15th December 2021
You all know the recipe for classic Savoyard fondue, cooked with dry white wine... Today, we invite you to discover a revisited fondue in the Thônaine style: fondue au Biscantin.
The basis of this recipe is the same, except that we replace the white wine with Biscantin, a typical cider of the region, originating from Serraval.
On your picks, get set, melt!
All you need
Ingredients
For 4 people count:
- 250 g Beaufort
- 250 g of Abondance
- 250 g of Comté
- 80 g of Emmental de Savoie
- 30 – 40 cl of Biscantin
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 baguettes of bread (preferably bought the day before)
The utensils to have
- 1 cutting board
- 1 fondue pot with a burner
- 1 wooden spoon
- 1 knife
- 1 glass (or measuring cup)
- 1 cheese grater (optional)
The preparation
Step 1:
Grate your cheese if you bought it by the slice. In general, cheese shops offer to grate the cheese directly in the store. All you have to do is move on to the preparation.
| The little extra: Don't hesitate to add a little Emmental de Savoie (count around 10% of the weight of your other cheeses) to give a creamy and shredded texture to the melted cheese! So, no need to add cornstarch as indicated in most recipes. |
Step 2:
Cut the baguettes into medium-sized cubes.
Step 3:
Peel and cut the garlic cloves in half and rub the fondue pot with it (bottom of the pot + the edges). You can, at your convenience, leave the pieces of garlic in the bottom of your pot or not.
Step 4:
Pour the Biscantin into the fondue pot and let it boil for a few moments, then reduce the heat (low to medium) and gradually add the cheese, stirring constantly with the wooden spoon. You should obtain a very smooth preparation.
Step 5:
All you have to do is place the fondue pot on the stove and sit down at the table. The Biscantin fondue is ready to be enjoyed!
Bon appétit!
| For the most gourmet: Try the fondue with mushrooms freshly picked in our forests or dried. Ceps or chanterelles will give an authentic and local (Savoyard) taste to your fondue! |
A little history…
The History of Cheese Fondue
The invention of fondue has been a recurring theme of discord for several years between the Swiss and the French. Even today, we do not know precisely which side of the border saw the birth of the first cheese fondue. Nowadays, the invention of fondue is indeed attributed to the Swiss, who made it a national dish, even if it is true that in the mountains of the Alps, it was not uncommon to see French peasants eating leftover cheese melted on stale bread.
Fondue (like raclette) experienced a boom from the 1950s, particularly with the development and democratization of tourism and winter sports in Alpine ski resorts.
Today, there are as many different fondues as there are cheeses and regions that produce them: half/half, Fribourg, Appenzelloise, Savoyarde, Franche-Comté, Piedmontaise and Normande. There are also other types of fondue such as Bourguignonne, Bressane or Chinoise… and even sweet fondues such as chocolate fondue.
The specificities of Savoyard fondue
In short... our fondue is Savoyard above all because it is prepared with local cooked cheeses such as Abondance, Comté, Beaufort or Emmental de Savoie and of course, a dry white wine from Savoie such as Apremont or Chignin.
For the Savoyard fondue, you need at least 200 g of cheese per person (250 g for the most courageous). What's great about fondue is that there are several recipes. You can decide to put 1, 2, 3 or even 4 cheeses if you want and in the proportions you want. In the Savoyarde, you can also add Reblochon, even if the latter deviates from the rule of cooked cheese. It will be unlike any other!!
Popular belief says that you should stir the fondue in a figure of 8 in the fondue pot to keep the mixture smooth and prevent the cheese from forming a block.
It is also customary to say that whoever loses their piece of bread in the fondue must have a pledge or else must pay for their round!
Thônes Cœur des Vallées © 2021 – Protected content, reproduction prohibited
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