National Cheese Fondue Day

April 11th is National Cheese Fondue Day in the United States.

Although the name fondue is now used to refer to a variety of different related dishes, such as chocolate fondue, or anything else which involves food being dipped into hot liquids, the original fondue was the cheese fondue. The name fondue comes from the French word meaning "to melt." The dish is quite an old one, dating back to the turn of the 18th century, but it became really popular in the middle of the 20th century.

Cheese fondue is a dish of Swiss, Italian and French origin. A cheese sauce is melted into a communal pot, and then kept liquid by a small, portable heat source, such as a stove, that is placed under the pot when it is served on a table.

Long forks are used to dip small pieces of food, such as vegetables, meat and toasted bread into the cheese. Different types of cheese may be used, and other ingredients are added as well, with their being different variations on the cheese fondue.

National Chocolate Fondue Day

National Chocolate Fondue Day is on February 5th in the United States.

Fondue is originally an Italian, Swiss and French dish in which melted cheese is served in a pot. The cheese, which normally has other ingredients added to it, is then kept warm by a small burner underneath. Diners, using long forks, dip items, such as bread, but meat and vegetables are also used, into the cheese which have been cut up into bite size pieces.

A chocolate fondue is very similar, only instead of melted cheese, melted chocolate is used instead. Again, the chocolate has items dipped into it using long handled forks, but in the case of a chocolate fondue, these are things such as fruit, pastry or marshmallows.

One modern variant on the chocolate fondue is the chocolate fountain, in which the chocolate falls down stepped tiers in the manner of a waterfall into a basin at the bottom where the chocolate is kept warm.

National Fun with Fondue Month

November is National Fun with Fondue Month in the United States.

The name "fondue" is derived from a French word, "fondre," which means "to melt." The traditional fondue is a cheese fondue that is made from melted cheese. Bread is dipped into this using long forks. The cheese itself - although other ingredients are usually added to it - is served in a large pot kept warm and, therefore, liquid at the table.

Whilst the cheese fondue may be the traditional fondue, it has since evolved into other forms. As well as bread, other foods may also be dipped into the mixture, including cooked meat and vegetables. Sweet fondues have also evolved, such as the chocolate fondue, a more recent introduction. The chocolate fondue is similar to a cheese fondue in that foods are dipped into a bowl of melted chocolate; in this case, the items used include fruit, such as strawberries, and marshmallows. As well as being dipped into the mixture, the melted chocolate may alternatively be poured over a skewer of various ingredients; this type is often seen at fairs and events.