Cheese fondue: the cheesy treat: Good or bad?

Cheese fondue is a melted cheese dish. It is a traditional dish in Switzerland and the Swiss Cheese Union promoted it as a Swiss national dish in the 1930s. Because the main ingredient in it is cheese, how healthy is this dish?

Cheese fondue and the tradition

Cheese fondue is made from cheese that is melted in a communal pot that is cooked over a portable stove that is heated using a spirit lamp or a candle.

It has salt and spices and wine in it. The bread piece is held in a fork and dipped in this cheesy dish before one eats it. Swiss Cheese Union called it the national dish in the 1930s and it gained popularity in the USA in the 1960s.

By extension, the fondue term was used for any dish that was heated over the portable stove and cooked in a communal pot.

Thus, there was chocolate fondue and the fondue bourguignonne. In the former, fruit pieces or pastry were dipped in a melted chocolate mixture. Whereas in the latter, meat pieces are soaked in broth or hot oil and cooked over the candle or spirit lamp stove.

It was in 1699 that this term came up in the book published in Zurich. It was cheese melted and cooked with wine. Later eggs and cheese were blended and melted together.

And the modern cheese fondue finds mentioned in a book in 1875. Swiss Cheese Union kept promoting it and it became a symbol of Swiss unity and was recommended to elevate the mood.

Preparation

This fondue is made from cheese and wine with cornstarch added as a stabilizer. Seasoning of the desired type is added. Some preparations also have a beer in them instead of wine. Some cooks prefer to add local brandy called Kirsch to the mixture.

The fondue pot is first rubbed with a cut garlic clove. White wine is added and then this is heated with cornstarch. Later, grated cheese is put into this mixture. It is stirred slowly until the cheese melts and the dish is ready.

It is served warm so that the cheese does not solidify. But it should not be too hot. After one finishes the dish, there is a layer of toasted cheese at the bottom and sides of the fondue pot. This crust has to be lifted and eaten.

Is this fondue healthy or not?

Some believe that fondue is a healthy snack while others feel that it could be a fattening dessert. It depends on how much you consume and what you eat it.

If it is part of a balanced diet plan, it is healthy. But if it is just consumed with junk foods or in large quantities, it is unhealthy.

Though it has a lot of fats and saturated fats, it does have other nutrients as well that are healthy and essential for the body.

This includes calcium, proteins, and good lactic acid bacteria. Thus, it is good for the bones, muscles, and also the gut. Couple the dish with veggies and the kids would love it.