The Best Fondue Recipe Books of 2024

The Best Fondue Recipe Book Buying Guide

Fondue is a delicious dish enjoyed by people all around the globe, and it’s actually a lot easier to prepare than you might think. Want to make it for yourself? Here’s what you need to know about fondue and fondue recipes in 2023.

What Is Fondue?

The term “fondue” is a borrowed French word that originates from the French conjugation of the phrase “to melt.” This is a reference to the most popular type of fondue, cheese fondue, as it uses a pot full of melted cheese to coat and cook various ingredients. 

Cheese fondue is an incredibly popular dish, and it’s not hard to see why. Cheese is a pretty popular ingredient on its own, with many people eating it a la carte due to how complex some types of cheese can be. Others simply like adding cheese to all sorts of foods, as it gives dishes a rich, creamy, and flavorful twist. In fact, Switzerland’s national dish is cheese fondue, a testament to how beloved this dish is in its home country. 

Over the years, chefs have developed different ways to cook fondue. Using various types of cheese and ingredients, you can end up with all kinds of results. Some people have even stretched the definition of fondue, with cooking mediums ranging from chocolaty to wine. 

Today, fondue generally refers to a meal that’s cooked using a liquid medium at a hot temperature. Whether this refers to a pot of water or a pot of cheese, the term “fondue” still technically applies.

Why Should You Try Fondue?

It’s unique

Chances are that you’ve never tried fondue before, and even if you have, you’ve never tried anything else remotely like it. That’s because fondue is a unique experience — you’re cooking and preparing food at the table, rather than having it ready to eat when it arrives. Because of this interactive aspect, you can prepare your meal exactly the way you like it, making for a more rewarding culinary experience. 

It’s a social meal

One aspect of fondue that some people seem to miss is the fact that it’s a very social meal. In other words, fondue promotes social interaction, and you may have experienced something similar at an Asian grill restaurant. Cooking food over a grill with friends and family can be a fun bonding experience, as you get to learn their preferences and chat while cooking food.

You’ll also get that sort of social interaction when it comes to eating fondue. Some people may take their time dipping their food, whereas others are fine with dipping it in and out right away. You’ll also have ample time to catch up with friends and talk about all sorts of topics while cooking your dipping ingredients. 

Different Kinds of Fondue

Cheese fondue

Cheese fondue is the most common type of fondue, and it’s arguably the most popular as well. What makes cheese fondue such an interesting dish to prepare is that it relies on cheese, an incredibly complex ingredient in its own right — depending on the type of cheese you use for your fondue, you can end up with completely different flavors.

Among the various options available are French cheese fondue, Swiss cheese fondue, and Italian cheese fondue, to name a few. There are also many versions of Swiss cheese fondue, so you’ll be spoiled for choice.

Chocolate fondue

Chocolate fondue is a dessert staple at many large events. This dish is pretty straightforward — all it entails is dipping something small and bite-sized (such as a marshmallow or a strawberry) into a pot of melted chocolate. Like cheese, chocolate is quite a unique and complex ingredient, but milk chocolate is the most common option as it’s widely available.

Chocolate fondue is sometimes presented in an interesting way. Rather than melting the chocolate in a pot, you can use a fondue fountain to let it flow down in a mouthwatering manner. You’ll often see chocolate fountains at parties and large social gatherings, and while this doesn’t look anything like traditional fondue, it’s delicious all the same.

Other fondue recipes

Cheese and chocolate are popular fondue mediums because they’re thick, flavorful, and easy to work with, but you can use other liquids as well — some fondue recipes, for example, call for wine, while others simply use oil to cook the food.

Then there are broth-based fondue recipes. This type of fondue is interesting as it’s existed for quite a while, just under another name — the hot pot. A hot pot works much like a fondue — you heat water or broth in a pot on the table and place ingredients inside it to let them cook. Once the ingredients are ready, you can take the food out and eat it at your leisure. As you can probably tell, the similarities between a hot pot and fondue are pretty significant.

Overall, there’s more to fondue than just chocolate and cheese. While the taste and texture may be wildly different, the resulting dishes are each delicious in their own right, and they’re definitely worth a try if you’ve got the ingredients lying around.