Mont d'Or Vacherin Fondue with Black Truffles

fx

Thu, 3 Mar 2016 14:57:25 GMT

Yes this is a rather solid dish!

Janpaul

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 06:39:43 GMT

Basically just snouds like heart attack weekend...and I like it! I might have to have some fondue just because of the date :) haha Have a great one!

Gino Giori

Thu, 30 Dec 2010 16:36:35 GMT

First of all, it"s already quite hard to find a perfect vacherin (Mont d"or) in Switzerland, let alone find one in the USA. It is hard to feel through the thick skin to see if the chesse is well ripened.
A good mature vacherin should be liquid inside.
I can"t imagine wasting all those truffles, which must have overpowered the vacherin. A sickening mixture no doubt. I can understand a few pieces of finely shredded truffle but not all that.
If you guys want an alternative to Vacherin it"s a cheese called Taleggio. I have found the Taleggio in the USA, but never a good vacherin. Taleggio is the closest "taste wise" to vacherin...although less tasty.

fx

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 18:31:48 GMT

This sounds like a good idea, however I always go for really seriously strong Vacherins and they just don"t mix well with the truffles. I tastes some under-the-counter Vacherin today, made from raw milk, with the sweet taste of transgression but a bit too much salt. The guy makes a few on the side and leaves them too long on the salt bath.

Kahing

Sat, 5 Dec 2009 18:17:48 GMT

Well FX,

I think you ALMOST got it right: too much truffle and added to soon to the Vacherin. I personally think the truffle ought to have been added/grated just before you take a bite.

Slow cooking might also be the answer:

Open the Vacherin, FINELY grate a little bit of truffle over the opened Vacherin and let it sit at room temp for an afternoon so the Vacherin can slowly acquire the flavours of the truffle. Then when ready to prepare the fondue, warm up the Vacherin in the oven and only add/grate the remaining truffle when at the table.

Be sure to have left over truffle as you would only need a little bit!!!

Kahing

fx

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 21:28:51 GMT

Indeed Tom, in fact we get plenty of the French unpasteurised Mont d"Or cheese in our Swiss shops, the border does not really make for any sensible change in culture or cuisine in the Jura. Despite our laws that prohibit, unfortunately, unpasteurized Mont d"Or, people still very much enjoy it!

Tom

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 19:36:06 GMT

Re. the above: Here in the Aravis, just over the other side of the Franco-Swiss border, the Mont d"Or available is defiantly unpasteurised and wrapped in a whole strip of spruce bark before being set in its container. The flavour is so intense and beautiful, it"s normally prepared by baking with no garlic or additions other than a couple of tablespoons of white wine (local Apremont is often used) poured under the crust halfway through the cooking time.

This is truly one of the most divine cheeses in the world when prepared this way. I"ve served it to visiting foodies, fussys, health freaks and gluttons alike and every single one has been in raptures . . . if you can ever get hold of a Mont d"Or, seize the oppurtunity and you"ll be in utter cheese heaven . . .

Tom, La Clusaz, France

fx

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 13:27:25 GMT

Simon, there is so much crap with Listeriosis. I mean if you are 90 year old with a weak health and live in a cold house, then yeah, it might be dangerous. But to answer you, in Switzerland unfortunately the hypochondria brigade had the upper hand and all Vacherin Mont d"Or is thermized to kill off any excess listeriosis. So you can buy ours and be safe while I"ll get French Vacherin that is still unpasteurized.

Siimon

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 20:08:09 GMT

As wonderful as the Mont d"Or is, I hesitate to serve it to my family as I"ve heard some horror stories about deaths in the 80"s in Switzerland form eating it and contracting Listeriosis. Can you confirm that measures have since been taken to eliminate Listeriosis from this cheese. I"d love to share it and a Beaujolais Nouveau with my family without fear or guilt.
Thanks,
Simon
Toronto

fx

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 08:41:52 GMT

John, neither do I drink any white wine, I think you can use a relatively cheap wine for this as most of what is left after cooking is sugar and glycerin.

John McCann

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 11:49:53 GMT

Thanks for the tips on this recipe. I happen to live in Frankfurt and my Sister in-law lives in Biel/Bienne at the foot of the Jura. She told me about a great way to eat Vacherin, baked exactly like you said (but not did ;-)) with garlic and white wine.

Unfortunately I"m a bit of a red wine snob so I only have Viognier on hand.....I hope it works as well as a "Schwitzer Wein"....we"ll see.

John

fx

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 03:18:22 GMT

Jee, it is impossible to fail a Mont d"Or Vacherin Fondue, all you do is melt the cheese in the oven. But it was a culinary failure because I took a very expensive and rare ingredients and used it in a dish that did not use its extraordinary flavor to the full.

The other day I caught Philippe Rochat during his dinner, Switzerland most acclaimed restaurateur and holder of 3 Michelin stars for a decade now. He was sampling a number of Vacherin Mont d"Or as his dinner, with the cheese makers waiting at the table. I was buying a truffle from one of his chefs and he greeted me when he saw me. I told him about this truffle-fondue recipe by Mrs Darroze and said that it was wasting the truffle. "And the Vacherin" answered Mr Rochat.

Jee Young

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 13:25:20 GMT

Just curious - why was the recipe a "failure"? Did the flavors just not work well together? It doesn"t look like the fondue was a technical failure (fat did not separate).

fx

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 03:59:30 GMT

Amazing idea! If your goat cheese melts easily and has a relatively discreet flavor I think it should work! I told a 3-Michelin-stars chef about this recipe as I saw him eating one of these Vacherin cheeses, and he told me in his book this would be wasting the truffle. Maybe he"s right!

Farmer de Ville

Mon, 7 Jan 2008 11:10:18 GMT

Ack! That looks unbelievably delicious. And it has inspired me to try a similar thing with local goat cheese and hand foraged Oregon white truffles. Nicely done...Farmerwww.farmerdeville.com

karen

Thu, 1 Mar 2007 18:28:38 GMT

Hello FX!Greetings from the San Francisco Bay Area. I came across
your blog by accident and I love it. Admittedly, I am a "foodie" as
well...your description on your home page is an accurate description of
myself! Keep up the great work, the great recipes. I love your photos
and the details of your food adventures.-Karen