Quick and Easy Fondue - Jen Reviews Recipe
While Steven and my repertoire of what we’re able to make in the kitchen grows slowly but surely each and every month, there was one dish that I’d always wanted to try making, but never got around to because I felt I didn’t have the knowledge-set or tools for it! And that’s fondue.
Fondue is a Swiss dish, consisting of a pot of flavorful melted cheese, served out of a communal bowl that sits upon an active heating element such as a stove or candle. Those sharing the fondue, pick up pieces of bread meat and/or vegetables with long forks and dip them into the cheese, making for a fun interactive evening. It’s popularly served during parties.
Being that I am a huge fan of cheese and love learning how to entertain, I always wanted to try my hand at it. But I always so worried that I’d need to buy a fondue set, that I would purchase the wrong type of cheese or that I would have to plan to have a bottle of white wine waiting around for it (as many people add white wine to the cheese.) I basically intimidated myself out of trying it. But when I was reached out to by the food and home blog Jen Reviews to make their simple recipe for fondue, I felt there was no better time to give it a try!
In the process of planning for a night of fondue, I learned several things: That grocery stores sell packages of fondue cheese for your convenience, that white wine is not a requirement for fondue, and that you don’t necessarily need a fondue pot/kit to make it all happen. (Although I do plan on investing in one when we move into a place with more kitchen storage!)
Fondue Ingredients
28.2 oz cheese fondue (I picked up the package below from Whole Foods next to their cheese department)
1 garlic clove (I am guilty of using 3-4)
1.5 tsp paprika
1 tsp black pepper
1.5 tsp fondue spice (This is optional if your cheese comes flavored like mine did)
Below is what the fondue cheese looked like out of it’s packaging. While not appetizing-looking quite yet, it was soon after.
I also like to set aside all my spices, seasonings and flavor components into a small bowl ahead of time, so that when it’s time for Flavortown, I’m not busy peeling garlic.
Dipping Ingredients
Crusty bread
Boiled potatoes
Steamed or raw vegetables. Steven decided he wanted steamed broccoli and raw green bell peppers.
Our Method of Cooking
Without the fondue pot present, I had to research ahead of time another method for making fondue. In order for fondue to work, there must be a constant treatment of heat to the cheese. You can’t simply heat it up and then bring it to the table to sit at room temperature. After a while, it won’t have the right consistency. So since it was just Steven and me eating, we decided to use a double boiler method (meaning we heated it in a glass bowl over a constantly boiling pot of water) and made an evening of it, eating next to the kitchen counter. It may sound silly, but it was actually really fun and a cute change of pace.
The Road to Fondue
The first thing I did was dump the seasonings and garlic into the bowl as it heated up. I then added the clumps of fondue cheese.
Something important to note: Things did not smell so great the moment I added the cheese to the bowl. If you make this recipe and the cheese smells funky at first, that’s just the way it is before it’s been melted down. There’s nothing wrong with it, and it’s absolutely delicious in the end.
It took quite a while for the cheese to melt, but once it did it was an incredibly satisfying texture. See the different stages of melting below.
The Results
At the end of the day, this recipe felt like a major win. I got over my intimidation towards fondue (although I do hope to one day make it in a proper fondue pot with my own homemade cheese blend) and learned a lot. Steven and I had a lot of fun standing over the stove dipping bread and vegetables into the flavor-packed dip, and clean-up was ridiculously fast.
And don’t worry. If you invite us to your next fondue party, we won’t be dipping using our hands. It was just fun to do considering it was just the two of us!
I hope this will inspire you cheese-lovers out there to add this classic Swiss dish to your repertoire. If you invest in the fondue pot, it becomes an excellent dish for small get-togethers with friends. Depending on the design of your fondue pot, you may be able to make chocolate fondue with it as well! But no matter what kind you end up making, it’s a guaranteed conversation starter.
Thank you once again to Jen Reviews for sending me this recipe! To explore more easy and delicious recipes on Jen Reviews, please visit their site at the button down below