Phase separation of cheese fondue – and what can be done about it [new study]

“The irreversible phase separation of fondue is a common issue and has ruined countless dinners.” This state of affairs has been compounded by the fact that : “Many half-truths persist in Swiss kitchens on how to prepare the perfect fondue.” So explain Pascal Bertsch, Laura Savorani, and Peter Fischer of the Institute of Food Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, Switzerland, in a new paper for ACS Omega, 2019, 4 (1), pp 1103–1109,

Their research project is intended to sieve out problematic half-truths and replace them with hard science facts. Such as :

“Fondue can be considered a water-continuous system with dispersed fat droplets, caseins, and starch. The caseins remain aggregated after melting and are governed by pH-dependent electrostatic interactions.”

[…]

“The irreversible phase separation of fondue is a common issue and has ruined countless dinners. It may be avoided by sufficient addition of water-binding thickeners, for example, 3 wt % starch relative to the total water content.”

Click here to dip into a full copy of Rheology of Swiss Cheese Fondue