How To Cook Perfect Fondue Dishes
Fondue
dishes, which had become popular in the U.S. three decades ago, are back in
vogue and numerous restaurants specialized in fondue dishes have sprung up
across the nation. With the return of fondue cooking, we thought that the slow cooker recipes are useful to provide
you with some useful tips on how to cook food fondue style.
When buying a fondue pot, you’ll see that they come in different sizes. You will also be able to choose between a crock pot made for use on a traditional open flame, and an electric fondue pot that allows you to control cooking temperature. You’ll also need to purchase fondue sticks for dipping food into the pot.
The three basic types of fondue are cheese fondues (typically served as an appetizer in the U.S.), meat and vegetable fondues (served as a main course) and last (but certainly not least!) delicious dessert fondues. Naturally, your entire meal does not need to be made up of fondues. You may serve a fondue dessert at the end of a regular meal, or start a meal with a fondue appetizer etc. In fact, fondue dishes don’t necessarily need to be part of a meal at all.
You can use different kinds of cheese in fondues, and your can also combine several cheese varieties in one cheese fondue dish. Popular choices for cheese fondues include Muenster (a mild cheese), Emmenthal (for a sharper flavor), gruyere, cheddar, pepper jack or Cajun cheese. To prepare cheese fondues, add the cheese of your choice to liquid that you have heated in the fondue pot. Grate the cheese and mix lightly in cornstarch before you put it in the fondue pot. Stir the cheese and hot liquid until the cheese melts, making sure the temperature in the pot is not too high or too low. Cooking cheese fondue at a high temperature will burn the cheese. If you use a temperature that is too low, the cheese will form a hard clump.
To cook a main dish fondue, use either oil or broth. Season the oil or the broth and heat to boiling point in the fondue pot. The temperature of the liquid you use should be high enough to thoroughly cook the meat you will dip in the pot. If you use oil, however, watch out for too high temperatures that will cause the oil to splatter.
Most dessert fondues are based on some kind of melted chocolate. For instance, you can cook a sumptuous chocolate fondue by melting chocolate with cream in the fondue pot. Use milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, or any combination of these. Chocolate fondues taste better if the chocolate used is good quality, so do not use cooking chocolate. Melt the chocolate at low temperatures. Melting chocolate at high temperatures will cause it to burn and harden.
To enhance the flavor of your chocolate fondue, add to the melted chocolate in the fondue pot your choice of liqueur, marshmallow crème, strawberry syrup or any flavor enhancers you fancy, such as mint, vanilla, almond, hazelnut etc.
You should have the food you will be dipping into the fondue pot prepared well before you sit down to sample your fondue dish. If you are making a cheese fondue, prepare bite-sized pieces of your choice of bread (French baguettes, crusty rolls, flatbreads …). For a main course fondue dish, cut vegetables and / or meat into bite-sized portions as well. Meat cubes should not be more than one inch in size so that they will cook through in a short time. Prepare cookies, brownies, crackers, marshmallows or cake (cut into small pieces) to dip into your chocolate fondue.
When buying a fondue pot, you’ll see that they come in different sizes. You will also be able to choose between a crock pot made for use on a traditional open flame, and an electric fondue pot that allows you to control cooking temperature. You’ll also need to purchase fondue sticks for dipping food into the pot.
The three basic types of fondue are cheese fondues (typically served as an appetizer in the U.S.), meat and vegetable fondues (served as a main course) and last (but certainly not least!) delicious dessert fondues. Naturally, your entire meal does not need to be made up of fondues. You may serve a fondue dessert at the end of a regular meal, or start a meal with a fondue appetizer etc. In fact, fondue dishes don’t necessarily need to be part of a meal at all.
You can use different kinds of cheese in fondues, and your can also combine several cheese varieties in one cheese fondue dish. Popular choices for cheese fondues include Muenster (a mild cheese), Emmenthal (for a sharper flavor), gruyere, cheddar, pepper jack or Cajun cheese. To prepare cheese fondues, add the cheese of your choice to liquid that you have heated in the fondue pot. Grate the cheese and mix lightly in cornstarch before you put it in the fondue pot. Stir the cheese and hot liquid until the cheese melts, making sure the temperature in the pot is not too high or too low. Cooking cheese fondue at a high temperature will burn the cheese. If you use a temperature that is too low, the cheese will form a hard clump.
To cook a main dish fondue, use either oil or broth. Season the oil or the broth and heat to boiling point in the fondue pot. The temperature of the liquid you use should be high enough to thoroughly cook the meat you will dip in the pot. If you use oil, however, watch out for too high temperatures that will cause the oil to splatter.
Most dessert fondues are based on some kind of melted chocolate. For instance, you can cook a sumptuous chocolate fondue by melting chocolate with cream in the fondue pot. Use milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, or any combination of these. Chocolate fondues taste better if the chocolate used is good quality, so do not use cooking chocolate. Melt the chocolate at low temperatures. Melting chocolate at high temperatures will cause it to burn and harden.
To enhance the flavor of your chocolate fondue, add to the melted chocolate in the fondue pot your choice of liqueur, marshmallow crème, strawberry syrup or any flavor enhancers you fancy, such as mint, vanilla, almond, hazelnut etc.
You should have the food you will be dipping into the fondue pot prepared well before you sit down to sample your fondue dish. If you are making a cheese fondue, prepare bite-sized pieces of your choice of bread (French baguettes, crusty rolls, flatbreads …). For a main course fondue dish, cut vegetables and / or meat into bite-sized portions as well. Meat cubes should not be more than one inch in size so that they will cook through in a short time. Prepare cookies, brownies, crackers, marshmallows or cake (cut into small pieces) to dip into your chocolate fondue.
