Cheese Fondue

[MetsFan5]

12 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

I did not mean to give offense.  And I was serious that Spam might make a tasty meat fondue.  I was also serious that I thought Spam would not work well for a cheese fondue.  I have not tried it.  If it works I stand to be corrected.  You did ask and I gave my best opinion.  My humor is sometimes obvious only to myself.

 

 

  Sorry. I am admittedly overly sensitive about my lack of cooking skills. It’s the one thing that I know my husband would love for me to work on, given his long hours. 

 

  I thought about spam for cheese fondue because it is (supposedly?) already cooked. I’m a bit scared to use it and don’t know how to use it in a simple but tasty way, but that’s a whole different topic. 

 

  I did use pre-cooked thick ham slices from Wegmans which I’ve used before for dinner or in ah gratin and liked. I heated/ crisped it up in a pan prior to using it in fondue because I like it better that way. 

[BeeZee]

You know what...when I was in college one of the best meals was hot ham and cheese on a toasted kaiser roll. It was (I'm sure) processed cheese, it got all kind of gooey. I can see ham working with fondue!

[MetsFan5]

@BeeZee it did work well— it was exactly as you described maybe just with better cheese. 

[BetD]

On 12/9/2018 at 12:05 PM, MetsFan5 said:

Would spam be a good dipper in cheese fondue? 

 

Also good to consider... roasted (not too soft) veggies. Broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus and the like.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I read through the colorful 95 cent 1970 fondue cookbook I shared above.  Cheese fondue recipe still bookmarked!  Sadly there were no Spam recipes -- but veal kidneys, of course.

 

[HungryChris]

I feel compelled to share my one and only experience with cheese fondue. It was back in the days when here in the US, girls went to Home Economics and boys went to Shop class. Every once in a while we were invited to try something the girls had made and on one such occasion, it was cheese fondue. I have to admit that I loved it and looked foreword to having it again. Buying the pots and long handled forks kept me out of the arena, but I am temped to change that now, after this discussion. It just seems like a fun thing, like shabu shabu, that I have always wanted to try.

HC  

[heidih]

Oh yes it is an interactive sport. The color coded forks help. Having 3 is super cool - hot oil & red meat , cheese, and chocolate  All major food groups covered and everyone smiling 

[chromedome]

1 hour ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I read through the colorful 95 cent 1970 fondue cookbook I shared above.  Cheese fondue recipe still bookmarked!  Sadly there were no Spam recipes -- but veal kidneys, of course.

 

Well, that makes sense. I mean, Spam's popular, but not a real staple like veal kidneys.

[Beebs]

I love cheese fondue! My family has it on a regular basis. For Christmas dinner this year, I've requested either cheese fondue or Chinese hotpot. Mom vetoed both. 

 

I don't see any reason not to try Spam...there's only one way of finding out. We dip all sorts of things - poached chicken/turkey breast, sausage chunks, ham, potatoes, steamed brussels sprouts & broccoli, tortellini, different kinds of bread.... Plenty of wine.

[Kim Shook]

3 hours ago, HungryChris said:

I feel compelled to share my one and only experience with cheese fondue. It was back in the days when here in the US, girls went to Home Economics and boys went to Shop class. Every once in a while we were invited to try something the girls had made and on one such occasion, it was cheese fondue. I have to admit that I loved it and looked foreword to having it again. Buying the pots and long handled forks kept me out of the arena, but I am temped to change that now, after this discussion. It just seems like a fun thing, like shabu shabu, that I have always wanted to try.

HC  

You really should give it a try.  You really don't even need all the accouterments - at least not until you decide if it is something you will continue to do.  You can make the fondue in a heavy pot on the stove - especially as you cook for two.  It should stay warm enough for awhile.  And you really don't need the long forks unless you are doing the meat in oil.  

[Kerry Beal]

Thrift stores are full of unused fondue sets these days!

[IowaDee]

I received a chafing dish as a wedding gift.  I was all of 18 years old and didn't have a clue what a "chafe" was or why one needed a special pan for it.  Chafing  was something that happened when I wore  a  shirt that had too much starch in the collar.  I finally figured the pan made a passable fondue pot and put it to use for that.   I re-gifted it  at the first opportunity and now kind of wish I had it back.  

Edited December 11, 2018 by IowaDee (log)

[heidih]

The issue I had with fondue was the little sterno tins. I am highly reactive to the smell. I do little votives now.

Edited December 11, 2018 by heidih (log)

[HungryChris]

Thanks to all you enablers, I just bought a vintage copper fondue set on EBay. I am looking foreword to sticking a fork in it.

HC

[demiglace]

In the late 70's I was invited to a boiling oil fondue. I quite enjoyed it but was sure that before the night was out that someone was going to be rushed to the ER. My friends were drinking a lot. I might have been too. I would love a cheese fondue to have pieces of pepperoni sticks, pretzels and some kinds of battered onion petal or part of an onion ring. Have fun with your new toy @HungryChris 

[Kim Shook]

2 hours ago, demiglace said:

In the late 70's I was invited to a boiling oil fondue. I quite enjoyed it but was sure that before the night was out that someone was going to be rushed to the ER. My friends were drinking a lot. I might have been too. I would love a cheese fondue to have pieces of pepperoni sticks, pretzels and some kinds of battered onion petal or part of an onion ring. Have fun with your new toy @HungryChris 

I did a boiling oil French Toast buffet for a brunch once.  Cubes of French bread, batter and various toppings.  I, too, was terrified about that.  Also, it was a terrific mess.  Delicious, but not well thought out and never repeated.

