Cheese fondue
Cheese fondue with bread and vegetables, in my house in Amsterdam, 2022.
My friend Jack visited from Geneva and brought Swiss cheeses with him as a present. A perfect opportunity to make some cheese fondue!
The two cheese that he brought were:
- Gruyère (cooked and presssed, from raw cow's milk, salty and nutty flavor, no holes)
- Vacherin Mont D'Or (somewhat rare cheese, made from thermalized cow's milk, wrapped in spruce to contain the soft interior)
Jack already mentioned that some of his colleagues brought up the addition of cornstarch to a fondue, to increase volume and fluffyness. And going by Wikipedia, this indeed seems to be a common addition.
The way we prepared it, was by first sautéing garlic in some oil, then deglazing with white wine. The acidity of the wine seems crucial in developing the emulsion that we want from our fondue. We added both cheeses in small cubes to the pan, but ideally we should have grated them instead (melts better). Add some cornstarch and lemon juice, and melt everything together over low heat while constantly stirring.
Traditionally just served with good bread. This was also the case when I went to visit Jack in Geneva and we had a cheese fondue at the sauna in the lake. In addition, we chopped some fresh vegetables and lightly blanched some brussels sprouts.