A fondue pot is a great way to enjoy a simple yet decadent interactive dining experience. With a little ingenuity, you can enjoy a fondue experience without the expense or hassle of buying a professionally made fondue pot.
Pots
Choose a cooking pot or dish designed to stand up to cooking and high heat. Use a small saucepan and remove the handle with a screwdriver, or get a custard cup or ramekin (these are smaller and good for a small, two-person fondue set), or use a porcelain or glass baking dish.
Heat Source
The two best choices for a homemade fondue pot are tea light candles and canned, jellied alcohol fuel burners (such as Sterno burners). Tea light candles create only a small amount of heat, making them ideal for a small pot intended for melting chocolate fondue without burning it, but they don't produce enough heat for cheese or cooking broth. For this, use an alcohol burner.
Elevation
After you choose a pot and a heat source, build a frame that will allow you to elevate the pot above a heat source without cutting off oxygen to the flame. Make sure to use a material that's heat and flame resistant, as well as strong enough to hold the weight of the pot and the fondue.
For small and lightweight fondue pots, build a frame from an old coat hanger by bending it in a wood working vice. This is easiest if the pot you're using has an outer lip, handles or an edge that extends beyond the top mouth of the pot, as this will make it easier to hold in place in the frame. If using this method to make a frame for a tea light fondue pot, make sure to build a frame that positions the pot as close to the candle as possible, as a candle will produce just enough heat to melt chocolate, but only if it's very close.
Another good way to elevate a pot is by using an empty, overturned coffee can and create a variation on the "camp stove" design; use tin snips to cut an arch-shaped hole in the side of the can large enough to reach in and light your heat source. This design will automatically create a good level of elevation for a jelly alcohol burner.
Tags: build frame, alcohol burner, build frame that, enough heat, frame that, heat source