[Lisa Shock]

On the topic of ham, spam, and various sausages, while ham & cheese is a classic sandwich, you have to remember the whole business of it being a sandwich, that is on bread, generally two slices of bread, as opposed to ham and cheese on a plate, your hand, or here on a fondue fork. In many cases, it will probably be too salty for many people. It's up to you, but, if you're having company over, you may wish to think about this. Or offer your guests toast points to place their fondue items on.

 

I myself am not fond of super-salty foods and often brush salt off my pretzels. Adding salty cheese would be overload for me. Just my $ .02

[quiet1]

I think for the Spam, rather than dipping it, I’d treat it as a sort of condiment and cut it into small slices such that after dipping a bread cube you could stack a slice of Spam on top of the cheesy bread before sticking the whole lot in your mouth.

 

We did fondue one year for Christmas dinner and it was pretty successful. I did one cheese and one hot broth (because I was fairly sure we’d end up with horrible burns with hot oil) and I pre-cooked the meat so it was just shy of done, such that by the time it’d been heated to piping hot again in the broth, it was cooked nicely. We’re contemplating doing it again this year, actually, though possibly not for Christmas dinner.

[Beebs]

I've never had an issue with overly salty bites, but then I'm also not dunking the entire chunk of ham in the cheese either. Just the top bit. Also, I alternate between bites of ham/sausage with bites of bread, veg, poached chicken, etc. Or it might be the cheese blend we use isn't too salty either. Or our meat chunks are on the smaller side.

[quiet1]

5 hours ago, Beebs said:

I've never had an issue with overly salty bites, but then I'm also not dunking the entire chunk of ham in the cheese either. Just the top bit. Also, I alternate between bites of ham/sausage with bites of bread, veg, poached chicken, etc. Or it might be the cheese blend we use isn't too salty either. Or our meat chunks are on the smaller side.

 

I’m just thinking what we’ve tried with Raclette, which is definitely quite salty. I like it with some kind of meat, but it has to be a very thin slice or maybe a sprinkle of chopped up bits rather than even a big piece. I think the flavor combinations would be somewhat similar since it’s from the same region.

 

That said, our whole house has a much lower tolerance for salt in general now since my mom’s been on a medical low sodium diet. None of the rest of us are watching sodium particularly but it’s just easier to cook lower sodium and have lower sodium ingredients in the house, so everyone’s diet has shifted.

[TdeV]

Many years ago, I was having a party and decided to make fondue. A friend of mine had recently quit drinking, and I wanted to support her, so decided that in place of using wine and kirsch, I would use yogurt.

 

There were 2 Swiss and 2 Germans at the party. Who were appalled! One of those people has been my friend for 35+ years and still complains about that fondue!

 

Nowadays I have a stand for a cheap fondue set, but have thrown out the other parts. I use an ordinary saucepan on top of it, a restaurant sterno set, and some decent long forks.

Edited December 18, 2018 by TdeV
Memory is fickle! (log)

[heidih]

You bring up my issue with fondue - I am highly sensitive to the smell of sterno. Puts me off my feed.

Edited December 17, 2018 by heidih (log)

[Kim Shook]

27 minutes ago, TdeV said:

Many years ago, I was having a party and decided to make fondue. A friend of mine had recently quit drinking, and I wanted to support her, so decided that in place of using wine and kirsch, I would use yogurt.

 

There were 2 Swiss and 1 German at the party. Who were appalled! One of those people has been my friend for 35+ years and still complains about that fondue!

 

Nowadays I have a stand for a cheap fondue set, but have thrown out the other parts. I use an ordinary saucepan on top of it, a restaurant sterno set, and some decent long forks.

When we lived for a small town in Indiana for a few years, alot of our friends were Mormons.  A favorite dinner was a big salad and cheese fondue.  They would use apple cider or white grape juice instead of wine.  It was a touch on the sweet side, but still very good.  

[Martin Fisher]

Fondue, I'm fond of you!  

Thought I may find a quality, substantive fondue book 'lot' on eBay at a reasonable price, but no such luck! 

I'm in the process of setting up a rustic fondue set in the very near future (waiting on some parts)―I'll post some pics when it's complete!

[quiet1]

On 12/17/2018 at 2:06 PM, Kim Shook said:

When we lived for a small town in Indiana for a few years, alot of our friends were Mormons.  A favorite dinner was a big salad and cheese fondue.  They would use apple cider or white grape juice instead of wine.  It was a touch on the sweet side, but still very good.  

 

You might get away with cutting the juice with fizzy water to tone down the sweet and add the needed acid, maybe? We’ve made fondue using up odd bits and bobs of cheese and drinks by using mostly cheddar type cheeses and a very good hard apple cider. (Or one time we had Perry which was also super tasty.) Didn’t notice the fizz doing anything untoward to the cheese. You do need cheeses that will stand up to the sweetness though. I run with “would I just eat a piece of this cheese with a piece of apple/pear/grape?” as a starting point.