Slow Cooker Swiss Fondue With Kirsch

1. Gather the ingredients.

2. Rub a nonreactive (enameled or stainless steel) saucepan with cut garlic halves. Add the wine and place the saucepan over medium heat.

3. Heat the wine until it is just beginning to bubble. Reduce heat to low and add lemon juice.

4. In a bowl, combine cheeses and flour; gradually stir into the wine. Continue cooking, stirring to keep from sticking, until cheese is melted and well blended.

5. Grease the crock pot lightly or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

6. Pour the cheese mixture into the prepared crock pot. Add kirsch; stir well. Sprinkle with nutmeg, pepper, and paprika.

7. Cover and cook on the high setting for 20 to 25 minutes or until hot, then turn to the low setting for 1 to 3 hours. Keep the pot on low while serving.

8. Serve your fondue with bread cubes or other dippers.

Fondue dippers traditionally are cubes of a hearty bread such as rye, pumpernickel, or multigrain bread. But large, soft pretzels also make great dippers, and you can use crackers, especially if you don't have fondue forks. Besides bread items, offer dippers such as slices of apple and firm pears, steamed or roasted Brussels sprouts, fingerling potatoes, and artichoke hearts.

Traditional Fondue

The first fondue recipe that included cheese and wine was published in 1699 in Zurich, Switzerland. While it had been called the Swiss national dish at times, a big push was made in the 1930s by the Swiss Cheese Union to get people to eat more cheese. This gained even more steam after World War II, with ad campaigns. It spread to America where fondue sets were common gifts in the late 1960s and 1970s and fondue was often seen at parties.