Customer Reviews

Swissmar Lugano Cheese 9 Piece Fondue Set, Red

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I ordered the Swissmar and the Le Crueset fondue because I wanted to compare the two. I was willing to pay the higher price for the Le Crueset if the quality and design etc. where there. After seeing both items, I will be keeping the the Swissmar. For full disclosure, I have not used either unit yet.

Swissmar:
The bowl is wide and shallow. Can use the bowl on the stove to start the melting process. Old school design, very traditional type of fondue set I guess you could say. Dual use burner; can use either alcohol or gel. The handle on the bowl is hollowed out underneath. In other words, the round handle is not solid. This is probably to help with the weight of the bowl because it is pretty heavy. The forks are long and have three prongs; the handles are wood and are black or very very dark brown. The handles do not have colored ends; they do not have any way to identify them for individual use. The iron stand and base are attached, they are one. The stand and base have a sort of antiqued look to it; the black on the stand I think is meant to look aged, or antiqued. The burner has a protective rubber housing on the handle so you won't burn your hand while touching the burner. The burner has "Swissmar" embossed on the handle. I happen to like seeing the Swissmar label on the stand. Moderate price.

Le Crueset:
The bowl is tall and deep. Can use the bowl on the stove to start the melting process. The set is much more contemporary and sleek. It requires a trivet or something for the unit to sit on because the metal stand gets hot. It mentions this in the instructions. The bowl rests tight and secure on the metal stand. The fork handles are a light wood with colored tips to identify individual forks; the forks have only two prongs. The burner is not dual use; it only burns alcohol. The burner cannot be removed from the stand with the bowl in place. The bowl has to be off the stand to take out the burner. High price tag.

While I tend to prefer simple and contemporary which is why I wanted to check out the Le Crueset, in this case I just couldn't justify the price tag of $150.00 vs. 85.00. Plus, I really liked that the Swissmar offered the dual purpose burner to allow fondues for both oil (alcohol> high heat) and cheese/chocolate (gel> lower heat). And actually, for fondue, I kind of like the Swissmar unit in that it looks (to me) more traditional and classic. I may be slightly persuaded of this because when I was recently in Sun Valley, and had lunch on top of Baldy at the Roundhouse, the fondue they served was in a Swissmar unit.

After returning from a vacation in Chamonix, I had to have a cheese fondue pot. This is the perfect size for our family of 5, we love it!

I have used this several times for dips. I love the fact that you can take from prep, to oven, to tabletop. I have only used it for hot dips so cannot comment on the fondue capabilities but I think it will work just fine for that. I usually use a couple of tea lights instead of the fire gel and this seems to work just fine for keeping dips warm. The pot is heavy but I guess this helps for heating purposes. I highly recommend!

Very nice heavy cast iron fondue set with cast iron rechaud. This is great for cheese fondue, and can also be used for desserts.
My set also did not come with gel fuel, and after a bit of searching found out that the burner is actually a dual use burner-- can be used with either alcohol or gel paste fuel. The mesh insert is for burning alcohol fuel. To burn gel fuel, the mesh insert should be removed and gel fuel goes directly into the base of the burner. Alternately, purchase the fuel cartridges to keep clean-up a cinch.
Overall, I'm very please with this set and would certainly recommend it.

Heavy, well made, and very even heat distribution. Everything I wanted in a fondue set. Have used many times and gotten nothing but compliments. The only thing that would make this set better is if they had marked the fondue forks with different colors so you could tell them apart!

Item states that it comes with gel fuel. Guess what? No gel fuel even though one pays for it. Best of all no credit either for item not included.
Fondue pot itself is of good quality, cast iron visible along the rim unlike Creuset from old times that was totally ceramic glazed. All in all a well priced product.