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National Cheese Fondue Day

Food · April 11

A day for cheese fondue, the shared pot of melted cheese and wine where diners dip bread on long forks and talk while it bubbles.

National Cheese Fondue Day falls on Sunday, April 11, 2027. That is 166 days away.

Cheese fondue is a pot of melted cheese, usually loosened with white wine and kept warm over a small flame at the center of the table. Everyone gets a long fork, a pile of bread cubes, and permission to reach into the same pot.

The dish comes from the Alps, where Swiss cooks melted hard mountain cheeses like Gruyère and Emmental into something smooth enough to coat bread. A little cornstarch keeps it from turning grainy, and a clove of garlic rubbed inside the pot adds a quiet background note. Done well, it pulls into soft strings and clings to whatever goes in.

Bread is the classic dipper, ideally a day old so it holds up on the fork. Boiled small potatoes, apple slices, pickles, blanched broccoli and bits of cured meat all have their fans. The pace is slow by design. You dip, you wait for it to cool, you talk, and the meal stretches out longer than anyone planned.

There are table customs, too. Stirring in a figure-eight keeps the cheese moving, and losing your bread in the pot traditionally earns a playful penalty chosen by the group, which tends to make people very careful with their forks.

At the end, a thin, toasty crust of cheese forms on the bottom of the pot. In Switzerland it is called la religieuse, and many people think it is the best bite of the evening.

Ways to celebrate

• Melt a small pot of Gruyère and white wine for dinner.
• Try a new dipper, like apple slices or roasted potatoes.
• Invite friends over and agree on a lost-bread penalty.
• Look for a local restaurant that serves fondue.
• Save the crust at the bottom and share it.

Dates

All national days on April 11

Also on April 11

• National Pet Day
• International Louie Louie Day
• National Ranch Water Day
• Barbershop Quartet Day
• National Eight-Track Tape Day
• National Submarine Day

Categories: Food days