Immersing in Swiss Culture: How to Enjoy Fondue like the Swiss

What you'll find in this guide ⤵︎

🇨🇭 Fondue as a staple of Swiss Culture

🫕 Utensils, etiquette and technique of serving Fondue

🧀 Best cheese for Swiss Fondue

🍷 What to drink with Swiss Fondue

🥖 The right bread for Swiss Fondue (and how not to lose it)

💡 Variations of Swiss Fondue

 

 

 

Fondue as a staple of Swiss Culture

Switzerland is a country where tradition meets modernity, creating a unique cultural tapestry that is as diverse as its stunning landscapes. From the majestic Alps to the bustling cities, Swiss culture is a harmonious blend of historical influences and contemporary lifestyles. 

One of the most iconic and beloved aspects of this culture is fondue, a dish that embodies the Swiss spirit of conviviality and culinary excellence. And if you're thinking about moving to Switzerland, you'll have plenty of opportunities to enjoy fondue. 

 

What is Fondue?

Fondue is more than just a meal; it’s a social experience that brings people together. This traditional Swiss dish consists of melted cheese, typically combined with white wine, served in a communal pot known as a caquelon. 

Diners use long forks to dip pieces of bread into the creamy, aromatic cheese mixture. Whether enjoyed as a main course or a social snack, fondue is a staple in Swiss homes and restaurants, offering a warm and inviting way to share a meal with friends and family.

 

The History of Fondue

Popularized on a national level in the 1930s following a marketing campaign by the Swiss Cheese Union, fondue now knows few limits in Switzerland. You'll find it across the country from rustic mountain chalets to big city restaurants, enjoyed by people of all ages and income brackets.

For a practically effortless, spur-of-the moment fondue, pre-made vacuum-packed versions are sold in most supermarkets, and some of them are surprisingly good.

Finding fondue in Switzerland is easy, but if you're dining with a group of Swiss, especially Suisses Romands (from the French-speaking western part of the country), you'll soon realize that the eating part isn't so simple. 

Let's see why.

 

 

Utensils, etiquette and technique of serving Fondue

To enjoy fondue like a true Swiss, mastering the proper utensils, etiquette, and technique is essential. Here are a few tips to ensure you savor every bite:

• Use the Right Fork: A long, thin fondue fork is designed for dipping bread into the cheese. It helps coat the bread evenly and keeps your hands safe from the hot pot.

• Gentle Dipping: Dip your bread in a gentle, sweeping motion to coat it evenly without breaking it apart. This technique also helps stir the fondue, preventing it from separating.

• Choose Sturdy Bread: Opt for a crusty bread or one with a dense texture to ensure it holds up well in the cheese. Day-old bread is often preferred for its sturdiness.

• No Double-Dipping: Double-dipping is a fondue faux pas. It’s considered impolite and can make the fondue too thick and sticky.

• Pair with Wine or Tea: Enhance your fondue experience with a glass of dry white wine or hot tea. These beverages complement the cheese and aid digestion.

 

Utensils for Swiss fondue

The long fondue fork is, traditionally, only for dipping pieces of bread in the fondue.

In theory, you should place the dipped bread on your plate and proceed to eat it with a regular knife and fork; in practice, however, almost no one does this. 

 

Etiquette

Fondue etiquette requires that you avoid partaking of fondue if you're ill and avoid dipping while someone else's fork is still immersed.

 

The right technique of serving Swiss Fondue

First, pay attention to bread dipping. It serves not only to convey the molten cheese from pot to mouth, but also as an opportunity to stir the fondue regularly, thereby preventing it from separating and from sticking and burning. 

So with each dip you should plunge your bread-loaded fork all the way to the bottom of the pot and give a few good, vigorous stirs (some claim you should only stir in a figure 8). 

Then remove the hot, cheesy morsel, lingering over the pot for a moment to let the excess drip off, and either eat it straight away or allow it to cool for a moment on your plate.

If you like black pepper with your fondue but some of your dining companions do not, you can grind a little mound onto your plate in which to dab the cheese-coated bread before popping it into your mouth.

 

By following these tips and using the right cheese, you’ll be able to enjoy fondue like a true Swiss. 

So gather some friends, grab some bread and cheese, and get ready to experience one of Switzerland’s most beloved traditions.

 

 

 

Best cheese for Swiss Fondue

Most Swiss fondues are made with Gruyère and another cheese such as Emmental and/or creamy Vacherin fribourgeois.

