SURPRISING SECRETS TO EATING – AND MAKING – SWISS FONDUE

By Alexandra Osváth

There’s nothing like a hot bubbly fondue in Switzerland on a cold night. As it’s not the lightest meal ever, I’m really, really picky with my fondues – and will definitely pay a visit to a local cheese shop (fromagerie) to get the very best local cheeses I can!

I’m a total geek for locally sourced foods and I was DELIGHTED to discover a very Swiss tradition… Did you know that many local farms have roadside stands where you can buy their fresh products – and leave the money in a jar? Talk about an honour system.

Our latest discovery was a roadside refrigerator (yes, really) in the Bernese Oberland, where I picked up some delicious raw milk Alpine cheese. And popped the exact change into their little jar as payment. I think they even had a jar where you could take the change you needed, but as my German isn’t great I didn’t dare…

We also found a 24/7 produce dispenser from a local Geneva farm while biking through sunflower fields in the spring – check out that bike ride here.

THE SECRET TO EATING (AND DIGESTING) FONDUE

A few years after arriving in Geneva I was let in on a very Swiss secret – there’s an actual science to eating fondue. And while it might be tempting to enjoy a delicious glass of local chasselas wine, it won’t help at all with your post-fondue bellyache. However you’ll still need to add some to your fondue!

So, the secret to eating fondue is… drink a HOT beverage with it. Try an alpine herbal tea, or even just hot water. Drinking hot water with meals is actually quite common in many cultures around the world as it really does help break down the fats to help with digestion (confirmed by the Mayo Clinic here).

Give it a try next time – but don’t blame us if you eat too much fondue!

THE SURPRISING SECRET INGREDIENT FOR A GOOD FONDUE

I’m not exactly the best cook, and very much avoid cooking when I can. But how hard can a fondue be, I thought? You just heat the cheese… Such a rookie mistake! My “heated cheese” ended up being a literal lump of rubber. Try, try again… (Have you had a fondue disaster?! Let us know in the comments!)

So the next time I attempted making my own fondue (with nice cheese from Fromagerie Dupasquier, too!) I decided it might be a good idea to actually follow directions for once… and I was shocked to see the recipe called for this ingredient!

CORN STARCH seemed to be the missing but absolutely vital ingredient to a good fondue! Thankfully I’d just bought some in the baking section of Coop – actually thinking it was corn meal, but that’s another story. In Switzerland it’s called ‘Maizena’, and the French term is ‘amidon de maïs’ or ‘fécule de maïs’. It’s gluten-free, too.

Try this Swiss fondue recipe and let us know what you think! I left out the garlic and kirsch and it was still delicious.