Home > Media > Books > Eva Klever and Ulrich Klever - Fondues from Around the World: Nearly 200 Recipes for Fish, Cheese and Meat Fondues, Oriental Hot Pots, Tempura, Sukiyaki, Dessert Fondues
Eva Klever and Ulrich Klever - Fondues from Around the World: Nearly 200 Recipes for Fish, Cheese and Meat Fondues, Oriental Hot Pots, Tempura, Sukiyaki, Dessert Fondues
AlexG's Full Review: Eva Klever and Ulrich Klever - Fondues from Around...
A humorist once wrote, “In a country where people eat fondue, there can be no wars.” Bull’s-eye! I had been wondering how the Swiss were able to maintain their neutrality over the years. Now I know the answer. It’s all because of one simple meal, which brings people together, provides a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, and above all, is lots of fun. Do you fondue?
I suppose to answer this question one has to know what fondue is, and I have a feeling that many folks have no idea. After all, how many times in the past year while discussing different cuisines for dinner have you settled upon Swiss? Chances are it had never been even brought up in a conversation. Heck, there are only two Swiss restaurants in New York. I know; about a year and a half ago I called the Swiss Consulate in New York to find out—I celebrated my 24th birthday in one of them.
Fondue is derived from the French word fondre—meaning to “melt.” There are conflicting legends about how exactly fondue was born. The book tells the story, which occurred during the Reformation “when the Protestant canton of Zurich was battling the surrounding Catholic cantons.” In a spirit, which is difficult to understand, when both sides got hungry they combined their food resources. One side put forth a tub of milk; the other contributed cheese and crusts of bread. Voila! Fondue was born. There is also another, perhaps more plausible scenario (out of many), which I’ve heard of. In the Middle Ages, in the dead of cold winter, a band of Swiss soldiers gathered around a campfire high in the Alps. They were hungry and tired, but there wasn’t much to eat. One of them suggested melting cheese over fire and mixing it with wine to make it go further. At this point someone pronounced “La fondue est bonne” (French for “The melted stuff is good”). And we’ve been eating fondue ever since. No matter what the exact origin of fondue is, one thing is certain—it came from Switzerland many years ago.
I came from Switzerland a few months ago. While staying in the heart of Swiss Alps I had a fantastic experience of eating fondue in the country where it was born. What a feeling, even though chocolate fondue is not really Swiss. The concept is Swiss and that’s what mattered. When I got back to the states I needed to buy my mother a birthday present and I settled upon a fondue set. And since my mom had never done fondue, I also bought her a book of recipes—Fondues From Around The World—Nearly 200 Recipes for Fish, Cheese, and Meat Fondues. Oriental Hot Pots. Tempura. Sukiyaki. Dessert Fondues. Yes, it is a long title.
This 138-page book was the best I found on the market. And I had looked at several fondue recipe books. There were several criteria in my research. The book had to be easy to understand for a beginner—someone who is not familiar with fondues at all. The book had to have not only ingredients for each recipe, but also easy step-by-step instructions. The book also had to have some tips on presentation and wine suggestions. The book had to have reasonable recipes, i.e. no fancy ingredients that are available in Asia or South America but not available in my local supermarket. And the book definitely had to have some pictures—visual clues of what to expect when all is said and done. Fondues From Around The World was the best book I found that met the aforementioned criteria. Without going into details, other books I had looked at were The Book of Fondues; The New International Fondue Cookbook; Fondue—Great Food to Dip, Dunk, Savor, and Swirl.
Fondues From Around the World starts with a brief introduction--history of fondue, tips on entertaining your guests, equipment and heat sources, accompanying beverages, some fondue rituals, and a few other helpful hints. Then we get down to business. It all began with cheese and so does the book—we learn about the basic cheese fondue and variations. The book is quite detailed and provides good information on what cheese to use, bread, wine, and what to do when something goes wrong (that’s a section for me). One thing to remember is that cheese fondue is only as good as the cheese you use. One of the best cheeses you can find is Gruyere cheese, named after a valley in Switzerland where farmers have used the same cheese-making methods for centuries. It’s good stuff!
The book has recipes for different meat, mushroom, seafood and vegetarian fondues, which is a whole new ballgame compared to cheese fondues. But let’s get straight to dessert. “I’m flying!” This titanic feeling I get every time I eat chocolate fondue, and this book provides plenty of delicious recipes. I’m salivating already.
If you never tried chocolate fondue, you are missing out on a great stuff! I’m not convinced that the saying “In a country where people eat fondue, there can be no wars” is valid in this case. You put that pan of hot chocolate on the table and a few plates full of cut strawberries, bananas, apples, and marshmallows and war is inevitable. It’s so much fun too.
Well, I hope I got you excited about fondue, and perhaps next time when you have a party and you don’t feel like spending much time cooking, you’d remember “La fondue est bonne!”
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