Call friends over for a fondue party.
Photo courtesy Emmi Roth Käse.

There are three traditional types of fondue: beef, cheese and chocolate. Beef fondue consists of cubes of meat dipped into hot oil to cook and served with sauces. Chicken, scallops, shrimp and other proteins can be substituted. Cheese fondue is a pot of seasoned melted cheese served with cubed bread and often, fruit and vegetables. Chocolate fondue is melted chocolate served with fruit, cake cubes and other dippers.

Traditionally, fondue has been served at the table in a pot or dish set atop a warming stand heated with a candle or sterno. Today’s portable induction burners don’t have the romance of a flickering candle, but do a more even job of keeping the oil/cheese/chocolate at the right temperature.

• The history of fondue and other types of melted cheese dishes
• Classic cheese fondue recipe
• The different types of Swiss cheese used in fondue (know your Appenzeller from your Emmenthaler)
• 18 Cheese Fondue Recipe Variations—from blue and goat cheese to smoky and south-of-the-border
• Cheese fondue dippers
• Cheese fondue garnishes