Back in the late 1960's, our Swiss au pair brought back a funky fondue set. I remember it well: a beaten copper affair, raised on a nifty wrought iron stand.
In my opinion, the best fondues use the authentic cheese recipes; but a bad, mad, and dangerous tendency has crept in for sickly, over rich chocolate fondues with cake, strawberries, and the like. Avoid them at all costs.
Here's how to make a genuine Swiss cheese fondue: Grate ½ pound of a Swiss cheese such as an Emmenthaler, and ½ pound of Gruyere into a pan. Start melting the cheese on a medium heat. It's important not to boil the cheese, over-stir it, or let it get cold. All these things will encourage separation and stringing.
Carefully stir in two tablespoons of flour or cornstarch. Again, the flour will help to prevent separation. Add a tablespoon of dry mustard.
When the cheese, flour and mustard have melted down, add a cup of dry white wine, a dash of Kirsch, a squeeze of lemon juice, and some grated nutmeg.
That's it. You then dip in hunks of fresh white bread into the cheese sauce. Traditionally, if you loose your bread in the cheese, you are supposed to pay a forfeit. Having seen Bryan Forbes' original version of The Stepford Wives, I can imagine the sort of things our parents got up to forty years ago, although I stress that in our family, the forfeit was always a bottle of Kirsch.
