Cheese fondue - replacement for gruyere



S

SAT

Guest
I'm making a cheese fondue as an appetizer for Thanksgiving dinner. I'm
working within a budget this year, unfortunately.

I got 18 oz. of swiss cheese on sale at the grocery store for $3, but
the gruyere is $8/8 oz.! My recipe (link below) only calls for 1/2 lb.
of gruyere, so I'm hoping there is a viable substitute for it. Anyone
have suggestions?

Thanks in advance,
Sara

Garlic Cheese Fondue
http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/garliccheesefondue.htm

(Or, suggest a better recipe! I haven't tried the one above before.)
 
On 14 Nov 2005 12:18:14 -0800, "SAT" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>I'm making a cheese fondue as an appetizer for Thanksgiving dinner. I'm
>working within a budget this year, unfortunately.
>
>I got 18 oz. of swiss cheese on sale at the grocery store for $3, but
>the gruyere is $8/8 oz.! My recipe (link below) only calls for 1/2 lb.
>of gruyere, so I'm hoping there is a viable substitute for it. Anyone
>have suggestions?
>
>Thanks in advance,
>Sara
>
>Garlic Cheese Fondue
>http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/garliccheesefondue.htm
>
>(Or, suggest a better recipe! I haven't tried the one above before.)

Use the Swiss.

Boron
 
"Boron Elgar" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:p[email protected]...
> On 14 Nov 2005 12:18:14 -0800, "SAT" <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
> >I'm making a cheese fondue as an appetizer for Thanksgiving dinner. I'm
> >working within a budget this year, unfortunately.
> >
> >I got 18 oz. of swiss cheese on sale at the grocery store for $3, but
> >the gruyere is $8/8 oz.! My recipe (link below) only calls for 1/2 lb.
> >of gruyere, so I'm hoping there is a viable substitute for it. Anyone
> >have suggestions?
> >
> >Thanks in advance,
> >Sara
> >
> >Garlic Cheese Fondue
> >http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/garliccheesefondue.htm
> >
> >(Or, suggest a better recipe! I haven't tried the one above before.)
>
> Use the Swiss.
>
> Boron

Yep, I use straight swiss. I'm making Swiss Cheese fondue for Christmas
(because I get to be alone with the hubby again - no inlaws!). I'm trying
to plan a nice, romantic Christmas dinner for two. I'm working until
Midnight Christmas Eve, so it's got to be an easy dinner, Christmas Day. So
far, I'm thinking, fondue and a salad.

kili
 
So the gruyere really isn't necessary? That works for me. I'll try it
with the gruyere when I have a little more cash on hand.

Thanks!
Sara
 
"Boron Elgar" <[email protected]> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:p[email protected]...
> On 14 Nov 2005 12:18:14 -0800, "SAT" <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>>I'm making a cheese fondue as an appetizer for Thanksgiving dinner. I'm
>>working within a budget this year, unfortunately.
>>
>>I got 18 oz. of swiss cheese on sale at the grocery store for $3, but
>>the gruyere is $8/8 oz.! My recipe (link below) only calls for 1/2 lb.
>>of gruyere, so I'm hoping there is a viable substitute for it. Anyone
>>have suggestions?

You don't need gruyere. Fondue is made with fontina, here.
You can find fontina at low prize!
Cheers
Pandora
 
On Mon, 14 Nov 2005 21:51:15 +0100, "Pandora" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>
>"Boron Elgar" <[email protected]> ha scritto nel messaggio
>news:p[email protected]...
>> On 14 Nov 2005 12:18:14 -0800, "SAT" <[email protected]>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>I'm making a cheese fondue as an appetizer for Thanksgiving dinner. I'm
>>>working within a budget this year, unfortunately.
>>>
>>>I got 18 oz. of swiss cheese on sale at the grocery store for $3, but
>>>the gruyere is $8/8 oz.! My recipe (link below) only calls for 1/2 lb.
>>>of gruyere, so I'm hoping there is a viable substitute for it. Anyone
>>>have suggestions?
>
>You don't need gruyere. Fondue is made with fontina, here.
>You can find fontina at low prize!
>Cheers
>Pandora
>

Fontina is good, and so is Emmenthaler, but since she already had the
Swiss, what the heck...it works, too.

