Oils to Use for Fondue Cooking

Hot oil fondue, or fondue bourguignone, is a step up from your normal cheese or chocolate fondues. You can cook bite size pieces of meat, like chicken, steak, meatballs or lamb, quickly and tastefully. Fondue dinners are a way to have a small intimate party or a romantic evening that allows the host to sit back and enjoy the dinner instead of running back and forth to the kitchen.

It is essential to know the smoking point of the oil with which you are going to fondue. Smoking point means the temperature that the oil can heat up to before it starts filling your kitchen with smoke. The less refined the oil is the lower the smoking point will be and vice versa. The smoking point you want depends on what kind of cooking you will be doing. In this case, fondue requires the oil to be heated quite high, therefore you will want to choose an oil that has a high smoking point. If you choose a low smoking point oil for fondue, the results will still be delicious; it will just have a smokier flavor.

Canola oil has little flavor and will not add much enhancement to your meat; however it has a high enough smoke point to be good choice for fondue. Peanut and safflower oil are high in saturated fats and will add a lot of robust flavor to your meats; these also have higher smoking points.

Olive oil is full of rich flavor and comes in a wide range of variety. This type is a monounsaturated oil that is a slightly healthier option. It will enhance the flavor of your meat. Extra virgin olive oil has fewer impurities, which means it is highly refined and has a higher smoking point than regular olive oil. For a lighter fondue dish with a savory flavor, use extra virgin olive oil.

Grapeseed oil has the highest smoking point out of all of the common oils. It is the healthiest as well. This light oil will give your meats a fruity flavor that is not overbearing.