What Is Fondue

The question, "What is fondue?" has a surprisingly complicated answer. In its simplest and purest form, the modern word means a dish in which small pieces of bread are dipped into melted cheese using skewers or forks. In the latter half of the 20th century the word became generalized to have other similar meanings, such as a sweet dish involving pieces of fruit dipped in chocolate or another variation where meat is actually cooked by being dipped in hot oil.

Unfortunately fondue has become so closely identified with the 1960s and '70s that many people mistakenly think it was invented by trendy college students. This is a shame for two reasons. First of all, this dish is wonderful and should not be sneered at for any reason. Second, it's simply wrong. Fondue has a long and illustrious past that extends far beyond its modern associations.

Events in culinary history are seldom noted by historians, so it is impossible to point to a single moment when the dish was invented. The situation is complicated by the word's ambiguity in a historical context. There were fondue recipes for preparations involving cheese melted in wine in German cookbooks as far back as the late 17th century, but they were called by other names. We can only say with certainty that by the 1730s, French cookbooks were including recipes that were actually called fondues. However, the widespread popularity of the dish in French cuisine, and arguably the beginning of the world's fascination with it, probably can be attributed to an 1825 cookbook by Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin.

Ironically, this documentation still does not give us a satisfactory answer to the question, "What is fondue?" Brillat-Savarin's recipe is something quite different from the modern meaning of the word. It includes eggs as well as cheese and is closer to what we would call a soufflé today.

Brillat-Savarin was quite influential in the culinary world of his time, and within a few years imitators began to come out with their own egg-based fondues. In 1856 Antoine Gogue published his own version which was obviously a near-copy of Brillat-Savarin's. The recipe was essentially repeated in 1868 by Pierre Blot, then again by Dumas in 1873. While all these versions were almost plagiaristic in their similarity to the original, none of them gave credit to it. A cookbook written in 1890 by Emilie Lebour-Fawsett included the recipe and finally accredited it to Brillat-Savarin.

Sticklers for historical accuracy may piously point to these events as the beginning of fondues, but the modern definition of the word as a cheese dipping sauce without eggs did not emerge until 1875, when a recipe for it was published in Switzerland.

It is at this point that the story of this ever-changing dish gains a new cultural significance. When Swiss recipes for cheese fondues began to appear, they were presented as Swiss folk dishes. From the earliest appearance of this version, the Swiss people have considered it their national dish and a symbol of their cultural identity.

In the 1930s when Nazi Germany was coming to power, all the other nations of Europe became fervently nationalistic in response to the threat. Cultural icons such as favorite foods, plays or musical composers gained a new popularity because of their patriotic connotations. In Switzerland, eating cheese fondues became a way of showing solidarity. Such symbols are important in times of war, and in a sense this food could be said to have played some role in Switzerland's defense.

This association remains strong today. While the dish's popularity has waxed and waned in the rest of the world, it has always remained a favorite in Switzerland.

In its modern use, the word can mean many things that are dipped into liquids. The chocolate version, which has become so popular that many Americans think it is the only kind, was introduced in the 1960s by a New York chef as a promotion for a chocolate bar.

Another invention that probably came from New York is the practice of dipping pieces of meat into boiling oil, cooking it on the spot. This differs from other forms of the dish in which bread or some other food is simply dipped in a sauce. The best-known form is fondue bourguignonne, where pieces of beef are used. A variation places the beef in boiling wine. Other versions use meats such as seafood, pork and chicken or fruits and vegetables such as mushrooms and pineapples.

Today the answer to the question, "What is fondue?" might be, whatever you want it to be. Cookbooks often have recipes for cheese versions with ingredients as diverse as pesto, broccoli, goat cheese, tomato and bacon. Chocolate versions are no less varied, with ingredients like butterscotch, coffee or orange juice.

Some food writers maintain that instead of trying to understand all this, one should simply bypass it by defining the word not as a specific dish, but rather as a style of eating. After all, the word is derived from the French fondre meaning "to melt," so all these preparations would qualify.

However, there is one element they all share, and that is the sheer atmosphere of fun and sociability with which they are eaten. This is a dish that is rarely eaten alone. Friends usually gather around the pot, chatting as they dip their skewers into sauce, oil or chocolate. There is a spirit of conviviality at these events that can only be achieved when people's bellies are full of something wonderful. A certain part of the experience could be said to come from the participants rather than from the contents of the pot.

Still, it doesn't hurt that the stuff in that pot is so very delicious.