Fun with fondue

While fondue will never be a weeknight dinner choice for most people, the concept seems to be the solution for Canadians who want to entertain in a relaxed way, sipping and dipping with friends.

If you're just getting started with fondue you need to be aware of a few basic things. First, glitzy fondue pots with a lot of bells and whistles are not necessarily the best choice - especially if, like most people, you're going to make fondue once a year or less. Also, pricey electric fondue pots can be dangerous. Fondue is usually served on a dining table with the fondue pot in the centre and the guests seated all around. When you use an electric fondue pot, the cord will dangle from the table and it can easily be snagged or tripped over, which at best causes a mess and at worst sends guests to the burn unit.

Fondue pots should be earthenware or heavy gauge metal, preferably coated inside with a non-stick coating for easy clean-up. They also need to have a sturdy stand and a handle that is easy to grip.When setting the table for a fondue party, provide small side plates and colour-coded fondue forks as well as dinner forks. Experienced fonduers know etiquette dictates that you dip with your fondue fork but then transfer the food to your plate to be eaten with your dinner fork - otherwise, you'll be sharing each other's germs.

There are four types of fondue. In order of popularity, there is cheese, chocolate, oil and broth (also known as hot-pot style) fondue to choose from. Cheese fondue originated in Switzerland, although the name is from the French word for "melted". In the original Swiss version, cubes of bread are dipped into a mixture of melted gruyère or emmenthal and other cheeses, kirsch and white wine combined with a small amount of flour to keep the mixture homogenous. Dutch and Italian versions of this type of fondue are called kaasdoop and fonduta respectively. They are quite similar to the Swiss version except that they feature native cheeses.

For chocolate fondue, cubes of pound cake, bite-size pieces of fruit or even cookies are dipped into a molten mixture of chocolate, flavoured with liqueur. Some versions also contain whipping cream or evaporated milk.

The French version of fondue is called fondue bourguigonne and requires a very hot pot of vegetable oil in which diners cook tiny cubes of beef tenderloin. The cubes are then dipped into sauces, usually béarnaise or tomato based savoury sauces such as bordelaise. Growing in popularity is the broth-style fondue. Often known as Mongolian hot pot, hot pots feature a cauldron of bubbling broth in which vegetables and sometimes seafood such as shrimp and scallops are cooked to be eaten with rice and Asian sauces such as hoisin. At the end of the meal any remaining rice is added to the broth and it is eaten as soup. Due to the health advantages it has over other fondue meals, many former cheese and oil fondue lovers are switching over to hot pots to save calories and improve their intake of fibre and nutrients.