Every dish that typically represents a country or a culture has its own way of eating it, Religieuse being no exception. Religieuse, a Swiss communal dish is popularly known as Fondue and there are a few points that you need to keep in mind in order to know how to eat Religieuse.

The Basics:
Eating Religieuse becomes easy when you know what it actually is. Fondue is derived from the French word “fondu” meaning “melted”. A fondue or a Religieuse typically consists of two parts – the “dip” and the “dipper”.

The most popular dip is the one that is made from a perfect blend of cheese, wine and other seasonings. However, other dips like the Cream Mustard Sauce, the Horseradish Cream Sauce, the Chocolate Dip, etc are equally famous.

The dipper, on the other hand, has an equal range of variety. You can use small cubes of chicken breast dipped in cream or beef rolls dipped in a simmering broth. You can also go for diced fruits like apples, marshmallows, strawberries, grapes and plums dipped in a rich chocolate sauce. Other dippers like small cubes of breads, cakes, pastries also go very well with a chocolate sauce.

The Accessories:
Now that you know about the perfect combination of a delicious Religieuse, it is important that you also know about the accessories needed. To dip the bits into the creamy sauce, always use long forks. If you have a server for constantly serving the Religieuse as per the guests’ taste, you can then also think of using small toothpicks to dip the dippers.

The sauce or the dip has to be warm and hence, you need a constant source of heat to set the Religieuse up. Usually, heat it supplied by a wick or a tea-light (candle in thin metal or plastic cover). At times, even a gel alcohol burner is used for the purpose.

You also need to keep a constant watch on the temperature of the Religieuse sauce. The temperature should be just warm enough so that the sauce remains warm, smooth and even-textured. However, do not over-heat it. Over-heating will not only increase the chances of making the sauce lumpy, it may also burn your guests’ mouth, which may not be a very desirable situation.
The Etiquette:
Eating Religieuse in the correct way or manner is another important part of the French dining culture. While eating those delicious cubes of dippers, you should never let your tongue or lips touch the dipping fork. If you are participating in a meat religieuse, there is an additional point that you need to keep in mind - always remember to use a dinner fork to take the meat off the dipping fork.
While eating Religieuse, the “no double-dipping” rule is rigidly observed. Therefore, once you have dipped a piece in a sauce and taken a bite of it, you should never dip the same piece in the sauce for a second time.

Thus, while eating Religieuse, you need to keep these basic points in mind. A variety of dippers that can be used in a huge range of delicious sauces, topped with an experience of a Swiss communal dining culture – all these and much more together make the entire Religieuse eating process a memorable and enjoyable one.

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