Everyone Had One In The '70s — The Iconic Kitchen Set That Still Brings On Instant Nostalgia

I grew up in a fondue-pot household. My parents were married in the late '60s, and in a time when everyone received fondue pots as wedding gifts, they received four. So that meant that they were motivated to put them to good and frequent use. We had cheese fondue. We had Italian fondue (my grandmother's recipe with cheddar cheese, ground beef, and red wine). We even dabbled in chocolate fondue(here's what you need to do to not mess chocolate fondue up). The only fondue to never hit the family fondue pots was the meat-and-hot-oil variety because we feared the splattering grease.

Fondue pots were all the rage in those days. Every kitchen and catalog had at least one, and people nowadays still reminisce about the golden age of fondue parties and family fondue fêtes, where loved ones huddled around the communal pot holding forks of many colors (different-hued forks helped distinguish whose utensil was whose whenever several were left in the pot simultaneously). And while the electric fondue pot was gaining ground in the '70s, many pots of the era were still fueled by old-school Sterno, that flammable gel alcohol in a can you'd also see used at campgrounds or beneath the entrees at some buffets. Most fondue pots were enamel over steel, brightly colored and often decorated with patterns popular in the day. 

Although fondue is no longer the ubiquitous obsession that it was in its 1970s heyday — and a fondue pot no longer graces every American kitchen — fondue never entirely went out of style. The popularity of this simmering cuisine has always bubbled just beneath the surface, and it has retained, at the very least, a niche following.

Fondue's origins are about as murky as a pot full of liquefied cheese. The first mention of a fondue-like dish in in Homer's "Iliad." Another commonly-cited origin story is that it was created by Swiss Alpine peasants to use scraps of cheese and stale bread in times of scarcity. The dish was adopted by the French in the 19th century and eventually made its way to the U.S. — likely boosted by marketing from the Swiss Cheese Union and appearances at a couple world's fairs in the mid-20th century.

Fondue — not to be confused with raclette — very quickly caught on stateside, and became ubiquitous in the '70s. It was enjoyed for its warmth — both literally (hooray for hot, melty cheese!) and metaphorically (its friendly, community aspect). Fondue parties had a convivial, laid-back vibe — a meal that was easy for the host to whip up (as long as they talked to a cheesemonger) and enjoyable for all who converged and conversed around the pot. 

Nowadays, social media chat rooms and comment threads are filled with posts about people wanting to bring fondue back to its former glory, or how someone just couldn't part with their old fondue pot (or recently bought a new one). Fondue has a vintage appeal and a contemporary fascination. Fondue pots themselves have been modernized and improved upon and are readily available for purchase, both new and used. And The Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant chain in North America, remains successful, with 95 locations currently and plans to expand. Clearly, fondue is here to stay.