Fondue Book Review: Fondue: Great Food To Dip, Dunk, Savor, And Swirl
Rick Rodgers, respected chef and cooking teacher, is the author of more than thirty cookbooks. His writing experience and love of food shows through in every page of “Fondue: Great Food to Dip, Dunk, Savor And Swirl”.
The meat of the book is organized into four categories. Cheese Fondue, Fried Fondue (Rodgers’ description for Oil fondue), Asian Hot Pot Fondue (broth), and Chocolate and Dessert Fondue.
A very large section of the Cheese fondue category is devoted to detailed and helpful descriptions of the common cheeses used for fondue. Dipping ingredients are covered along with serving tips specific to cheese fondue. The recipes range from traditional Swiss cheese fondue to the more exotic. “Greek Kasseri Fondue” anyone?
Fried fondue is a little more complicated, and Rodgers does a great job of covering all bases on subjects such as oils, temperature, and preparing meat. The recipes seem to be centered around the dipping sauces. This was a great idea since it isn’t a good idea to marinate or season meat for oil fondue, and a good sauce makes all the difference.
Health conscious readers will be glad for the chapter on Asian Hot Pot Fondue with its focus on non-fattening broth and vegetable recipes.
The book ends with a chapter on Chocolate and Dessert fondue. Obviously the main focus is on Chocolate, but there are also some brilliant recipes like the one for Triple Crème and Champagne Fondue. We agree with Rodger when he says that there isn’t anything out there better for dipping strawberries into.
On the negative side, the book is fairly short (160 pages) and doesn’t have any photos. Rodgers is also very proud of his recipes and ability to entertain guests; He throws in a few comments to let you know it. This might mildly irritate some people.
Overall “Fondue: Great Food to Dip, Dunk, Savor And Swirl” is full of detailed instruction, creative recipes, and great features. It definitely has a place in the library of every fondue lover.
FondueBits Rating:
