cooking in fondue

Many of us already have a fondue at home. It has become an ideal element to give as a gift, and it is very exciting to have it. But it is also true that there are those who have it parked and, honestly, I think it is a real shame! The fondue is a practical culinary utensil -with which you can solve a lunch or dinner quickly-, it is fun for diners, it is easy to prepare and clean -important, isn't it?- and also, from my experience, it favors the communication and enlivens meals, as it is, so to speak, a group activity, a sharing dish, which calls for conversation.

So, convinced that the use of fondue should be more generalized, here is the advice that is essential for me: take it out of the back of the cupboard where you keep it, because it must be close at hand, it must be a utensil as close at hand as the pan or pot that you use so much. That way you will see it, you will remember that you have that resource, and you will use it much more.

Secondly, since you will often want to use it, try to always have special cheeses for fondue in the fridge, or chocolate to melt! Or go crazy one day that not everything is a fixed script: Why not use nutella, one day? Or why not make hot chocolate instead of melting chocolate?

And finally, be very clear that there is a lot of food that you can use to dip in a fondue! Do not say that you have nothing to do it, because from today that thinking is no longer valid.

With all this said, I think it's a good time to talk about how to prepare fondue. The most common is to make cheese fondue or chocolate fondue. It is not so common, although it is just as delicious and fun, to make them with oil. But let's go step by step.

Cheese fondues are made with special cheese for fondue. You will find it in supermarkets, refrigerated. To prepare it, you just have to melt the cheese in the fondue pot (you do that in the kitchen, gas, vitro...). Once it's melted, you place it in the candle fondue holder, with the candle or fondue oil lit to keep the cheese warm. And it's ready to start dipping whatever you have prepared!

On the other hand, you have prepared the foods that are going to be the perfect combination with the cheese. I have already said before that many ingredients are going to be worth here. What I advise you is that what you have in mind leave it on the table cut into squares or strips. Most things are eaten completely raw, so table preparation is as quick as cheese!

What can you dip in the cheese? The classics are toasted bread and vegetables (asparagus, carrots, peppers,...). But since everything is a matter of trying, you can discover many things that go well with cheese: we also do it with green beans, mushrooms, endives, Serrano ham, olives... even apples are great!

A little secret: to vary the flavor of the cheese, you can add a little pepper one day, another day add some rosemary, another season with another species or leave it again without any additives. And as for the ingredients, the taste of the fondue will also vary if one day they are raw and another you go through the grill.

Then there is the chocolate one. The process is the same as before: melt the chocolate in the kitchen, to keep it hot and liquid at the table with the heat of the candle. There are those who prepare it for dessert, I prefer to do it on weekends in the morning. This is how we all enjoy a good family breakfast! What to dip into the chocolate is already a matter of the most whimsical imagination. From the most typical fruit (strawberries, bananas, apples, kiwi, watermelon, orange,...), to the most tender biscuits, through sequillos, toasted bread, digestive-type biscuits, croissans... and other fruits such as peach , grapes or red fruits.

Oil fondues are basically for frying the ingredients. The important thing is to keep the oil very hot once on the table. Here, the usual thing is to make them with meat and fish, which, well submerged, cook the pieces in 30 seconds. Are you going to try? Again, anything goes. Veal meat, pork loin, tuna, salmon... whatever you want cut into cubes, and that has consistency to hold in the oil.

You see that fondue admits all kinds of combinations. Some will prefer some, others will prefer others... but if there is a sufficient variety of ingredients on the table, surely you will all find yours.

The truth is that I enjoy fondue. I enjoy eating it, and also seeing that it is a different way for children to eat vegetables and fruit, apart from the fact that, as I said before, it unites those at the table a lot!

If you don't have any at home and you feel like buying a fondue, you have many to choose from! At home we have the Savoyarde and Bourguignon from Le Creuset . It weighs a lot, but it's just that it's a cast iron fondue! That also helps to better retain the temperature. And it has a glaze that prevents it from absorbing moisture, colors or food odors. It is easy to clean - let it soak in water, and after a while you will clean it without any difficulty. She is a joy, and when you have her in front of you it is clear that she is a fondue lady.

There is also ceramic, a beautiful fondue from Emile Henry , cheaper and with a traditional design that we love. Very ideal for cheese and chocolate fondues. Aside from the fondue and forks, it includes a recipe book, which is always fun to flip through and get ideas, right?

A novelty from Le Creuset not long ago, was the mini-cocotte fondue . It is a curious, elegant and, why not, funny piece. Keep in mind that the saucepan is a mini-cocotte, so it will serve to accompany lunch and dinner, rather than making the fondue a unique dish. It is ideal as a gift, and to get started in the world of fondue if for now you are not sure if you are going to use it. And of course you can use the mini-cocotte daily to present other delicacies on the table.

I will not finish the post without first talking about the fondue that has stolen my heart: the Kuhn Rikon fondue : it was designed in Switzerland and made in Germany, it is made of white ceramic, and the base is made of cherry wood and a nickel grid varnished. Surely when you see the photo you will think that it is beautiful. Live you would say that it is a beauty!