Cheese fondue is something you can make quickly and pleases almost anyone. It gets people together to eat like nothing else. Who doesn’t like melted cheese? (Except for those with lactose problems, unfortunately, there isn’t any way to make a good vegan version.) Long ago, as a young man in another world, I worked in a cheese and chocolate shop in my hometown of Los Altos, California. We were encouraged to sample as many cheeses as we wanted to expand our knowledge of the enormous variety in the cheese case. My waistline expanded as much as the expertise I gained! I only worked there for a year or so, but I learned so much about cheese and thus began my lifelong love affair with everything cheese. One of the things I learned was how to make a cheese fondue mix that the shop packaged and sold. That same recipe has stuck with me all these years and is still what I use today. From that experience, my family started the tradition of having a big pot of cheese fondue on Christmas Eve every year. 

The national dish of Switzerland, cheese fondue, was first mentioned in a cookbook from the late 1600s as a dish of melted cheese and wine used for dipping bread. By the 1800s, cheese fondue became popular in most cities and the lowlands of French-speaking Switzerland. Today we think of fondue as a rugged mountain thing. Interestingly, even back then, cheese was expensive, and poor mountain folk usually couldn’t afford to make it. Fondue is a great communal meal that is fun to share around a table getting the whole family and friends together. According to Martha Stewart, the queen of party etiquette, Cheese fondue has rules on how to eat. If a woman drops something in the fondue pot, she must kiss every man at the table; a man must buy the table a round of drinks. That makes things a bit unfair in a home as there should be plenty of drinks being served regardless, and maybe the men would like to be involved in the smooching too! But It’s still a fun rule.

There are no set cheeses to use. Traditionally Emmentaler and Gruyere are used. I learned to include a smooth melty cheese, like a Monterey Jack or a Havarti, to add smoothness to the fondue. By no means do you have to stick to any of the cheeses I suggest, just as long as the amount ends up being about 1 pound in total. What you dip into cheese fondue can be anything that goes well with cheese. Of course, there is the usual good crusty bread, but you can dip all sorts of veggies. Those little smokey cocktail wieners, even apples, and little dill pickles are also fantastic dipped in this fondue.

Cheese fondue

Serves 6

1/3 pound Emmentaler, Swiss, Jarlsberg, shredded

1/3 pound Gruyere, Compté, Gouda or even a good farmhouse cheddar, shredded

1/3 pound Jack, Havarti, shredded

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 cup dry white wine, a good Chardonnay works great

pinch of ground nutmeg, freshly ground if possible

Pinch of ground pepper, white if you have it

Pinch of garlic powder

1 tablespoon brandy, optional

Cubes of crusty bread or bite-sized pieces of vegetables such as broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, and mushrooms (cut in half or quartered.) Other fun dippers include roasted baby potatoes, little cocktail wieners, wedges of apples, and even little dill pickles.

Toss the shredded cheese with the cornstarch, nutmeg, pepper, and the garlic powder. This can be done a day or two ahead and kept in the fridge until ready to make the fondue.

In a saucepan, bring the wine to a simmer and slowly add the cheese mixture, a handful at a time, stirring until it melts before adding more and is hot.

Once all the cheese has melted, and the mixture is hot but not boiling, stir in the optional brandy. You never want it to come to a boil as the cheese will split.

Take off the heat and put it into a fondue pot (candle or electric) or a slow cooker. You can also use a heat-resistant bowl in a pinch, but you will have to rewarm the fondue occasionally to keep warm.

Serve with bread and vegetables or other dippers. And dip with forks or skewers.

Depending on your party’s size, you can double or triple this recipe.