Heston Blumenthal's cheese fondue

The cheese in this fondue should be runny and stringy, not thick and stodgy, and the key to achieving this is using cornflour and white wine. The cornflour prevents the proteins in the cheese coagulating and the acidity in the wine keeps the cheese stringy.

• serves

  6

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 450 g gruyère cheese, grated
• 450 g comte cheese, grated
• 15 g cornflour
• 30 ml manzanilla sherry
• 2 thyme sprigs
• 3 garlic cloves, bashed
• 500 ml white wine
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 5 g English mustard powder
• 1 pinch ground cloves

To serve

• cornichons
• sourdough bread
• crudités

Instructions

In a bowl, mix the grated cheeses with the cornflour.

Bring the sherry to a simmer in a small saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add the thyme and garlic then remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 10 minutes. Strain and allow to cool.

Bring the wine and lemon juice to the boil in a medium saucepan, and add the cheese, a handful at a time, whisking continuously until smooth and creamy.

Add the infused sherry, mustard powder and ground cloves to the cheese and wine and continue to whisk until the fondue thickens.

Transfer to a fondue pot and serve with cornichons, cubes of sourdough bread and crudités.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.