Friday, April 22, 2016

S is for Swiss Cheeses

S is for Swiss Cheeses

Gruyère
Emmental
Real Swiss Cheese is very different from the generic cheese sold in North America as Swiss Cheese. One of the best known is Gruyère which is a hard yellow cheese named after Gruyères in Switzerland, it is at the foot of the pre Alps. Gruyère is sweet but slightly salty, with a flavor that varies widely with age. It is often described as creamy and nutty when young, becoming more assertive, earthy, and complex as it matures. When fully aged (five months to a year) it tends to have small cracks which impart a slightly grainy texture. I have never been to Switzerland, but Matt has and from all the stories I have heard, he pigged out on the local cheeses. Another one is Emmental which is also a yellow cheese but not so hard. Both of them are good cheeses to use for fondue. I have three fondue pots and haven't used them in a while. Not sure why, it is one of my favourite ways of eating.

This looks an excellent recipe but I am not quite sure why they use spreadable cheese too. Seems somewhat odd.


Martha's Cheese Fondue Sauce


This amount of sauce will serve 4 people as the main course. If you only intend to have fondue as
part of a bigger meal, adjust the amounts accordingly.

1 garlic clove
50ml / about 1/4 cup kirsh
2 tsp. cornstarch
400 g / a bit less than 1 lb Gruyère cheese (aged at least 8 to 12 months), shredded
400g / a bit less than 1 l Emmenthaler or Vacherin Fribourgeois cheese, shredded (Please use real Emmenthaler. A generic 'Swiss Cheese' will not do. Note that in Switzerland you can buy bags of pre-shredded mixed cheese called "Moitié-moitié", meaning 'half and half'.)
1 piece of 'spreadable' cheese, e.g. Laughing Cow/La Vache Qui Rit (not the mini-Babybel type, the triangular foil-wrapped soft gooey double-creme type)
3 dl / 1 1/4 US cups of young slightly sour white wine such as Chasselas or Sauvignon Blanc

In Switzerland, only bread is dipped into the cheese. Any kind of bread with a sturdy crust and a fairly robust crumb is good: a decent baguette, any kind of 'artisan' bread. Note all the pieces should be cut so they each have a side with crust.


Rub the inside of the fondue pot with the garlic clove. Discard the garlic. (This optional step adds a little extra flavor to the sauce.)

Dissolve the cornstarch in the kirsch. Set aside.

Put the fondue pot on a medium-heat. Add the wine and cheeses. Heat while stirring, until the cheeses melt. Add the kirsch and keep stirring until the sauce is smooth and bubbly. This takes about 20 minutes.

Now, set up your fondue pot stand and burner and transfer the pot to the stand. The burner flame (or tabletop cooker) should just be hot enough that the sauce stays how and just sort of seething on the surface. Any hotter and the cheese will burn on the bottom.

Take a piece of bread, and spear it firmly on the fork so that the crust is on the outside. You can optionally lightly dip it in kirsch at this stage.
Have a great day
 

42 comments:

  1. I visited Switzerland once years ago and I still remember this delicious cheese fondue I had for lunch one day. Your post and recipe brings back nice travel memories.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Never been to Switzerland although Matt did before I knew him. Glad to bring back memories for you Cynthia. We used to do fondues a lot at one time with both cheese and pots for cooking meats and shrimp etc.

      Delete
  2. Hi Jo - yes Swiss cheeses definitely ... and I used to love fondues - now don't get them or do them very often ... the cheese I'll happily eat til the cows tell me to stop! Cheers Hilary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know Hilary, they used to be very popular at one time. I have 3 pots and would do one cheese and two with hot oil for cooking steak, shrimp, meatballs, etc. I see from various documentaries there are lots of newer British cheeses now which I had never heard of.

      Delete
  3. Yes, I enjoyed cheese in Switzerland. I love Gruyere, just wish it wasn't so expensive. It's what I used in baked lobster macaroni.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Baked lobster macaroni Denise, that whole thing sounds expensive? I love lobster at any time.

      Delete
  4. I love fondue. I have to admit, I cheat and buy the fondue packs that have it all in, but it has to be good ones, with good swiss cheese. Luckily we have a very good shop locally that carries the best (they also have the most amazing cheese counter).
    Tasha
    Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Never done that Tasha, but some of these pre prepared things work pretty well. I have tried packet risotto which wasn't bad at all. We have a store locally which has a fantastic cheese counter too.

