A caquelon is a pot used for cooking, reheating, and serving fondue. It is made of heavy materials with thick walls to distribute heat evenly. It is accompanied by long forks and a metal stand with a rechaud to keep the pot warm. Rubbing garlic inside the pot is a common practice in Switzerland before making cheese fondue with Gruyere and Emmental cheeses, white wine, and kirsch.
A caquelon is a type of pot specially designed to be used for cooking, reheating, and serving fondue. The pot is made of heavy materials and has thick walls. The aim is to distribute the heat slowly and evenly throughout the fondue, maintaining a constant temperature without burning the ingredients in the caquelon. Long thin forks often accompany the pot so that items can be easily dipped into the melted fondue without forcing guests to get too close to the heat source below the pot. The caquelon design originated in Switzerland, where fondue is the national dish and is often served at gatherings or other events, allowing the dish to serve as a focal point for everyone.
The most common materials for a caquelon are enamelled cast iron, enamelled ceramic and earthenware. The walls of the pot are made to have a certain thickness. The purpose of using heavy materials and thick walls is to ensure that the pan is able to conduct heat evenly, preventing hot spots from forming on the bottom when exposed to the heating element. When heat is dissipated around the entire pan, no one area is significantly hotter than another, which also allows a lower flame to be used to maintain the correct temperature.
Another part of a caquelon is a metal stand. The pot is used as a serving dish and cooking vessel and should be placed directly inside a table. The metal stand keeps the pan raised high enough so that some type of portable cooking device can be placed inside the stand, providing a safe and stable way to keep the pan warm. The heat source is called a rechaud and is classically a small metal container that holds alcohol or another type of fuel that produces a fire when lit. The amount of heat the caquelon receives is often controlled by a sliding lid which more or less exposes the flame coming from the rechaud.
Using a caquelon, especially in Switzerland and other parts of Europe, implies a certain way of creating and serving fondue. The first step is to take garlic cloves and rub them liberally inside the pot to provide a slight garlic flavor. For an authentic cheese fondue, Gruyere and Emmental cheeses melt in the pot over a regular stove along with some white wine and a cherry-flavored brandy known as kirsch. Other ingredients, such as nutmeg, can be added to the fondue. Small cubes of bread are placed on the end of long forks, dipped in the cheese inside the caquelon and eaten.
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