<p>We like to have fondue on New Year’s Eve, but I can’t say that I’ve ever produced one that has been completely successful (although they’ve all been edible).</p>
<p>I want a thick, smooth consistency, but generally they are a combination of a thinnish sauce with chunks of cheese in the bottom.</p>
<p>I’ve tried using a recipe as well as using the preshredded cheese fondue “kits.”</p>
<p>I even bought a new fondue pot last year, cast iron (I think) from Crate & Barrel. It uses sterno, which may be a bit too hot?</p>
<p>I make one usually from a Crate and Barrel fondue cookbook, but i cheatted and bought a prepared version the other night when I hosted a holiday open house. It was pretty good too. Here is the one from C&B:</p>
<p>1 tbsp butter
2 cloves peeled and crushed garlic
4 minced shallots
8 strips crumbled bacon
4 cups grated gruyere cheese
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups monterey jack 2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley</p>
<p>Heat the butter in pan to saute garlic for 5 min or softened add the cooked bacon drain
on paper towels
Heat the wine in fondue pan and place over lit burner and toss in the cheese and cornstarch stirring constantly. Once the cheese is melted, add the bacon,shallots and garlic and stir</p>
<p>The corn starch is what thickens it, I often find I need to use more than the recipe calls for. Add what’s called for and if it’s not think enough add more dissolved in wine until desired thickness.</p>
<p>The cheese should be shredded and added handful by handful, stirring until it melts before putting more in. </p>
<p>Don’t have my recipe with me but I know I use a lot more wine than the recipe above, two or three cups.</p>
<p>A tablespoon of Kirsch is essential to me as it gives the characteristic flavor.</p>
<p>We use all different kinds of bread, one with fruit and nuts is excellent with this fondue.</p>
<p>The cornstarch will not properly thicken until the liquid rises to, or very near, the boiling point. It’s like a light switch when the thickener is activated.</p>
<p>I would always whisk the cornstarch with a little liquid, making a slurry, before adding it. Adding dry cornstarch to a large quantity of liquid guarantees lumps.</p>
<p>When I make it, I do it on the stove and then use the fondue pot to keep it warm. </p>
<p>A couple of things to think about:</p>
<p>I bring the wine to a boil first then reduce heat before adding cheese.</p>
<p>Cheese is grated on the finest set of holes on my grater - added a small amount at a time and whisked in until it melts completely</p>
<p>Last thing I do is take some of the melted cheese mixture out, put it in a small bowl and whisk in the cornstarch until it makes a smooth, runny paste, then add it back into pan and whisk until mixture thickens. </p>
<p>I use a recipe very similar to lje62 - but use all gruyere rather than some monterey jack. I use a blend of the older “cave aged” gruyere and the regular gruyere - probably 1/3 - 2/3 towards the regular. 6 cups would go with 2 cups of wine - and probably a 1/4 cup of cornstarch.</p>
<p>As someone above said, I make it on the stove and take it to the fondue pot at the table for serving.</p>
<p>Rub the pot with garlic.
Heat the wine.
Dredge the grated Gruyere/Emmentaler in about 2-3T flour.
Add the cheese, by small handfuls, waiting until one handful is nearly fully melted before adding the next.
Stir continually and gently.
Add a splash of kirsch at the end.</p>
<p>As interesteddad said (even though his and my recipe are a bit different), there is a bit of waiting and faith involved. The consistency will not look right for most of the time you are preparing the fondue. Suddenly it will smooth out and be perfect.</p>
<p>Kirsh is also sometimes just called cherry brandy, pretty useless IMO for anything but fondue! I also use all Gruyere. If you favor sharper cheeses, this is the way to fo. For milder cheese flavor half Emmenthaler would be my choice.</p>
<p>I start with a basic white sauce. Melt 1 T butter and stir in 1 T flour until mixed, dilute by whisking in 1 cup of hot milk. Cook stirring constantly until the mixture boils and thickens. Dilute further with 1 cup white wine at room temp. Transfer to a fondue pot. I prefer a double boiler with cheese fondue because it keeps the bottom from burning. Add the cheese gradually to the white sauce mixture until each batch of cheese is melted. That will prevent the accumulation of chunks. Also grated cheese melts more easily than cubes. I normally just toss in whatever extras of cheese I have in the refrigerator, making sure it’s at least half gruyere.</p>
<p>You often find German brands in liquor stores labeled “kirschwasser.” I was doing a pastry workshop for some teachers a few years ago in a high school home ec kitchen. One recipe called for kirsch and I was going to sneak in a bottle of “kirschwasser.” A student was helping carry in boxes of supplies and, of course, asked what that was. I thought quickly and replied. “cherry flavoring.” Fortunately, that satisfied her. And the label was written entirely in German.</p>
<p>And while the others have answered what Kirsch is… It can definitely be dispensed with if you don’t have it around ;). Really no significant effect on the flavor and none at all on the texture.</p>
<p>Huh, funny for me to stumble on this thread! </p>
<p>I actually just got a fondue pot for christmas, because my mom heard me say I’d always wanted to try it, but looking at this recipe I see an obvious hiccup: I’m underage, so I naturally can’t have wine to use for the sauce. Not to mention I’ve never even heard of gruyere/the other cheese I’m not going to attempt to spell, and I’m guessing that the reason that these have never been on the plate at my house has to do something with the price/needing to have a more sophisticated palette than I do.</p>
<p>Is it possible to make a poor man’s cheese fondue without using an alcoholic beverage to make the sauce? I don’t really care so much that the sauce is perfectly smooth, as long as it tastes like cheese and I can dip stuff in it. </p>
<p>I think you’re right. I just thought it’s because American Swiss cheese is made a bit differently. By the way, I was brought up on French gruyere. It’s holey, as opposed to Swiss gruyere that’s whole.</p>