Day-old bread, cut into cubes
Shopping for the ingredients
Gruyère and Vacherin Fribourgeois in equal parts is the classic. Emmental alone is too mild and too stringy. The wine should be dry and sharp: a Fendant or Chasselas from Valais is the local answer. Day-old bread with a firm crust, so it holds on the fork.
Preparing the dish
Rub the inside of the pot with the cut garlic and leave it in. Grate the cheese rather than cubing it. Toss the grated cheese with the cornflour before it goes in. Heat gently and never let it boil.
Step-by-step instructions
- Rub the inside of the caquelon with the cut garlic clove.
- Pour in the wine and heat it gently until it steams but does not boil.
- Toss the grated cheese with the cornflour.
- Add the cheese a handful at a time, stirring in a figure of eight, letting each addition melt before the next.
- Once smooth, stir in the kirsch, nutmeg and pepper.
- Season to taste; the cheese is already salty, so taste before adding any.
- Transfer to a lit burner at the table and keep it barely bubbling.
Gluten-free / lactose-free version
The fondue itself is gluten-free if you use cornflour and check the kirsch. The bread is not, so serve boiled new potatoes instead, which is entirely traditional in Switzerland. Lactose-free is not possible in any real sense.
Tips for vegans and vegetarians
Fondue is vegetarian, though some cheeses use animal rennet, so check if it matters. There is no convincing vegan version; the stretch and the melt come from the cheese proteins and no substitute reproduces them.
More tips and tricks
Stir in a figure of eight, not a circle, which keeps the cheese emulsified. Never let it boil. Add the cheese gradually. And if it splits, whisk in a little more cornflour slaked in kirsch or lemon juice, which usually recovers it.
Adapting the recipe to your taste
Moitié-moitié is the standard Fribourg mix. Appenzeller adds sharpness. Cornichons and pickled onions on the side are standard, and a small glass of kirsch alongside is traditional.
Ingredient substitutions
Any good Alpine cheese: Gruyère, Appenzeller, Vacherin, Comté. Dry cider replaces wine. Lemon juice can stand in for some of the acidity.
Drink pairing ideas
The same white wine you cooked with. Black tea, which the Swiss will tell you aids digestion. Kirsch. Cold water is the one thing traditionally avoided, on the theory that it sets the cheese in your stomach.
Serving and presentation ideas
One pot in the middle of the table over a burner, long forks, bread cubes in a basket, pickles alongside. Scrape the crust that forms at the bottom, la religieuse, and share it at the end; that is the best part.
A bit of history
Fondue was promoted as a national dish by the Swiss Cheese Union in the 1930s, partly to increase cheese consumption, and again after the war. The origin is real Alpine peasant food: old cheese, old bread, wine. The marketing simply made it national. It anchors Swiss cuisine.
More recipe ideas
Summary: Cheese Fondue
Cheese fondue is Alpine cheese melted into dry white wine with cornflour and kirsch. Rub the pot with garlic, add the cheese gradually, stir in a figure of eight, and never boil it.
