Fonduta Valdostana — Alpine Cheese Fondue

Valle d'Aosta — the smallest region of Italy, flanked by Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn, and the Gran Paradiso. The Fontina cheese has been produced in this valley since at least the 13th century; the fonduta preparation is documented from the medieval period.

Fonduta valdostana is the definitive preparation of Fontina DOP — the great, fat, semi-soft Alpine cheese of the Valle d'Aosta, whose PDO specifications confine production to this single valley. Unlike Swiss fondue (which uses a blend of hard cheeses, white wine, and Kirsch), the Valdostan fonduta is made with Fontina alone, soaked in milk, then melted slowly with egg yolks and butter into a rich, unctuous, truffle-scented sauce. It is served in a fondue pot or cazuela, poured over polenta, bread, or alongside crudités. The result is deeper, richer, and more savoury than any Swiss preparation — a statement of one cheese's character rather than a blend.

Fontina fonduta is one of the richest flavour experiences in Italian cooking: deeply savoury, buttery, with the characteristic mild sweetness and slight earthiness of Fontina — a cheese that tastes of the high Alpine meadows where the Valdostan cows graze. The egg yolks add depth; the white truffle, when present, takes it somewhere transcendent.