The Swiss are famous for fondue. While fondue is an apparently simple dish of melted cheese, there is much more to this gooey, chewy, melt-in-your mouth concoction that, when dripping off a bit of crusty bread or a delicate new potato, can bring tears of joy to your eyes—and fireworks to your mouth.

Fondue is said to have first bubbled in the Swiss canton (state) of Valais. That is one of the few places in Switzerland where fondue’s main ingredients--white wine and cheese--are produced cheek to jowl.

Somehow someone had the idea of taking Swiss cheese, melting it in a pot, and adding a bit of this and bit of that until this superb pot of lickable heaven came to be a favorite all over the world.

A basic REAL Swiss recipe for fondue includes these surprising ingredients:

1lb Gruyėre cheese, grated
1/2lb Emmentalee cheese, grated
A clove of garlic
1 cup of dry white wine
1 tablespoon of cornstarch (the Swiss prefer potato starch)
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons kirsch
Ground pepper
Grated nutmeg

Clearly, we aren’t talking simply melted cheese. A good restaurant in Switzerland will get their cheeses from specific farms, often from pedigreed cows who munch on fine Alpian grasses and grains. Many fondue specialty restaurants will also have their own herbs and spices to add to their “secret” fondue recipe. Others will add a bit of panache with morel mushrooms like this tasty pot we enjoyed in Bern, Switzerland one evening during a thunderstorm. Other additives include brandy, bourbon, soy sauce, dried mustard, or Worcestershire sauce.

The ingredients may vary. But the method is straightforward. Rub the garlic clove around the pot and discard it. Melt the cheese and wine over a low heat for five minutes. Add everything else and stir for 10 minutes and serve.

While we like cheese, this dish is almost addicting when paired with small potatoes, apples, cubes of bread, cherry tomatoes or pretty much anything else. Simply take your long fondue fork, spear your favorite bite, dip it in the gooey goodness, and pop it in your mouth. Follow each bite with a sip of chilled white wine OR a Swiss beer for an authentic finish.

Place the fondue on a low light to keep the cheese soft and yummy. A good fondue can last for quite a while--and the social aspect of sharing a single pot with your nearest and dearest is one of the fine pleasures of this dish. You may not even desire an appetizer OR main course. Fondue will simply fill your every need—until the next meal!

Spear, dip, and enjoy!