Art of Fondue - Ranson "Bärlauch" Cheese Fondue

This fondue is based on the 'Alpenland' fondue cheese but with the addition of wild garlic (ranson) or 'Bärlauch'. Carefully selected cheese blend from dairy farms in the Swiss Alps make this fondue a true delight combining full-flavor and tradition. Ranson or 'Bärlauch' is also referred to as wild garlic, wild cowleek, cowlic, buckrams, broad-leaved garlic, bear leaf or bear's garlic. and is native to Europe, where it grows in moist woodland. Ranson is a wild relative of onion and garlic and combines the taste of the two.  

Fondue is a Swiss melted cheese dish served in a communal pot (caquelon or fondue pot) over a portable stove (réchaud) heated with a candle or spirit lamp, and eaten by dipping bread into the cheese using long-stemmed forks. The word fondue is derived from the French verb fondre ("to melt") used as a noun.

The earliest known recipe for the modern form of cheese fondue comes from a 1699 book published in Zurich, under the name "Käss mit Wein zu kochen", "to cook cheese with wine". The first known recipe for the modern cheese fondue under that name, with cheese and wine, was published in 1875. Despite its modern associations with rustic mountain life, it was a town-dweller's dish from the lowlands of western, French-speaking, Switzerland: rich cheese like Gruyère was a valuable export item which peasants could not afford to eat.

Cheese fondue consists of a blend of cheeses, wine and seasoning. To prepare, the caquelon it is first rubbed with a cut garlic clove. White wine is slightly heated with cornstarch, and then grated cheese is added and stirred until melted (if you use the fondue cheeses mixtures offered by Swiss House Shop from Art of Fondue, this is not required). It is often topped off with a bit of kirsch. The cornstarch or other starch stabilizes and thickens the mixture. Additional wine may be added if the fondue is too thick.

A cheese fondue mixture should be kept warm enough to keep the fondue smooth and liquid but not so hot that it burns. If this temperature is held until the fondue is finished there will be a thin crust of toasted (not burnt) cheese at the bottom of the caquelon. This is called 'la religieuse' (French for the nun). It has the texture of a cracker and is almost always lifted out and eaten.

Directions:
Use appropriate fondue set including cheese fondue caquelon, burner and cheese fondue forks. Pour desired content into caquelon and heat until melted. Prior to pouring cheese fondue in caquelon, rub half a glove of garlic in the inside of the pot. Continuously stir the fondue cheese over stove and bring to a gentle boil. To serve put the caquelon onto appropriate fondue set with fondue burner so it continuously boils gently. Prepare bread cubes; 2cm x 1cm x 1cm. Stick bread cubes or other side dish onto appropriate fondue forks and dip the bread into fondue and coat evenly with cheese. Stir evenly and continuously so that fondue stays thick and smooth to the end. Cheese crust forming at the bottom of the caquelon can be removed gently with a fork from time to time. Do not scratch the caquelon or similar coated enameled cast iron pot.

Nutrition Information (per 100g)

Energy:                 296 kcal
Total fat:                  22.8 g
- Saturated fat:        16.1 g
- Trans fat:                0.8 g
Protein:                     18.5 g
Carbohydrates:        2.8 g
- Sugars:                 <0.5 g
Sodium:                       1.1 g

Ingredients:
cheese blend, white wine (10cl), Kirsch, wild garlic, corn starch

Allergen information: This product contains milk

This product is shipped fresh from Switzerland and was never frozen. Keep refrigerated (5°C)