Cheese fondue
Käsefondue / Fondue au fromage
Gruyère and Emmentaler melted into white wine with garlic, kirsch and nutmeg, kept bubbling over a burner for bread on long forks.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: Käsefondue / Fondue au fromage.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Rest
- None
- Total
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- A bit special$16–28 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
This is a Gruyère and Emmentaler fondue, the version most of German-speaking Switzerland makes; Fribourg's moitié-moitié uses Vacherin Fribourgeois instead of Emmentaler. Grated cheese is tossed with cornflour, a pot is rubbed with garlic, dry white wine is heated with a squeeze of lemon, and the cheese goes in by the handful, stirred in a figure of eight over medium-low heat until smooth. Kirsch, pepper and nutmeg finish it. It goes to the table on a burner with cubes of day-old bread, and everyone keeps stirring. Count 200 g of cheese per person and do not rush the heat.
What you'll need
10 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
Ingredients
- Gruyère cheese, coarsely grated400 g
- Emmentaler cheese, coarsely grated400 g
- White wine, dry and sharp; Fendant or Chasselas if you can300 ml
- Garlic, halved1 clove
- Lemon juice4.9 ml
- Kirsch30 ml
- Nutmeg, freshly grated1.2 ml
- Black pepper2½ ml
- Bread, day-old crusty loaf, cut into 3 cm cubes each with some crust500 g
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Toss the grated cheese with the cornflour. Rub the inside of a heavy pot or caquelon hard with the cut garlic and leave the pieces in.
5 min
Step 2
Heat the wine and lemon juice over medium heat until small bubbles rise. Do not boil it.
3 min
Step 3
Lower the heat and add the cheese a handful at a time, stirring in a figure of eight with a wooden spoon and waiting for each handful to melt before the next. It takes about 10 minutes and should become smooth and glossy.
10 min
Watch: Too hot and the cheese seizes into a lump in a pool of wine. Low and patient.
Step 4
Stir in the kirsch, nutmeg and pepper. Carry the pot to a burner on the table set low enough to keep it barely bubbling. Spear bread, stir to the bottom, lift, twist, eat.
2 min
Tip: If it splits, whisk in a teaspoon of cornflour slaked in a little kirsch or lemon juice. It usually comes back.
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 1183 kcal
- Protein
- 59.5 g
- Carbs
- 70.5 g
- Fat
- 66.1 g
- Saturated fat
- 39 g
- Fibre
- 3.5 g
- Sugar
- 8.1 g
- Sodium
- 1858 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Milk
- Wheat
- Vegetarian
Vegetarian only with a vegetarian Gruyère cheese: the traditional cheese is made with animal rennet.
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 13 November.
Substitutions
Emmentaler → Vacherin Fribourgeois
That makes it a moitié-moitié, the Fribourg standard, smoother and milder.
White wine → Apple juice with 2 tbsp lemon juice
For children or non-drinkers. The acid is what keeps it smooth, so do not skip the lemon.
Tips
- Grate the cheese yourself. Pre-grated cheese is coated in starch and melts into a paste.
- Keep stirring at the table, each person as they dip. A fondue left alone separates.
- Boiled potatoes, cornichons and pickled onions are acceptable dipping company. Broccoli is not Swiss but nobody will stop you.
History & culture
Winter food: Alpine huts, après-ski, but equally a Friday night in a Zurich flat with the caquelon in the middle of the table. White wine or black tea to drink; the Swiss blame cold drinks for a stomach ache afterwards. Losing your bread in the pot costs a forfeit. The crust left on the bottom, la religieuse, is scraped up and shared as the best bit.
Melted cheese with wine and bread appears in a Zurich manuscript from 1699. The Swiss Cheese Union pushed fondue hard from the 1930s to sell surplus cheese, and it became the national dish by marketing as much as by tradition. Cornflour and kirsch are 20th-century stabilisers.
Regional variation — Gruyère-Emmentaler is the classic export style. Fribourg uses Vacherin, Neuchâtel adds more wine, Valais cooks would not call this theirs.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Cheese fondue take?
30 min all in — 15 min prep, 15 min cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 4 people. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Easy.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Milk, Wheat. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian.
7 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
A bit special — about $16–28 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Saucepan, Chef's knife.
How much salt do I put in?
This recipe does not list a salt amount. We will not invent one.
What can I use instead?
Emmentaler → Vacherin Fribourgeois. That makes it a moitié-moitié, the Fribourg standard, smoother and milder. White wine → Apple juice with 2 tbsp lemon juice. For children or non-drinkers. The acid is what keeps it smooth, so do not skip the lemon.
What should I watch for?
Too hot and the cheese seizes into a lump in a pool of wine. Low and patient.
Any tips from this recipe?
Grate the cheese yourself. Pre-grated cheese is coated in starch and melts into a paste. Keep stirring at the table, each person as they dip. A fondue left alone separates. Boiled potatoes, cornichons and pickled onions are acceptable dipping company. Broccoli is not Swiss but nobody will stop you.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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