Gruyère

This pale yellow cheese is made in smaller wheels than Emmentaler: typically 70 to 90 lbs or about 30 to 40 Kg. It has a sharper taste than its larger compatriot, thanks in part to an eight- to ten-month aging period. The cheese comes from the Gruyère district of French-speaking Switzerland, where an even sharper variant called Fribourg (after Gruyère's canton) is aged for at least two years. (Fribourg is also the name of the cantonal capital, by the way--and just to make things even more confusing, the center of the Gruyère district is named Gruyères with an "s.")

Gruyère becomes creamy when melted. This characteristic, along with its tangy flavor, makes it popular in the classic Swiss fondue.

Fondue

The word "fondue" has come to mean just about anything cooked and eaten from a common pot by diners equipped with long forks. For example, fondue bourguignonne consists of beef chunks cooked in hot oil, while fondue orientale is the same meat dunked in boiling beef or chicken broth. Chocolate fondue is another variant (served as a dessert, we hasten to add).

The classic Swiss fondue, however, is made with cheese. Gruyère and (usually) Emmentaler are chopped, tossed into an earthenware pot, and heated over a flame with white wine, a splash of Kirsch or brandy, a small quantity of flour or cornstarch, a sprinkling of nutmeg, and a few spoons of lemon juice. When the mixture starts bubbling, diners poke their forks into cubes of day-old French bread and dunk for their dinners.

In Fribourg, Vacherin cheese is substituted for the usual varieties and potatoes are used in lieu of bread. Valais fondue uses the cheese of that region, with milk instead of wine; Geneva's fondue sometimes has fresh tomatoes added to the pot.

In Swiss restaurants, fondue is normally served to a minimum of two persons. The traditional accompaniment is wine (not beer), which you can order by the deci (deciliter, or 1/10 liter) in all but the most upscale dining rooms.

Related Web sites

Pro Emmental
The "Tourismus/Kultur" pages are in German; translate with AltaVista.

La Gruyère
In French, but the e-form has English-language instructions to use in requesting literature.

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