Philly is really famous for great soft pretzels and Brotherly Love. (Just kidding these days about the Love. The Mayor has a special group of police to go after the Knockout Game Players in the city.)
Use small bits of soft pretzels for Fondue Dipping. It’s sort of Swiss because of the Fondue and definitely Philly b/c of the pretzels and the love. That happens whenever people join around the table. We brush off the salt or order them salt free.
Do you need a Fondue Set to enjoy authentic Fondue? No, just a pot, some cheese, some flavorings, forks, friends, some doughy stuff and some wine, beer or whatever. Oh. — Fondue is usually for adults. Kids don’t do well with some wine, beer, garlic and cheesy mixtures. OTOH, some kids are just miniature adults and they get more fun when tools are used like the forks and the burners but watch out. remind the kids and the miniature adults that some of the things are hot.
Fondue? Nothing easier. Melt Cheese in a pot. Any pot will do. Cheese. Lots of it. Melted. Almost every cheese combines although avoid the ones you adore but other’s don’t like Blue or some of the really smelly types. Keep it simple with one or two. Go overboard with whatever bits are in the fridge. Add some kind of alcohol, – white wine, kirsch, beer, brandy or even something upmarket like Gran Mariner, Goldslager or Drambuie. Just about every liquor goes with Fondue.
Heating booze removes most of the alcohol but there’s no rule that beer or wine has to be used. Some people want all cream and butter but no alcohol. Other’s want to taste the spirits or they feel something’s missing. Some like to find leftovers and just throw them in the pot. All fondues are good but some are much better than others.
Dipping with cut up vegetables works fine. Fondue forks make things real easy but ordinary forks work fine too. Following the Swiss recipes is always a great idea. Going Rogue with other ingredients works fine too.
We like sitting around a table and dipping and eating while the cheese is warm. Others dip, drop it onto a plate and walk around. Whatever. Fondue is flexible. Like a lot of things, the original versions and the serving style have their place. OTOH, America is the land of experiment so the pretzels or the veggies work but don’t try to heat oil and cook meat without really studying the process. Cooking meat in oil or water at the table is another game that should be learned before going out in public. Cooking in oil means some hydrocarbons are in the aerosol so watch out. (See: Aerosol/Cooking Oil.)
What to accompany Fondue? Potato’s. Small red ones. Also Pearl Onions.
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