It was fun to use the long, skinny forks that they gave us–though some of the food was hard to pick up! Once we had eaten most of the food, the leftover cheese formed a hard, crusty layer at the bottom of the pot, which we both agreed was the most delicious way to eat the cheese. We were very full and happy.
Fondue is usually made with Gruyére, which is a type of cheese that comes from Switzerland. Sometimes, it also contains wine. At the restaurant we visited, the fondue was made of two kinds of cheese and wine. The chef put the cheese and wine into a pot, mixed them and heated them up. The pot that is used for fondue is called a caquelon. The caquelon heats the food up quickly, and helps it stay warm for a long time. In the caquelon, all the ingredients melted into a delicious, cheesy mixture.
Once the cheese was ready, the waitress brought it to our table. Then, we used long, skinny forks to pick up the different foods and dip it into the cheese. It was delicious!
Sometimes, for dessert, people have another kind of fondue made out of melted chocolate! They often dip strawberries into the chocolate. I will have to try that next time!
Fondue was invented about 300 years ago by farmers in Switzerland. At that time, the farmers often did not have much food to eat in the winter, because their crops were not yet ready to be harvested. They invented fondue because it had only three ingredients–bread, cheese and wine. It was a delicious, warm and simple meal to eat in wintertime!
