South Tyrolean Cheese Fondue
The perfect recipe for the coldest season of the year
To obtain a creamy fondue, a combination of ingredients with ancient origins has to be prepared using the Caquelon (thick-bottomed pot) and réchaud (small cooker).
Autumn is well known to provide us with unique landscapes allowing us to admire nature’s warmest colors, just before frost and snow begin to cover the streets during winter.
With the arrival of the first dark and cold evenings, we begin to desire the heat of a fireplace, surrounded by a peaceful atmosphere and our family that warm our body and soul, delighting our palate with a hot and tasty dish, to be shared with our loved ones.
And what could be better than a delicious and creamy fondue made with our finest mountain cheeses?
Where does fondue come from?
The cheese fondue does not come from France, originally, but from Switzerland, and only later it became known beyond the Alps and pre-Alps.
In Italy, it is mostly eaten in the Valle d'Aosta or Piedmontese version, where a generous piece of butter or a glass of fresh milk are among the crucial ingredients; sometimes it is also prepared with egg yolks to preserve its consistency, or soaked with dry white wine to obtain an even more velvet-like texture.
Fondue with Mila cheese
Mila uses South Tyrolean milk to produce a variety of hard and semi-hard cheeses. Combining them results in incomparable explosions of flavor, creating new fondue variations “made in South Tyrol” to satisfy even the most sophisticated palate.
The ripened South Tyrolean semi-hard cheese that cannot be missing in a perfectly prepared fondue is the “Stelvio PDO”, the only South Tyrolean cheese with a protected designation of origin certification (PDO). Its soft and delicate texture makes it melt into a delicious cream.
For an even more refined and multi-faceted taste experience, we recommend melting several cheeses in one pot, ideally made of terracotta or cast iron, to keep the fondue warm for longer.
The two cheeses that go best with the "Stelvio PDO" are our "King of the Dolomites" cheese with its large holes and the unique "Alta Badia", to give the final result a strong and exceptional character.
For gourmets and all those who like to be creative in the kitchen, these two South Tyrolean cheese specialties are an absolute must: Our "Lagrein" wine cheese, named after the local grape variety and the "Sasso Nero", for an extra kick of spice, which is grated into the fondue as soon as it is served at the table.
And now, it's time to pick up the forks!
The cheese fondue tastes excellent in combination with bread containing dried fruits or raisins, or in combination with the traditional "Puschtrer Breatl" from the Val Pusteria vally or the "Vinschgerle", a bread specialty from the Val Venosta valley.
Now we are ready to spend a convivial late autumn evening in the warm dining room, with good company, delicious delicacies and possibly a glass of the local Riesling wine - a true 360-degree South Tyrolean culinary experience.
PS.: To prevent disappointing your guests, remember to prepare the fondue gently and patiently, because cheese does not like to boil 😉
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