Fondue first became popular in the 70s, but it's been around in some form every since. It's a unique form of cooking that allows you to make your food as you eat it. While eating fondue can be a solitary pursuit, it is best enjoyed with others, perhaps at a fondue party.

A fondue pot is basically a metal or ceramic bowl that is held up over a flame created by a sterno can. They can be found at nearly any store that sells cooking utensils. Skewers are used to spear the food you want to dip in the fondue, and usually come prepackaged with any pot.

You can use fondue for both dipping and cooking.

There are two main dipping substances, cheese and chocolate. Cheese fondue is used with pieces of bread, crackers, and similar items. Chocolate fondue can be used with anything you think would be tasty if dipped in chocolate. Strawberries and other chunks of fruit and small cookies or chunks of cake are common. To create a cheese or chocolate fondue, you simply fill the fondue pot with chunks of either and heat it until the consistency is right for dipping. You may want to add milk to thin the cheese or chocolate. It is also possible to find more complicated recipes if you want a gourmet flavor.

If you want to cook with your fondue pot, then you can use small chunks of any kind of meat. The smaller the bit of meat, the easier it will be to cook in the pot. Beef, chicken, and shrimp are popular fondue choices. To begin cooking, add cooking oil to the pot and heat it until it boils. Then skewer one piece of meat and leave it in the boiling oil until it changes color. This can take a few minutes, which is why it is more fun to eat fondue at a social event; you can talk and otherwise enjoy yourself while you wait. You can eat the meat plain after it's cooked, or use dipping sauces.

For fondue recipes simply enter "fondue recipes" in your favorite search engine.