Fondue moitié-moitié (half-and-half) is a popular version containing half Gruyère, half Vacherin fribourgeois.

Fondue fribourgeois, made with only Vacherin fribourgeois and with water instead of the traditional white wine, is particularly delicate in flavor and creamy in texture. 

 

 

What to drink with Swiss Fondue

The Swiss tend to have non-negotiable opinions about what you should drink with fondue.

A dry, acidic white wine is the standard accompaniment, most often one made from the chasselas grape, for example a blanc de la Côte from Vaud, or a Fendant from Valais. Check this short guide to pick one wine for your next fondue serving.

The traditional belief is that the alcohol in the wine aids digestion, an effect that is supposed to be further enhanced by drinking a shot of kirsch (cherry brandy) during or after the meal.

The recommended non-alcoholic beverage is hot tea.

Many Swiss believe that it is crucial to avoid drinking cold beverages with fondue, as they are thought to make the cheese cause very uncomfortable digestive distress. 

Fortunately, studies demonstrated that no such risk exists, so you need not be concerned about unpleasant consequences if you prefer to have a soft drink or beer with your fondue - however, you will probably have to endure some harsh disapproving looks from your fellow diners.

Before you take your first sip, an important Swiss custom at any meal accompanied by wine (fondue or otherwise) is to clink glasses individually with each person at the table while looking them in the eye.

Beware, skipping someone or avoiding eye contact is considered rude, as is allowing your arms to intersect with someone else's as you clink.

 

 

 

The right bread for Swiss Fondue (and how not to lose it)

The bread, often mi-blanc (a white, oval bread with a relatively thin yet sturdy crust) is supposed to be day-old to enhance its sturdiness, but this isn't absolutely necessary.

It is most often served cut into thick slices rather than cubes. Help yourself to a slice and tear it into chunks as you go, allowing each chunk some crust that you can then pierce with your fondue fork; this will reduce the risk of the bread disintegrating and disappearing into the fondue.

If a piece of bread should nevertheless manage to escape from your fork, traditionally there can be penalties for this, for example paying for the wine, kissing the person next to you, or completing a dare.

 

Le coup du milieu

This can be loosely translated as 'shot (or hit) at the halfway point'. 

In the context of fondue, le coup du milieu is a small glass of spirits, usually kirsch, that is drunk about halfway through the meal and is supposed to aid digestion and stimulate a faltering appetite.

Even if this may not actually be the case, at the very least a quick break for a coup du milieu might boost your motivation to carry on.

 

La religieuse

At the end of the meal, if you've been stirring away as you eat and the fondue has been kept at a very low bubble, you should find a crusty, golden, unburnt layer of cheese forming at the bottom of the pot, known as la religieuse (the nun).

When all of the cheese has solidified into this cracker-like crust, extinguish the flame of the burner, use a knife to pry off the crust, lift it out and share it with your dining companions.

A lesser-known but also tasty tradition is to extend the meal by breaking an egg into the last of the fondue, before it solidifies, and stirring it well.

The result is a soft mixture resembling cheesy scrambled eggs that you can scrape up with a bit of bread.

 

 

 

Variations of Swiss Fondue

Cheese fondue was originally conceived to use up leftover cheese and stale bread.

Variations on this simple theme abound in Switzerland: the above-mentioned moitié-moitié and fondue fribourgeoise, as well as tomato fondue (served with boiled potatoes), mushroom fondue, champagne fondue, goat cheese fondue, and others ...

And just beyond the border there are still others, such as the French fondue savoyarde and the Italian fonduta piemontese.

Don't go looking for chocolate fondue, however, as it is not part of the Swiss or European tradition. Chocolate fondue was in fact invented in New York in the 1960s (albeit by an ingenious Swiss restaurateur). 

The recommended finish to a fondue dinner is a glass of kirsch and something light like a fresh fruit salad, but if your appetite is, amazingly, not yet fully satiated, give meringues with Gruyère double cream a try – decadent and delicious.

Whatever version you choose, there are few meals as festive and crowd-pleasing, yet simple, as fondue. As a 1980s advertising slogan put it: "La fondue crée la bonne humeur" - fondue puts you in a good mood.

 

 

Dive deeper into Swiss culture with these resources: 

Winter in Switzerland - top things to do

Swiss culture & living in Switzerland explained

How to settle into Switzerland and avoid the culture shock