fondue

/fon dooh", -dyooh", fon"dooh, -dyooh/; Fr. /fawonn dyuu"/, n., pl. fondues /-doohz", -dyoohz", -doohz, -dyoohz/; Fr. /-dyuu"/, adj. Cookery.

n.

1. a saucelike dish of Swiss origin made with melted cheese and seasonings together with dry white wine, usually flavored with kirsch: served as a hot dip for pieces of bread.

2. a dish of hot liquid in which small pieces of food are cooked or dipped: beef fondue; chocolate fondue.

3. a baked soufflélike dish usually containing cheese and cracker crumbs or bread crumbs.

adj.

4. Also, fondu. melted.

[1875-80; < F; fem. of fondu FONDU]

* * *

▪ food

      Swiss dish of melted cheeses, usually including one or more of the varieties Emmentaler, Vacherin, and Gruyère. In its preparation, white wine is heated in a heavy casserole, called a caquelon, that has been rubbed with garlic. The grated cheese is added to the hot wine along with a little cornstarch and a flavouring of nutmeg or kirsch. The fondue is eaten communally from its pot. Diners are provided with small cubes of crusty bread, which they spear on long-handled forks and dip into the hot mixture. The crust that remains at the bottom of the pot is divided among the diners.

      There is a legend that the dish originated in the 16th century during fighting between the Protestant and Roman Catholic Swiss. The factions declared a truce after the day's battle and shared a similar dish, one side providing the bread and the other the cheese.

* * *