Cheese fondue, perhaps the reason for our unexpectedlove for fondue is that, under the guise of a cheese delicacy, they returned to us the lost joy of a cheerful, uninhibited unity in the literal sense "behind a common cauldron." It's also a great way to keep warm in our gloomy climate. And most importantly, the fondue is just delicious. We owe this dish to the entrepreneurial spirit of the shepherds of the Swiss Alps. It was they who adapted to melt cheese and wine in a pot in a pot and dip bread in it in field conditions. The technology has not fundamentally changed since then, but it has acquired a mass of variations and nuances. Today fondue is prepared with the addition of shallots, garlic, mushrooms, bacon and even tomatoes. Cheese varieties and proportions also differ. In western Switzerland - mainly in the French-speaking cantons - it is common to use two parts of the harder Gruyere cheese for one part of the softer emmenthal. In the east of the country (Zurich and the nearby "German" cantons), Appenzeller tastes creamy. Friborg offers a fondue made from two rather spicy, flavorful cheeses - Gruyere and Vasherin. And everyone insists that fondue using these particular cheese combinations is the traditional recipe. However, in such gastronomic disputes, which have long been supported only as a tribute to tradition, Switzerland is not alone. And only one thing is common: fondue is unthinkable without the addition of dry white wine, as well as kirsch - the local cherry. This is a classic. True, once on New Year's Eve in Bern I was treated to homemade fondue cooked on a semi-sweet sparkling wine. Thanks to this, the festive dish turned out to be unusually tender and fragrant. The fondue is accompanied by hot tea, which is amazing in itself. After all, the Swiss are not big fans of tea, and in all other cases, they will certainly prefer tea to coffee. Classic Friborg recipe for 5 persons
- 500g Gruyère Cheese
- 500 g vashrin cheese (Vasherin)
- white table wine (5 deciles)
- white pepper
- Cayenne pepper
- nutmeg
- lemon juice (about a shot glass)
- 4–5 cloves of garlic
- kirsch (about a glass)
- 12 grams of corn starch
Fondue pot is rubbed cutgarlic cloves. In it, on the stove, a mixture of cheese is melted, white and cayenne pepper, nutmeg, lemon juice and garlic are added. 12 g of cornstarch mixed with a glass of kirsha and poured into the cheese mixture. Preparing to boil. After that, the pot is transferred to the lighted burner and served to the table. Accompanied by diced white bread and washed down with hot tea. If you organize fondue by all the rules, dipping the bread in advance into a glass with kirsch and only then in boiling cheese, then believe me, long after this meal, after the Swiss, you will look at the Brownian movement of the rest of the world from the position of happy neutrality.
Fondue - food not for lonely eaters. "Pantagruelstvo", as my friend jokes, warming and getting good from cheese, tea and kirsha, is necessary in the company. And, from the point of view of the Swiss, by no means the summer. Even if it’s cold in the yard and it's time to warm up with hot cheese, don’t look for it in the menu and don’t ask to cook it - it’s pointless. From April to September, with the exception of restaurants trampled by Japanese tourists, no self-respecting institution will serve it. In the eyes of the local people, fondue in the summer is mindless indulgence. As for us, raspberry jam, which, perhaps, is not bad in itself, but for some reason it is brewed only in case of temperature problems, and at another time - please gooseberries with strawberries. But the meat fondue (Fondue Chinoise), although also tied to the cold season, oddly enough, is much more common in the summer. Apparently, because the historical roots of this dish, in the literal translation of the Chinese, are somewhat erased. Almost like our Olivier, known abroad as the "Russian salad". Approximately the same with Fondue Chinoise. Leaving this luxury Asian name, the Swiss changed the content somewhat. In general, the scenario is the same as with cheese fondue. A heated kettle with boiling oil or broth is installed on your table. Separately served thinly sliced meats: beef, pork and horse meat. By the way, many restaurants that specialize in meat fondue work according to the principle: pay once and get an unlimited amount - that is, for slaughter. I met the best fondue to date in Bulle, not far from the castle of Gruer. It was in this completely unassumingly seemingly station-side Cafe de la Gare that I tried the highest manifestation of Swiss love for cheese. In general, fondue is just the case when the “peyzanskaya” simplicity of the place and remoteness from the centers of civilization is a guarantee that everything will be done conscientiously, without playing along with the average tourist taste. And besides, his cheese is put into action from local small cheese-makers. And if you had to taste the dish, you can ask the owners about the composition of the cheese mixture and buy it either from them or in the next farm shop. And, after returning home, to start a business independently. Where to try fondue in Switzerland
- In the city of Sion (canton of Valais) - La Cave de Tous-Vents - a restaurant in the vaulted cellars of the thirteenth century (Rue de Châteaux, 16, tel .: 027 32246 84).
- Not far from Zurich, in the town of Othelfingen, there is a restaurant FormARTgini specializing in cheese dishes (Hinterdorfstrasse, 17, tel .: 079 404 48 80).
- In Geneva in the old town - Les Armures (Rue Puit St-Pierre, 1, tel .: 022 3109172), where Bill Clinton was recently seen.
- The most cherished place of Genevans will probably be Cafe du Soleil (Place du Petit-Saconnex, 6, tel .: 022 733 34 17) that has been operating for 400 years.
Where to try the fondue in Moscow In Moscow, there are several restaurants that include fondue in the menu.
- You will find the classic Swiss recipes in the Alpine cuisine restaurant “Chalet” (Electrolyte pr-d, 7, box 2): they will offer you dried cheese, olives, pickles and slices of apples.
- Quite decent fondue can be tasted innetwork establishments. For example, in the coffee shops Cafemax (Novoslobodskaya St., 3; Pyatnitskaya St., 25) they serve cheese fondue with pieces of bread and chocolate with cream and brandy (they will offer you Savoyardi cookies, bananas, kiwi, pineapple and strawberries ).
- While the capital is just trying on this dish, the specialized restaurant La Fondue (Nevsky Prospect, 90/92), where fondue festivals regularly take place, has already been opened in St. Petersburg.
