Crock Pot Cream Cheese Garlic Fondue - Recipes That Crock! (2024)

FAQs

Can you overcook cheese fondue? ›

3. Add a generous pinch each of pepper and nutmeg, and cook, stirring gently, until creamy and smooth, about 10 minutes; don't overcook the fondue or it will get stringy. Serve at once.

When cheese gets too hot, its protein, called casein, can coagulate into a toughened mass, squeezing out liquid and fat. This is probably what happened with your fondue last year. Pots specially designed for cheese fondue insulate the cheese from the heat.

If the cheese fondue is too thick, add more of the liquid you used for the base. If it is too thin, add more cheese.

If a fondue is starting to separate then adding cornflour (cornstarch) mixed with a little cold water usually brings it back together again as the cornflour binds moisture to the cheese solids. However if the fondue has turned into a solid lump of cheese then it is most likely that it has been overheated.

Fondue rules

You must not double dip, and never put your fork directly into your mouth.

Thirdly, keep the heat low. If you start with the temperature too high, your fondue will get stiff. It takes patience, but it's one of the most important tips! If you're able to measure the temperature, it should be around 140 for 150 degrees Fahrenheit.

The best all-around cheeses for fondue are fontina, Gruyère, and gouda. If you aren't sure what to pick, use even amounts of these three. Together are lush and complex. For classic Swiss cheese fondue (meaning one like what you would find in Switzerland), a mix of traditional, firm mountain-style cheeses is best.

Cheese is a particularly tricky addition to soups because if the temperature of the soup is too hot or too cold, the cheese won't melt properly and will start to clump.

Our answer. Cheese fondue, such as Nigella's Cheese Fondue (from Nigella Express and on the Nigella website), is usually a fairly easy dish to make and if the cheese has separated it is usually because the heat used to melt the cheese was either too high or too low.

Lemon juice helps stabilize the emulsion of melted cheese and wine, while providing a bright flavor to balance the dairy-fat richness. Keeping the heat low while melting the cheese prevents the fondue from breaking.

What kind of bread is good for fondue? ›

A mild-flavored sourdough or baguette will work well. You can also use a loaf of dense rye bread, but you may want to cube it instead of tearing it into chunks. Baguettes are the traditional choice for dipping in fondue because they have a mild flavor and crisp crust that's perfect for dipping in creamy, melted cheese.

A cheese fondue mixture should be kept warm enough to keep the fondue smooth and liquid but not so hot that it burns. If this temperature is held until the fondue is finished there will be a thin crust of toasted (not burnt) cheese at the bottom of the caquelon. This is called la religieuse (French for the nun).

The Swiss recommend 200g of cheese per person but believe me that is a lot so I would go with 150g each. Dry white wine or hot tea is the usual accompaniment with a shot of Kirsch for those who are feeling bold.

If it is too thin, decrease your heat slightly and add more shredded cheese tossed with cornstarch to your mixture. Avoid adding water to thin your fondue since it changes the consistancy.

Thing is, once cheese is heated too far beyond its melting point, the proteins firm up and squeeze out moisture—the same way protein does in meat. When this occurs you're left with rubbery, clumpy bits of cheese protein that separate from the fat and moisture.

Did you forget to add the cornstarch? Or maybe you just didn't add enough. Whatever the case, you need to fix your fondue fast. Do so by creating a slurry consisting of ¼ cup (60 ml) cold white wine and three tablespoons of cornstarch.

If alcohol is the issue then most of the alcohol from the wine will have cooked out by the time the fondue is ready and the kirsch could be omitted - just toss the grated cheese with the cornflour (cornstarch) before adding it to the fondue pot. Alternatively you could use a dry non-alcoholic white wine or light beer.

Once it looks and feels smooth and has been evenly melted, give it a final stir, and then remove the pan from the heat. If you melt the cheese any longer than is necessary, it can result in a rubbery consistency and negatively impact the flavor.