Fondue recipe
Have you ever enjoyed fondue while camping? It actually makes a great campsite meal and it’s really easy to make. In fact, we have a cheater way of making it. My family have always enjoyed fondue on Christmas Eve. Many other winter nights we break out the cheese and Caquelon (fondue pot) and sit around the table catching up. It’s delightful!
Fondue recipe
3/4 pound Emmentaler cheese
3/4 pound Gruyer cheese
1/3 pound Raclette or baby Swiss cheese
1/2 pound Appenzeller
3/4 glass of light, dry white wine such as Reisling or Chardonnay or Neuchatel
1 toe of garlic, peeled
1-2tsp of corn starch
1 dash of smoked paprika
1 dash of nutmeg
1 shot of kirshwasser
2 loaves of stale French bread
Directions
Rub the inside of the Caquelon with the garlic.
Put the caquelon on a medium flame and start warming the wine - save a little of the wine to mix with the corn starch later.
Gradually add all the cheese under constant stirring with a good size fork. At one point, the whole mess becomes like a tough ball in the wine - don’t despair. Eventually it will dissolve into a creamy mixture.
Keep it lightly bubbling and add the dissolved corn starch (a little more if the cheese mixture is too thin)
Add the spices including the shot of kirsch
Fondue for camping?
Fondue is a great camping food! Here are some tips to make it more so:
Grate your cheese before you leave for camp. This makes clean-up easier
If you already have a small Crock Pot use that instead of a fancy Caquelon - in fact really any pot will do
Instead of using fondue-specific forks use wooden skewers which can be used later to start the campfire and which won’t need to be washed
Use a cheater fondue which won’t have to be refrigerated
History of Fondue
Fondue, which comes from the French “fondre”, meaning “to melt,” had its origins in 18th century Switzerland as a means for farm families to stretch their limited resources during the winter months. With some remaining cheese, some stale bread, and a dash of wine the family could gather around the hearth.
It is truly enjoyed when you gather with friends. It doesn’t have to be cheese only either.
Fondue variety
You can use a boiling pot of beef, chicken or even vegetable broth and use your fondue forks to cook:
Shrimp - frozen shrimp make a great fondue savory treat
Thinly-sliced lunch meat - ask your deli to slice lunch meat paper-thin and that makes a great fondue item
Wrap a thinly-sliced piece of roast beef around an asparagus spear and you have a wonderful treat when cooked in the boiling broth.
Veggies - you can cook asparagus, broccoli or any number of other veggie favorites in the boiling broth for a nice fondue side treat.
Pro tip - you can also dip the veggies in the cheese fondue for a bonus treat
Cheater fondue?
Surprisingly there area. number of pre-made fondues which are actually pretty good. We’ve used these on more than one occasion and it’s not a bad choice at all.
The best thing is it keeps well, doesn’t have to be refrigerated and clean-up is a breeze. We’ve placed a link to our favorite on Amazon but your local grocery store might carry this already in the cheese section.
