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Cheese Fondue
Put into a saucepan 1 tablespoonful butter, 1 of flour, and stir until they bubble, then add a gill of milk or cream. This now makes a very thick white sauce, which must be stirred well to prevent burning. When smooth stir in 3 ounces grated cheese, salt, pinch of paprika, and take it from the fire and stir 2 eggs, yolks and whites beaten separately. Butter a granite dish and bake from ten to fifteen minutes, and serve at once.
This is not fondue in the Swiss sense but a baked cheese pudding, closer to a small soufflé: a thick white sauce enriched with cheese and lightened with beaten egg whites. The original gives a baking time but no temperature.
- Oven temperatureNo heat is specified, as was common in recipes of this period. A moderate oven, in the region of 375F, suits it; the recipe's ten to fifteen minutes is plausible for a shallow dish of this size, and it is done when set at the edges and barely trembling at the centre.
- A gillHalf a cup, 4 fluid ounces. With a tablespoon each of butter and flour this gives a very stiff panade, exactly as the text warns, so keep the heat low and stir constantly.
- Granite dishGraniteware, the speckled enamelled steel bakeware of the period. Any buttered gratin dish, shallow casserole or pie plate works; glass or ceramic will need the longer end of the timing.
- Off the heat before the eggsThe instruction to take the pan from the fire before adding the eggs is the hinge of the recipe. Let the sauce cool to warm, beat in the yolks, then fold the whites in with a light hand so the mixture rises in the oven.
- The cheeseThree ounces is a generous amount for this quantity of sauce. A dry aged cheddar or Gruyere grated fine will melt smoothly; pre-shredded cheese carries anti-caking starch and gives a grainier result.
- Salt and paprikaSalt cautiously, since the cheese brings plenty. The pinch of paprika is for colour and warmth rather than heat, and a sweet paprika suits it.
- Yield and servingRoughly two servings as a light supper, or up to four as a savoury course. Like a souffle it will sink soon after leaving the oven, so bring it straight to the table, as the recipe directs.