My son, the 20 year old college student in downtown Chicago swears that the best place to take a date for a special occasion and not break his budget is a fondue place called Geja’s. He has actually become a very good cook since having to feed himself and somehow he got their cheese fondue recipe and decided to make it tonight. Unfortunately the recipe had the ingredients but not the technique.
He rigged a makeshift double boiler, grated the cheese, etc. and went to town. Unfortunately he was suddenly very upset because the texture wasn’t right and it was separating (curds and whey?) The taste was great but it had to be whisked constantly to maintain a reasonable consistency.
My guess is he got it too hot too fast, but I’m far from an expert in making a cheese fondue and/or using a double boiler. He was more upset than the rest of us because he wanted it to be perfect and we just wanted some bread, fruit, and cheesy goodness in our bellies.
Anyone with some advise on what could have been done better? I won’t complain if we have to have it a few more times in the near future while he perfects it.
My next door neighbor is Swiss and an extremely detail oriented, excellent cook - his fondue is as authentic as it comes, and in wintertime it practically runs in his veins - when I’ve been over to his place for it he makes a point to explain how everyone needs to constantly help keep it stirred while partaking, you can’t just let it sit.
Whenever I encounter a Swiss person in America I’m like, “why the fuck are you here when you could be there?” Then I usually ask them if they have the time.
I remember the Alton Brown show on fondue (here’s his recipe); from what I recall, the keys are the slow melting, adding just a handful of the cheese at a time, the lemon juice, and the cornstarch. From the episode:
Did he leave out the wine, or put it inside the cook instead of inside the fondue pot? The tartaric acid in wine is key to avoiding that whole clumping event. You can substitute sodium citrate if you want to, but I like wine.
Ditto. Wine is essential for both flavor and preventing separation.
Also try Raclette sometime. It’s a great alternative to Fondue. The grills are generally useful, and you can prepare a variety of individual cheeses instead of just one blend.
I bought thisfondue pot, which is electric, and it’s pretty much impossible to screw up. I have made both cheese/wine fondue and chocolate fondue, and both were so easy it was ridiculous. It’s not cheap, this pot, but depending on how much you love your kid, you might buy it for him. AND I see that right now it’s on sale on Amazon, so there you go.
Yes, he used wine. Kirschwasser natural cherry flavored brandy to be exact. I also know he added lemon juice. He had all the ingredients but not how to put it together. It tasted great but the texture was off.
My guess is he put all the cheese in at once and had it too hot. I’ll show him this and we’ll have to try it again.
You have to have some sort of alcohol. I’ve used beer, wine, liquor… but something. Also, low and slow is the way to go. I usually make a roux, add the alcohol and some cheese, start that melting, then add some more, etc. If you throw everything in to a cold pot, all at once, it’s not going to bode well for you.
