Fondue is a communal dish typically served in an earthenware pot over a small burner. It is thought the practice of eating fondue arose many centuries ago in Switzerland. Swiss food staples - bread and cheese - were meant to last throughout the winter months, but the bread and cheese aged and hardened. However, when mixed with wine and heated, the cheese softened into a thick sauce. Families and extended groups would gather about a large pot of cheese set over fire and dip wood-hard bits of bread into the cheese, quickly making them edible.