Cheese Fondue

Sorry for no picture, but I made this Cheese Fondue for a dinner party last weekend. It was wonderful! I doubled the amount of cheese, and then added wine as needed. I also add a couple dashes of dry mustard.

Cheese fondue (Gourmet | February 2005)

Emmental and Gruyère are the most commonly used cheeses in a classic fondue, but Appenzeller, Comté, Beaufort, Tête de Moine, and Hoch Ybrig — all relatively low in moisture — also work fine. Not every fondue recipe calls for cornstarch, but we find it keeps the cheese and wine from separating.
As an additional treat, when you're almost done eating the fondue, leave a thin coating of cheese on the bottom of the pot. Lower the flame and allow the coating to turn into a brown crust, then break it into pieces and share it with your guests. The crust is considered a delicacy in Switzerland.
Makes 6 servings.

1 garlic clove, halved crosswise
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons kirsch (optional)
1/2 lb Emmental cheese, coarsely grated (2 cups)
1/2 lb Gruyère, coarsely grated (2 cups)

Rub inside of a 4-quart heavy pot with cut sides of garlic, then discard garlic. Add wine to pot and bring just to a simmer over moderate heat.
Stir together cornstarch and kirsch (if using; otherwise, use water or wine) in a cup.
Gradually add cheese to pot and cook, stirring constantly in a zigzag pattern (not a circular motion) to prevent cheese from balling up, until cheese is just melted and creamy (do not let boil). Stir cornstarch mixture again and stir into fondue. Bring fondue to a simmer and cook, stirring, until thickened, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to fondue pot set over a flame.


I served it with bread, potatos, and apples. In the future, I would skip the potatos.