Fondue savoyarde

Since I spent a long weekend in Chambéry (Savoie) for work I wanted to make fondue savoyarde at home. Instead of a fondue from the Savoie I used cheese from no less than three Alpine countries.

The types of cheese used vary between all the online recipes. Comté seems to be a requirement. I wanted to buy Beaumont but the cheese shop in Amsterdam didn’t have it, so I went with Swiss Gruyère instead. Beaufort de Savoie would also be an option, next to the Gruyère, but the production is limited. In the end I walked out with the following combination:

220 gram Swiss Gruyère.
220 gram French Comté Juraflore, 18 mois.
100 gram Fontina d’Aosta D.O.P., a rather soft cheese from Italy.

I used 3 small sherry glasses of white wine, but this was almost too much. I had to use potato flower to thicken the sauce. The wine was a dry Gelber Muskateller from the German Pfalz (Herxheim am Berg). A very mineral wine. Winzergenossenschaft eG Herxheim am Berg

Otherwise, a cheese fondue is very easy to make. The cheese has to be at room temperature before you add it to the hot wine, if not the cheese may curdle. A glass of Kirsch at the end and some black pepper is the finishing touch.

Note: it is important to use medium heat. If the temperature is too high, the cheese might become lumpy.