Fondue (UK: /ˈfɒndjuː/ FON-dew, US: /fɒnˈdjuː/ fon-DEW,[3][4] French: [fɔ̃dy], Swiss Standard German: [fɔ̃ːˈdyː] ⓘ; Italian: fonduta) is a Swiss[5] dish of melted cheese and wine served in a communal pot (caquelon or fondue pot) over a portable stove (réchaud) heated with a candle or spirit lamp, and eaten by dipping bread and sometimes vegetables or other foods into the cheese using long-stemmed forks.

[6] The word fondue is the feminine passive past participle, used as a noun, of the French verb fondre 'to melt', and thus means 'melted'.

[14] Despite its modern associations with rustic mountain life, it was a town-dweller's dish from the lowlands of western, French-speaking, Switzerland: rich cheese like Gruyère was a valuable export item which peasants could not afford to eat.

[15][16] With the introduction of corn starch to Switzerland in 1905, it became easier to make a smooth and stable emulsion of the wine and cheese, and this probably helped contribute to the success of fondue.

[18][19] After World War II rationing ended, the Swiss Cheese Union continued its marketing campaign, sending fondue sets to military regiments and event organizers across Switzerland.

If this temperature is held until the fondue is finished there will be a thin crust of toasted (not burnt) cheese at the bottom of the caquelon.

[18] Refrigerated fondue blends are sold in most Swiss supermarkets as convenience food and need little more than melting in the caquelon.

[35] Losing a piece of bread in the caquelon is said to be penalized by buying a round of drinks, singing a song, or running around in the snow naked.

[24] This is parodied in Asterix in Switzerland, where a character is sentenced to be drowned in Lake Geneva after losing his third piece of bread.