Boron
 
"SAT" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> So the gruyere really isn't necessary? That works for me. I'll try it
> with the gruyere when I have a little more cash on hand.
>
> Thanks!
> Sara
>

I guess you could probably use Jarlsberg, too, but I have ALWAYS made it
with just swiss because my budget doesn't allow me to get fancy, either.
I've never tried it with the Gruyere, so I can't tell you what the flavor
difference would be. The only thing is to use a higher quality Swiss (which
isn't always easy to find) because it will separate and clump. I made a
disaster like that one time. Ugh. I learned my lesson. Grease on top,
clumps on the bottom. It tasted fine, but didn't quite have the
presentation I was going for in my dinner party.

kili
 
"kilikini" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:eek:[email protected]...
>
> "SAT" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> So the gruyere really isn't necessary? That works for me. I'll try it
>> with the gruyere when I have a little more cash on hand.
>>
>> Thanks!
>> Sara
>>
>
> I guess you could probably use Jarlsberg, too, but I have ALWAYS made it
> with just swiss because my budget doesn't allow me to get fancy, either.
> I've never tried it with the Gruyere, so I can't tell you what the flavor
> difference would be. The only thing is to use a higher quality Swiss
> (which
> isn't always easy to find) because it will separate and clump. I made a
> disaster like that one time. Ugh. I learned my lesson. Grease on top,
> clumps on the bottom. It tasted fine, but didn't quite have the
> presentation I was going for in my dinner party.
>
> kili
>
The other day I saw a 'prepared' fondue. I looked at the back of the
package and it said 34% emmanthuler and 3% gruyere. I guess the rest
must've been a white sauce, but I don't know.
Dee Dee
 
SAT <[email protected]> wrote:

> My recipe (link below) only calls for 1/2 lb.
> of gruyere, so I'm hoping there is a viable substitute for it. Anyone
> have suggestions?

Keep in mind that Gruyère is a cheese with a pronounced - and very nice
- flavour. The main characteristic of even the best of the real
Swiss-produced "Swiss cheese" (Emmental) is blandness, with a bit of
bitterness present if you are lucky. I would say that there is no real
substitute for Gruyère, but there are alternatives which are good in
their own right, for example a good cheddar. Can you find good cheddar
at a reasonable price?

Victor
 
On 14 Nov 2005 12:18:14 -0800, "SAT" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>I got 18 oz. of swiss cheese on sale at the grocery store for $3, but
>the gruyere is $8/8 oz.! My recipe (link below) only calls for 1/2 lb.

You are trying to make cheesecake with LOWFAT cream cheese. Don't
substitute....since your guests will obviously gag, be polite and not
say a word.
 
In article <[email protected]>,
Boron Elgar <[email protected]> wrote:

> On 14 Nov 2005 12:18:14 -0800, "SAT" <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
> >I'm making a cheese fondue as an appetizer for Thanksgiving dinner. I'm
> >working within a budget this year, unfortunately.
> >
> >I got 18 oz. of swiss cheese on sale at the grocery store for $3, but
> >the gruyere is $8/8 oz.! My recipe (link below) only calls for 1/2 lb.
> >of gruyere, so I'm hoping there is a viable substitute for it. Anyone
> >have suggestions?
> >
> >Thanks in advance,
> >Sara
> >
> >Garlic Cheese Fondue
> >http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/garliccheesefondue.htm
> >
> >(Or, suggest a better recipe! I haven't tried the one above before.)
>
> Use the Swiss.



Yeah. $3 for your Swiss might indicate a not really great cheese.
Spending a lot of money on the second cheese sounds like a waste.
Furthermore, the recipe might be good, but doesn't warrant a good
cheese. 3 garlic cloves, a teaspoon of nutmeg and a 1/2 teaspoon of
white pepper will overwhelm any subtle tastes in the fondue. Also,
there were several typos in the web page. That always makes me
suspicious.

--
Dan Abel
[email protected]
Petaluma, California, USA
 
"Pandora" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> You don't need gruyere. Fondue is made with
> fontina, here. You can find fontina at low prize!

A very dear Belgian friend of ours makes incredible fondue. He uses no less
than five different cheeses, picking and choosing at his local cheesemonger
for just the right combination, depending on what they have that's good on
the day. It makes for a fondue with incredible depth and flavor. Yes, you
can make fondue with one cheese and have a nice outcome, but more adding
more cheeses makes for a richer (pardon the pun) experience.

-j
 
On 14 Nov 2005 12:18:14 -0800, "SAT" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>I'm making a cheese fondue as an appetizer for Thanksgiving dinner. I'm
>working within a budget this year, unfortunately.
>
>I got 18 oz. of swiss cheese on sale at the grocery store for $3, but
>the gruyere is $8/8 oz.! My recipe (link below) only calls for 1/2 lb.
>of gruyere, so I'm hoping there is a viable substitute for it. Anyone
>have suggestions?
>
>Thanks in advance,
>Sara
>
>Garlic Cheese Fondue
>http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/garliccheesefondue.htm
>
>(Or, suggest a better recipe! I haven't tried the one above before.)

Ouch! Lose the flour, if you want your fondue to have *any* taste. You
can add 1 tsp of cornstarch instead.
Also, fondue as an appetizer.... No, really. It's a main dish, and
cannot be anything else - your guests will be full after that.
I'm sorry I can't answer your query about a replacement for Gruyère -
I live in Switzerland and don't know what cheeses you have access to
and at what prices...

Nathalie in Switzerland
 
"jacqui{JB}" <[email protected]> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:[email protected]...
> "Pandora" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>> You don't need gruyere. Fondue is made with
>> fontina, here. You can find fontina at low prize!
>
> A very dear Belgian friend of ours makes incredible fondue. He uses no
> less
> than five different cheeses, picking and choosing at his local
> cheesemonger
> for just the right combination, depending on what they have that's good on
> the day. It makes for a fondue with incredible depth and flavor. Yes,
> you
> can make fondue with one cheese and have a nice outcome, but more adding
> more cheeses makes for a richer (pardon the pun) experience.
>
> -j

yes! You are right ! You can put all the cheese that you want, but it would
be never the traditional fondue. I Am not swiss, but I can tell you that
there are at least three kinds of fondue: swiss (with wine or kirtch and
some cheeses such as gruyere); valdostana (with egg yolks and fontina;
sometimes also truffles), and Piedmontese (with Toma).
I've noticed that Gruyer or Emmenthal or Toma are not so flavoured as
fontina. So I make my fondue only with fontina, egg yolks and some kirtch;
not wine. I don't like wine in my fondue.
Cheers
Pandora
>
 
In article <1h61mc1.p4en70jj65tsN%[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
> SAT <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > My recipe (link below) only calls for 1/2 lb.
> > of gruyere, so I'm hoping there is a viable substitute for it. Anyone
> > have suggestions?
>
> Keep in mind that Gruyère is a cheese with a pronounced - and very nice
> - flavour. The main characteristic of even the best of the real
> Swiss-produced "Swiss cheese" (Emmental) is blandness, with a bit of
> bitterness present if you are lucky.

There is Emmenthal, and then there is Emmenthal. I've had lots of the
(usually not cheap) cheap imitations that are tasteless, salty, bitter
and sometimes contain liquids that do horrible things to my tongue.
I've also had real Emmenthal off the wheel and it was everything but
tasteless. Strong clean smooth flavour, not dissimilar to Gruyere but
less of that 'washed rind cheese' element. Third in the company is
Raclette which is also an ***excellent*** cheese for fondue.
(In fact in Switzerland there is a form of fondue called Raclette).

> I would say that there is no real
> substitute for Gruyère, but there are alternatives which are good in
> their own right, for example a good cheddar. Can you find good cheddar
> at a reasonable price?
>
> Victor

Personally, I would also consider using a medium aged Gouda as a
substitute/filler.

-P.

--
=========================================
firstname dot lastname at gmail fullstop com
 
Peter Huebner <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> There is Emmenthal, and then there is Emmenthal. I've had lots of
> the (usually not cheap) cheap imitations that are tasteless,
> salty, bitter and sometimes contain liquids that do horrible
> things to my tongue. I've also had real Emmenthal off the wheel
> and it was everything but tasteless. Strong clean smooth flavour,
> not dissimilar to Gruyere but less of that 'washed rind cheese'
> element. Third in the company is Raclette which is also an
> ***excellent*** cheese for fondue. (In fact in Switzerland there
> is a form of fondue called Raclette).

It's actually more of a build your own meal sort of situation where
you are brought cooked vegetables and viande des grisons. A hunk of
cheese (size depends on humber of people eating) is placed close to a
small element right at your table (there is a mechanism whereby you
can move the cheese away from the element and back towards it) and
you scrape the melted stuff off with a wooden knife, place it on
vegetables or meat and eat it. It certainly isn't a "typical"
fondue, in a pot in which you dip things.

--

"Compassion is the chief law of human existence."

Dostoevski, The Idiot
 
Peter Huebner <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> There is Emmenthal, and then there is Emmenthal. I've had lots of
> the (usually not cheap) cheap imitations that are tasteless,
> salty, bitter and sometimes contain liquids that do horrible
> things to my tongue. I've also had real Emmenthal off the wheel
> and it was everything but tasteless. Strong clean smooth flavour,
> not dissimilar to Gruyere but less of that 'washed rind cheese'
> element. Third in the company is Raclette which is also an
> ***excellent*** cheese for fondue. (In fact in Switzerland there
> is a form of fondue called Raclette).

It's actually more of a build your own meal sort of situation where
you are brought cooked vegetables and viande des grisons. A hunk of
cheese (size depends on humber of people eating) is placed close to a
small element right at your table (there is a mechanism whereby you
can move the cheese away from the element and back towards it) and
you scrape the melted stuff off with a wooden knife, place it on
vegetables or meat and eat it. It certainly isn't a "typical"
fondue, in a pot in which you dip things.