      Delete
  5. Love Swiss cheese....the kind sold in N. America! I tried gruyere and it was tasty but the price puts me off.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pity when a delicious cheese is so expensive JoJo.

      Delete
  6. I love Swiss cheese as a fondue sauce. Now I want to fondue this weekend with the wife and kids.

    I’m exploring different types of dreams and their meanings.
    S is for Sleep Paralysis
    Stephen Tremp’s Breakthrough Blogs

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm thinking the same thing Stephen. Not had fondue in a while now.

      Delete
  7. I still have a fondue set. Haven't used it in years but can't bring myself to get rid of it. Those three cheeses are among my favourites.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So use it Helen. I have used mine on and off over the years.

      Delete
  8. I love fondue but I haven't used mine in a while either. I love just about any kind of cheese.

    Susan Says

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OK Susan, and everyone else, get out your fondue pots and get cracking again.

      Delete
  9. I didn't know this about swiss cheese. I do like the kind we have here so I'm sure I would extra like the one in Switzerland. Love fondue too. (I just like food :)

    betty

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The genuine Swiss cheeses, like Gruyère are quite a bit stronger than the American version Betty. A girl after my own heart, I just like food too.

      Delete
  10. We eat a lot of Swiss cheese - but I,m not sure that is all authentic.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We tend to eat a lot of French cheeses Bob, unless we want Gruyère or one of the others for something in particular.

      Delete
  11. I feel so dumb. I never knew Gruyère was Swiss cheese. See, the wife's always said that she hates Swiss cheese, but really, she just hates that generic crap we get here. She loves Gruyère. I'll have to tell her that.

    Also, I love a good cheese fondue. I always use beer as a base, though. Gives it an amazing flavor.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There you are, wifey was right. Assume this is Bryan. Most European cheeses have their copies over here, but none of them stand up to the originals. I always use wine as a base for my fondue but I can see beer would work well.

      Delete
  12. LOVE cheese - blue cheese, stinky cheese, cream cheese, French cheese, Swiss cheese etc etc. You've made hanker after a nice gooey fondue now!
    That's Purrfect

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm the same Patricia. As I said to Hilary, I understand there are lots of new English cheeses since we left, they look delicious.

      Delete
  13. I have never had a cheese fondue but i know I would like it except....I have never been a fan of swiss cheese...I don't like strong cheeses like the old. I like mozzarella, harvarti, brie....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can't make a fondue out of those though Birgit although I have made a fondue with Cheddar in the past.

      Delete
  14. I love any type of cheese but Brie and Camembert are my favourite!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am very fond of those two cheeses Pinky. Just had Brie for supper tonight.

      Delete
  15. Swiss Cheese is my favorite! Although, I don't think I've had either of those. Wonder what I'm missing?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Do you mean American type Swiss Cheese Yolanda? It's nothing like the cheese from Switzerland.

      Delete
  16. Hey Jo. How goes the A/Z this year? Are you enjoying it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes Ivy I am although as usual it takes a lot of time visiting and returning comments etc.

      Delete
    2. I can imagine. Only a few people I follow participate. Off to do dishes, will be back during the weekend to read the rest of your posts.

      Happy Weekend :-)

      Delete
    3. OK, Ivy, will look forward to your comments.

      Delete
    4. Thanks for understanding. I've been grooving on weekend reads and keeping the work week for writing, testing, baking and so on.

      Delete
    5. Sounds like a good plan Ivy. Most of your readers are awaiting the recipes from some of your baking.

      Delete
    6. A couple people have asked for stuff and the goal is to get stuff out there but right now, it's all about making stuff that I can eat and getting myself healed up, using foods.

      I've had so many items removed. So a good part of my week away is also focused on healing.

      Headed to get dressed. We just finished brunch and are gonna hit Barnes today. Kinda too cold to be in the garden, but a lovely day to be at the cafe.

      Happy Saturday, Jo :-)

      Delete
    7. I can definitely understand that Ivy. I hope there comes a day when you don't have to focus on healing so much. Enjoy Barnes.

      Delete
    8. Thanks, Jo. We had a lovely time yesterday at Barnes and today, we've been home. I jogged, Tim wrote and now I'm reading a few last blogs before I watch a movie or something like that.

      Happy Sunday!

      Delete
    9. Enjoy your movie then Ivy.

      Delete
  17. The cheese fondue sauce sounds delicious, Jo! I love Swiss cheese!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is delicious Linda and makes an excellent party meal too.

      Delete