The fondue pot is found on tables anywhere you travel because it is convenient, adaptable, and delicious. Like most foods, it has an interesting history which only adds to its appeal.-BY John Jacobs

When you read Homer’s Iliad for some light reading beside the fireplace, did you notice there is mention of a mixture of goat cheese, wine, and flour? You may have been reading about the origins of the humble fondue, now one of the world’s most popular dishes gracing tables from elegant occasions to backyard barbecues.

Fondue’s history has a large gap between 800-725 BC to the late 1800s, but when it did officially appear on the food scene in the late 1800s in Switzerland, the result was a smooth blend of gruyere cheese and wine. Since then, various cultures have adopted and customized the concept to fit their own tastebuds and take advantage of locally available ingredients. The result is the modern fondue, that can have any flavor people prefer.

Product of Hard Winters in Switzerland

Everyone knows Switzerland has a cold climate, so keeping warm is a priority. In the late 1800s, someone had some old hard cheese and stale bread on hand and wondered what to do with these ingredients – and fondue was born. The hard cheese was heated in a caquelon (pot) over a stove or flame along with a small amount of wine, and the stale bread was used to dip into the cheese. How simple can a recipe be? It seems like that would be the end of the story, but it is not. The fondue grew rapidly in popularity, no doubt because it helped families avoid wasting food during long hard winters, it was easy to make, and best of all, it warmed the body. The original fondue pot was as simple as the original recipe – a glazed clay pot. However, it became specially molded so that the sides and bottom heat evenly. This helps to prevent scorching the cheese while keeping the fondue hot. The pot was also designed with a broad, squat shape to make bread dipping easier and, presumably, a less messy act. The same basic shape is still used, but pots are made out of enameled hard-anodized aluminum, cast iron, or ceramic and glass. Many are designed to sit over a flame, but electric fondue pots are also available.

It should be noted that the Savoys in France also claim they invented fondue. Swiss alps…French alps…? Either way, it was somewhere in the Alps where long, cold, hard winters do not recognize borders. In 1930, the Swiss Cheese Union made fondue a national dish, recognizing its cultural significance and deliciousness. The Swiss Cheese Union is credited with spreading the popularity of cheese fondue until it became a national symbol of all things Swiss. Fondue was introduced in the U.S. in 1964 at the New York World’s Fair by (who else) the Swiss!

Cheese and More Cheese Plus Add-Ins

The hard cheeses used to make fondue in its early years were Gruyere and Emmental. Most people are familiar with Gruyere. Emmental is a hard cheese made from cow’s milk that originated in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It has a buttery, nutty flavor compared to Gruyere and is full of holes, and the flavor is milder than Gruyere’s flavor.

Fondue’s popularity knows no bounds, and working its way into cuisines around the world it is not surprising that it is now made with various kinds of cheese to suit both personal taste and national pride in local cheese products. Italian fondue is made with fontina and mozzarella cheese or mascarpone cheese, which is like cream cheese. Mexican fondue is made with cheddar cheese. Spanish fondue may use Manchego cheese made from Manchego sheep’s milk. Americans eat fondue made with all these cheese varieties and more, though cheddar cheese and Swiss cheese are two of the most popular choices.

Though you can conceivably melt any cheese for fondue, the ideal ones are creamy ones that melt smoothly and some semi-hard cheeses. That is why so many fondues are made with gouda, fontina, gruyere, Emmentaler, appenzeller, Havarti, and cheddar cheese. As the moisture evaporates, the cheese absorbs the other flavors. What flavors, you may ask?

The Wide Wide World of Fondue Recipes

Having talked about cheese options, it is time to discuss what else can go in a fondue pot. Unless you are a purist and only add wine to cheese after rubbing the pot with garlic, the options are unlimited. Fondue seems to have the same feature as stews - you can add whatever you want! People have developed thousands of creative recipes that turn ordinary cheese fondue into a flavor haven.

The most straightforward recipes use cornstarch, wine, a garlic clove, and spices like dried oregano together with some flavor such as Worcestershire sauce and/or hot sauce. Some recipes add cooked riced potatoes, heavy cream, and butter to grated cheese. You can make a mushroom and cheese fondue, a kale and fontina fondue, a vegan butternut squash fondue (technically not a fondue, but no one is confessing), a beer fondue, and on it goes.

The Swiss field workers invented fondue bourguignonne, which sounds like food served in an elegant restaurant. The workers could not go home for a meal, so they invented this fondue version. It is simply heated oil used to cook various meats, poultry, and vegetables. Other more-than-strictly-cheese fondues are tempting palates around the world. Huo Guo (hot pot) is a broth fondue (Fondue Chinoise). The Japanese shabu shabu hot pot became popular in the 1950s in Osaka. It is made with thinly sliced meat and vegetables cooked in kombu dashi, a soup stock made from dried kelp. Thailand’s suki began with the adoption of the Japanese hotpot dish. Diners dip their dumplings, vegetables, meat, or seafood in the broth fondue, then dip the food into a bold, spicy sukiyaki sauce.

Bring on the Melt!

Fondue is an appetizer or main course, but can also be a dessert. Who does not love chocolate fondue? It is made with milk, heavy cream, and dark chocolate and is used for dipping fruits, cookies, marshmallows, and pretzels. It was even invented by a Swiss – Konrad Egli. He owned New York City’s Chalet Suisse restaurant in the 1960s and wanted to serve a dessert fondue. The original recipe calls for cherry brandy, heavy cream, and chocolate.

If this does not make you want to bring out your fondue pot and travel the world right in your kitchen, nothing will. You can get as creative as you want with the ingredients and dippers. The only rule is that whatever is in the fondue pot is melted!