1 pound imported Swiss cheese, cubed 3/4 cup scuppernong or other American white wine 1-1/2 jiggers applejack

After marinating the Swiss cubes in the wine, simply melt together over hot water, stir until soft and creamy, add the applejack and dunk with fingers of toast or your own to a chorus of “All Bound Round with a Woolen String.”

Of course, this can be treated as a mere vinous Welsh Rabbit and poured over toast, to be accompanied by beer.  But wine is the thing, for the French Fondue is to dry wine what the Rabbit is to stale ale or fresh beer.

We say French instead of Swiss because the French took over the dish so eagerly, together with the great Gruyere that makes it distinctive.  They internationalized it, sent it around the world with bouillabaisse and onion soup, that celestial soupe a l’oignon on which snowy showers of grated Gruyere descend.

To put the Welsh Rabbit in its place they called it Fondue a l’Anglaise, which also points up the twinlike relationship of the world’s two favorite dishes of melted cheese.  But to differentiate and show they are not identical twins, the No. 1 dish remained Fromage Fondue while the second was baptized Fromage Fondue a la Biere.

Beginning with Savarin the French whisked up more rapturous, rhapsodic writing about Gruyere and its offspring, the Fondue, together with the puffed Souffle, than about any other imported cheese except Parmesan.

Parmesan and Gruyere were praised as the two greatest culinary cheeses.  A variant Fondue was made of the Italian cheese.

 Parmesan Fondue

3 tablespoons butter 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese 4 eggs, lightly beaten Salt Pepper

     Over boiling water melt butter and cheese slowly, stir in the
     eggs, season to taste and stir steadily in one direction only,
     until smooth.

     Pour over fingers of buttered toast.  Or spoon it up, as the
     ancients did, before there were any forks.  It’s beaten with a
     fork but eaten catch-as-catch-can, like chicken-in-the-rough.

 Sapsago Swiss Fondue

2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1-1/2 cups milk 2-1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese 2-1/2 tablespoons grated Sapsago 1/2 cup dry white wine Pepper, black and red, freshly ground Fingers of toast

Over boiling water stir the first four ingredients into a smooth, fairly thick cream sauce.  Then stir in Swiss cheese until well melted.  After that add the Sapsago, finely grated, and wine in small splashes.  Stir steadily, in one direction only, until velvety.  Season sharply with the contrasting peppers and serve over fingers of toast.

This is also nice when served bubbling in individual, preheated pastry shells, casseroles or ramekins, although this way most of the fun of the dunking party is left out.  To make up for it, however, cooked slices of mushrooms are sometimes added.