A Taste of Switzerland: Fondue

The cooking term fondue refers to:

1 cubes of meat or seafood cooked in hot oil and then dipped in any of various sauces
2 hot sauce-like melted cheese or chocolate in which bread or fruits are dipped

Etymologically, the word come from the French fondue, literally ‘melted’, from fondre ‘to melt’.

Fondue is a dish typically eaten in Switzerland and the cheese fondue and the chocolate fondue are the most common varieties. Fondue is prepared in a caquelon, which is a cooking vessel of stoneware, ceramic, enamelled cast iron or porcelain. The word caquelon is from a Swiss French term originating in the 18th century derived from the Swiss German word Kakel meaning an earthenware casserole.