One of the most well-liked meals of the Seventies, cheese fondue, is again | UK | News | EUROtoday

You in all probability thought fondue events had been left behind within the Seventies together with flares, Arctic rolls, and avocado lavatory suites.

But all of the sudden, these effervescent pots of cheese are returning to dinner tables up and down the nation, in keeping with grocery store big Tesco.

This time, they’ve been given a British makeover and the simplified identify of baking cheeses.

Since lockdown, quantity demand for baking cheeses at Tesco has rocketed by almost 500 per cent to develop into the fastest-growing class within the UK cheese market.

The sizzling cheese pattern is so fashionable that the grocery store now shares six totally different varieties in comparison with the 2 it had on its cabinets solely 4 years in the past.

Tesco Cheese Buyer Charlotte Gramlick mentioned: “The fondue was a much loved but short-lived food fad that fell out of fashion basically because it was too fiddly and involved having to buy fondue cooking apparatus.

“Brits are a nation of cheese lovers and any food with molten cheese such as pizza, baked potatoes, cauliflower, macaroni and even plain cheese on toast is generally a winner that is loved by young and old alike.”

The six baking cheeses offered by Tesco embrace British Triple Cheese Bake, Gruyere Fondue (seasonal line), and Vintage Cheddar and Sauvignon Blanc Bake.

As nicely as Red Leicestershire Bite with Garlic and Black Pepper, Vintage Cheddar, Mozzarella and Chorizo Bake, and Smoked Red Leicester Bake with Chilli Jam (seasonal line).

Ms Gramlick added: “A few years ago, we launched a special baking cheese for the Christmas party food market and that became one of our most popular items which told us that we were onto something.

“Baking cheeses to share have also become incredibly popular as starters in gastro pubs and so we’re seeing people creating the same sharing experience in the comfort of their own homes.”

Back in 2018, the gross sales of fondue kits tripled within the two years prior at John Lewis shops, and an Oxford University tutorial believed it might have been all the way down to Brexit.

Professor Charles Spence, head of Oxford University’s Crossmodal Research Laboratory, argued that the revival could also be as a consequence of Remainers longing to bond with the remainder of Europe.

The conventional Alpine units normally encompass a small saucepan (referred to as a caquelon) over a warmth for melting the cheese, and dipping forks for dunking bread, meats and greens.

Professor Spence believed its surge in reputation might have been as a consequence of “global insecurity” and nostalgia for easier occasions.

Writing within the Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science, the experimental psychologist mentioned: “It may link to current concerns about global insecurity since the fondue can be considered as something of a nostalgic dish for some and a comfort food for many.”

Professor Spence added: “One can’t help feeling that at a time when the UK is figuring out if and how to separate from the rest of Europe, that this nostalgic food originates from a part of Europe that stands outside the European Union but is still connected with the rest of the EU in much the way that many Brits would hope to achieve.”