Foundue Fun

Foundue has a special place in my heart. Growing up, my family ate founde every Christmas Eve before we went to church. While there are many, many versions of founde, chocolate founde is my favorite. Bananas, Strawberries, Marshmallows and Graham Crackers all covered in choclate. . .YUMMY!

Good conversation and a slow paced dinner are just a couple of the wonderful aspects of eating founde. Foudue is not a good meal if you are in a rush, but if you have some extra time to leisurely enjoy good dinner conversation had between friends and family.

A short history of foundue
Long ago, frigid Swiss winters isolated villages and towns and made fresh food a scarce commodity. Native towns people were forced to rely upon locally made foods. This consisted primarily of cheese that was produced during the summer. During the winter, the cheeses became dry and unpalatable. Out of necessity fondue was created. Fondue is a French word that means to melt or to blend.

This was exactly what the stale cheese needed to make it more digestible. The cheese was melted and local wines and seasonings were added to create a creamy cheese sauce that made even stale bread delicious after it was swirled in the fondue. Main course fondues such as beef fondue were first used during the middle ages in France. Local wine makers would send grape pickers out to the vineyards for long hours at a time. Pots would be set up in strategic areas of the vineyard so meals could be cooked as it became convenient. This was done out of necessity because food would go bad during the long day, however it ensured a traditionally leisurely lunch that could be enjoyed hot and fresh anytime.

The modern fondue was born in 1956, when chef Konrad Egli of New York's Chalet Swiss Restaurant re-introduced the fondue method of cooking meat cubes in hot oil. Chocolate fondue followed shortly after in 1964. Today's fondue traditions include meats such as tenderloin of beef, boneless skinless breast of chicken, shrimp, scallops, salmon, and even lobster. Fondue has evolved into a modern dinner where hot fresh food can be enjoyed at a leisurely pace.

And let's be honest folks, a chocolate fountain is simply a rip off of chocolate foundue. . .