One of my favorite Swiss fondues is called fondue moitié moitié (fondue half and half). This cheese fondue heralds from the bilingual French and German-speaking canton of Fribourg in the western part of Switzerland. Fondue moitié moitié consists of equal parts Gruyère cheese and Vacherin from Fribourg. Served with diced up crusty rustic bread, it’s delicious! If you’re looking for a true Swiss fondue with a distinctive taste of the Alps, this is it!
Recipe: Fondue Moitié-Motié
Ingredients
600 g (21 oz) white bread (A crusty artisan French boule or baguette is the best.)
2 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp corn starch
1 small glass, 30 ml (1 oz) Kirsch
300 ml (1.25 cups) dry white wine (Use a Fendant made from the Chasselas grape or a similar light, dry white.)
300 g (10.6 oz) coarsely grated Gruyère cheese (Make sure it’s aged Gruyère from Switzerland.)
300 g (10.6 oz) coarsely grated Vacherin Fribourgeois
1 dash of freshly ground pepper
Optional: 1 Egg
Fondue Time!
Prepare: Cut half of the bread into cubes (approx. 2 cm thick) and place in a large serving basket or bowl. Peel the garlic cloves. Grate the cheese if you haven’t done so already. Pour the kirsch and corn starch into a glass and whisk together until evenly diluted.
Make: Generously rub the inside of a large fondue pot (called a caquelon) with one clove of garlic. Coarsely chop both cloves. Warm the wine in the fondue pot. Don’t boil the wine. Heat to just below boiling when bubbles begin to form. Slowly add the garlic and grated cheese (one handful at a time) to the fondue pot, stirring continuously to melt the cheese. Add the kirsch / corn starch mixture and stir until the fondue is melted evenly—about the consistency of heavy cream. Lightly season with pepper.
Serve: Light up the burner on your fondue set and place the simmering fondue pot on top. Use long fondue forks to dip the bread cubes into the gooey goodness. Feel like going medieval? Break off pieces of the uncut bread and dip the bread into the fondue by hand. Make sure to stir the base of the fondue pot continuously to avoid burning. Scraping the bread along the bottom with your fork is a good technique, but don’t drop the bread!
Enjoy: If everything goes to plan, then you’ll notice a brown layer of crusty, caramelized cheese on the bottom of the caquelon. French speakers call this crusty ring la religieuse, and indeed, eating it can be a heavenly experience. Just scrape it out of the pot and enjoy. Some Swiss break an egg in the bottom of the fondue pot and stir it in with the cheese to help remove the remaining bits. The result is a cheesy scrambled egg of sorts that helps clean out the caquelon. It’s delicious, but not all regions in Switzerland follow this tradition. Try it and see if you like it.
Wine Pairing: Pour a glass of the same Fendant used to prepare the dish or a similar light dry white wine. A small glass of Schnapps tastes good too! Avoid water and beer. Hot tea is fine.
Cheese Substitutes: Swiss Gruyère is a popular cheese, you shouldn’t have trouble finding it. Vacherin can be difficult to find. Substitute Fontina, a smooth melting cheese from the Val d’Aosta in Italy. Fontina, being Italian, is not traditional for fondue moitié-motié but it’s a good substitute. To stay true to Swiss roots, use Appenzeller or Emmentaler cheese. Both are good melting cheeses.
Bon App!
How about enjoying an authentic fondue during your inn-to-inn Swiss hike, Swiss ski & snowboard adventure, or scenic train trip in the Swiss Alps. Please contact us. We’re Switzerland Travel Experts!