--

"Compassion is the chief law of human existence."

Dostoevski, The Idiot
 
"Nathalie Chiva" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On 14 Nov 2005 12:18:14 -0800, "SAT" <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
> >I'm making a cheese fondue as an appetizer for Thanksgiving dinner. I'm
> >working within a budget this year, unfortunately.
> >
> >I got 18 oz. of swiss cheese on sale at the grocery store for $3, but
> >the gruyere is $8/8 oz.! My recipe (link below) only calls for 1/2 lb.
> >of gruyere, so I'm hoping there is a viable substitute for it. Anyone
> >have suggestions?
> >
> >Thanks in advance,
> >Sara
> >
> >Garlic Cheese Fondue
> >http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/garliccheesefondue.htm
> >
> >(Or, suggest a better recipe! I haven't tried the one above before.)
>
> Ouch! Lose the flour, if you want your fondue to have *any* taste. You
> can add 1 tsp of cornstarch instead.
> Also, fondue as an appetizer.... No, really. It's a main dish, and
> cannot be anything else - your guests will be full after that.
> I'm sorry I can't answer your query about a replacement for Gruyère -
> I live in Switzerland and don't know what cheeses you have access to
> and at what prices...
>
> Nathalie in Switzerland

I've tried it with different mixtures of cheese than the 'traditional'
ementhal, gruyere and jarlesberg, and while sometimes it's been quite good,
it's never been *as* good - those 3 cheeses just combine perfectly and each
offers its own thing to the texture, flavour, and consistency of the final
fondue. So to sum up, for myself, I've found 'alternatives' but never any
substitutes.

Shaun aRe
 
On Wed, 16 Nov 2005 02:16:30 +1300, Peter Huebner
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Third in the company is
>Raclette which is also an ***excellent*** cheese for fondue.
>(In fact in Switzerland there is a form of fondue called Raclette).

Nope, raclette is not a form of fondue. Originally, it's a half-roll
of cheese (Raccard, or Bagnes, or the generic "Raclette") put close to
the fire, and someone regularly scrapes off the melted part which you
eat with small boiled potatoes. Nowadays they sell "raclette ovens";
it's a small electric apparatus which allows you to melt several
slices of cheese under a grill, each one in its own little plate. It
sits in the middle of the table, everybody melts his own cheese.

Nathalie in Switzerland
 
"Pandora" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "jacqui{JB}" <[email protected]> ha scritto nel messaggio
> news:[email protected]...
> > "Pandora" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:[email protected]...
> >
> >> You don't need gruyere. Fondue is made with
> >> fontina, here. You can find fontina at low prize!

Lucky you! Imported Fontina (or its cousin fontal) from Italy is usually
fairly expensive in the U.S.A at least where I live (Chicago). There are
American made substitutes but the cheaper varieties don't come close to
fontina from Val D'Aosta.
> >
> > A very dear Belgian friend of ours makes incredible fondue. He uses no
> > less
> > than five different cheeses, picking and choosing at his local
> > cheesemonger
> > for just the right combination, depending on what they have that's good
on
> > the day. It makes for a fondue with incredible depth and flavor. Yes,
> > you
> > can make fondue with one cheese and have a nice outcome, but more adding
> > more cheeses makes for a richer (pardon the pun) experience.
> >
> > -j
>
> yes! You are right ! You can put all the cheese that you want, but it
would
> be never the traditional fondue. I Am not swiss, but I can tell you that
> there are at least three kinds of fondue: swiss (with wine or kirtch and
> some cheeses such as gruyere); valdostana (with egg yolks and fontina;
> sometimes also truffles), and Piedmontese (with Toma).
> I've noticed that Gruyer or Emmenthal or Toma are not so flavoured as
> fontina. So I make my fondue only with fontina, egg yolks and some kirtch;
> not wine. I don't like wine in my fondue.
> Cheers
> Pandora

I thought Piemontese fonduta was always made with fontina. That's how my
grandmother made it, but when her family emigrated from Piemonte Val D'Aosta
was part of Piemonte so maybe that explains it. She made a killer polenta
with fonduta. I have to dig up that recipe as it might be a nice change for
Christmas. IFRC she added some parmesan cheese and some nutmeg when she
made fonduta for the polenta dish. For regular fonduta, it was fontina
(diced) soaked in milk for a while, melt butter in a pan, whisk in the
cheese and milk till melted then (carefully) add the eggs and cook for
several minutes. I don't recall any wine or kirsch. We like to add some
white truffle oil right before serving.

Kate <---getting very hungry

Kate
 
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