Posted on by Lesley

Fondue in the house

In the eighties I had a fondue set and delighted in the whole preparation ritual of the thing.

The fondue bowl was a large, smooth ceramic one with a handle which had to be rubbed around with a cut clove of garlic. The little burner was supported on a small metal scaffold affair that held the flame under the bowl and kept the cheese bubbling. There was something delightful in the slow melting of the cheese and wine, the cubing of the crusty bread for dipping, and the little dishes of cornichons.

All very satisfying.

Sadly the set disappeared in one of my many house moves years ago. I suspect that this was because it spent more time in its box at the back of a cupboard than actually in use, and so it was probably disposed of.

For some reason recently though my thoughts turned back to fondues and how nice it would be to have one again. Food for cheese-loving friends to share on cold wintery evenings.

Vintage 1970s fondue set with rather spindly legs

I started looking on eBay, Etsy and Vinted, sure that I’d find a second-hand set in the spirit of reuse, recycle, but they all looked a bit rickety and overly ornate, all twirly metal and crenellated bowls for the skewers. I’d forgotten how spindly the metal rig holding the oil burner of the past looked, and wasn’t sure that a decades-old lighting mechanism would be very safe.

Another vintage model – actually quite pretty

Besides, curiously enough the fondue sets that I remembered were now classed as vintage and commanded prices far in excess of brand new ones! I was astonished.

In the end I found a reassuringly simple, solid looking new set with a robust cast iron scaffold holding the oil burner and a generous ceramic bowl.

I rather fancied a cheery red one, but after checking for suitable capacity (I wanted a generous 2 litres) settled for one with the dimensions I wanted in black.

It may lack the vintage charm of the seventies but at least I won’t fear for our lives using it.

And so we are prepared.

9 Replies to “Fondue in the house”

  1. Oh, I miss doing fondue! We have 2 sets. One small ceramic one that is for cheese or chocolate fondue. The other is a larger steel one for an oil fondue that can handle temperatures high enough to cook meat, or tempura battered vegetables and shrimp.

    Unfortunately, we have too many cats that would go nuts over it! 😄

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. If only! There are just too manyvif them, and the tiniest ones are already being kept in the one room we can close off as an isolation ward – my bedroom! It’s not unusual for me to be sleeping with all 8 kittens, plus 3 adults. At least we’ve gotten down to 13 adults in total.

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Most of them were brought in because of injury or illness – or to prevent pregnancy! Lol. We’ve been able to adopt some out, and several kittens should be going to forever homes in a few weeks. I look forward to being able to leave my door open again. 😆

        Liked by 1 person

  2. I have never eaten or made fondue. Possibly because I can’t eat much cheese. Another one to try when I get chance I’d someone else makes it.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment