CookingBites dish of the month (October/November 2022): fondue

Fondue pots. Your thoughts please. Electric v.s. sterno. I have used sterno and find it difficult - impossible to control the temperature. The cheese burns. I have not used an electric fondue pot. Pros and cons please.
 
ElizabethB said:
Fondue pots. Your thoughts please. Electric v.s. sterno. I have used sterno and find it difficult - impossible to control the temperature. The cheese burns. I have not used an electric fondue pot. Pros and cons please.
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I’ve had both. I prefer the sterno one with the heavy enameled cast iron pot.

I like that it’s substantial. It feels like quality, and it looks very traditional, which is something I prefer.

We’ve had no issues at all with the temperature control or burning the cheese. The fondue (in the enameled pot) is prepared on the stovetop, then transferred to the sterno-fueled burner for serving. I don’t know if you tried preparing it on the sterno burner, but I could see that being a problem.

The electric one we had performed fine, it got the job done, but it just looked cheap and flimsy, which it was.

Also, the cord was a real problem. We had to run an extension cord to the outlet because those small appliance cords are so short, and both my wife and I are clumsy around things like that, and had more than one close call with catching a chair leg around the cord, and it may sound like a small thing, but we never really enjoyed “the fondue experience” totally, because we always had a distraction with constantly minding the cord.

Also with the cord, we had a 45lb dog barreling through the house at the time, and we used to have to block her out of the room, which neither of us liked, because she didn’t care a thing about cords, and half the fun was feeding her bits of bread and sausage with us. We always felt terrible having to exclude her.

Either one will work, but we much prefer using the sterno one.
 
ElizabethB said:
Fondue pots. Your thoughts please. Electric v.s. sterno. I have used sterno and find it difficult - impossible to control the temperature. The cheese burns. I have not used an electric fondue pot. Pros and cons please.
Click to expand...
I'll let you know once I've tried my new pot, it arrives on wednesday!
 
ElizabethB I find the electrical one more practical and easier to use. You don't need to worry about keeping the flame on or run to the supermarket because you ran out of fuel or matches. Also safer for people with kids. In terms of heating I find no difference between the electrical and the sterno one.
 
If you go electric, be sure to get one that has a separate heating element. I had an all-in-one-piece electric fondue pot, and it was a pain to clean, since it wasn't submersible or dishwasher safe. With the detached ones, at least the part the gets gooey with cheese can go under water, and maybe even in the dishwasher.

CD
 
caseydog said:
If you go electric, be sure to get one that has a separate heating element. I had an all-in-one-piece electric fondue pot, and it was a pain to clean, since it wasn't submersible or dishwasher safe. With the detached ones, at least the part the gets gooey with cheese can go under water, and maybe even in the dishwasher.

CD
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Yeah the one I bought has a dishwasher proof pot.
 
Trying this for the first time:

91522
 
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