Gruyère and White Wine Fondue
Grated cheese and wine coaxed with cornstarch into a pot that stays glossy instead of breaking into strings — dip bread until it's gone.
- Serves
- 4
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Written
Method
-
Rub the inside of a heavy pot with the cut side of the garlic clove, then discard it.
-
Toss the grated Gruyère and Emmental with the cornstarch in a bowl until every strand is coated.
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Warm the wine in the pot over medium heat until small bubbles gather at the edge, just short of a simmer.
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Add the cheese a handful at a time, stirring in a figure eight after each addition and waiting until it disappears into the wine before adding the next.
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Keep going until the fondue is smooth and a spoon dragged through it leaves a trail that fills back in slowly rather than snapping into strings.
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Stir in the kirsch and nutmeg, then move the pot to low heat or a table burner so it stays loose while you eat.
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Serve at once with bread cubes and apple slices for dipping.
Notes
The cornstarch is doing more work than the wine. Coating the cheese in it before it goes anywhere near heat keeps the fat and the liquid from separating, which is the difference between a fondue that stays glossy and one that breaks into a greasy, stringy mess halfway through the meal. Add the cheese slowly and keep stirring — dumping it all in at once is the other way to break it.
If it starts to seize up, a splash more warm wine off the heat will bring it back. No kirsch on hand, a squeeze of lemon juice into the wine does something similar for brightness, just without the kick.