Fondue is a Swiss communal dish shared at the table in an earthenware pot (caquelon) over a small burner (rechaud). The term comes from the French fondre (to melt) in the past tense fondu (melted) with gender added in the phrase la raclette fondue (the grated Swiss cheese, melted), hence shortened to fondue. A cheese mix in the pot is kept warm as a semi-liquid sauce into which diners use forks to dip bits of food, most often bread. Whilst cheese fondues are the most widely known there are other pot and dipping ingredients. Fondue is most often kept warm by a wicked or gel alcohol burner, or by tealights.