Jeffrey Steingarten

While it may seem incredibly easy to throw a bunch of cheese into a pot and melt it, crafting a super-creamy fondue takes a little skill. In the February issue of Vogue, Jeffrey Steingarten acknowledges that the perfect fondue is hard to find. He said:

Fondues as smooth and suave as this are rare; more often the cheese separates and settles on the bottom of the pan in stringy clumps and lonely curds whose flavor is as fine as the cheese they're made from, but that congeal in the mouth into tough and chewy balls not unlike chaws of bubble gum.

No one would want to serve a chunky fondue like the one Steingarten describes. To ensure that you never make a bad fondue again, check out my tips for creating silky fondue, just read more

Jeffrey Steingarten is my absolute favorite food journalist. He was an extremely successful lawyer before he switched careers and found his foodie calling. You may recognize his name from the judging table on Food Network's Iron Chef America, or the glossy pages of Vogue magazine. His witty, engaging articles about everything from the perfect egg to Spanish ham to the production of apple brandy are interesting, informative, and friendly. I hate to admit it, but I look forward to his stories each month more than I do the fashion ads! If you're not an avid Vogue reader, I highly recommend reading his first book, The Man Who Ate Everything, which is a collection of his Vogue essays. His detailed descriptions of food, combined with his actual attempts to create culinary masterpieces in his own kitchen, make for a fun and engaging read.