Quedo fundido is dish of hot melted cheese in Mexican cuisine. 

It can be found on the menus of Mexican restaurants where it is served as an appetizer together with warm tortillas onto which the molten cheese is spooned. It can also be served as a party dish. 

Queso fundido means “melted cheese” in Spanish.

It is made from variety of traditional Mexican cheese melted which form the base of this dish, this cheesy dip may feature additional ingredients such as spicy chorizo, roasted peppers, tomatoes, onions, and a variety spices. 

Queso fundido is often referred to as queso flamedo, and while they are basically the same dish, exploring these dishes further would revealed a slight difference between the names when it comes to the the presentation.

In this post, we discuss the difference between queso flamedo and queso fundido.  

Queso flamedo is flambeed before serving

Queso flamedo is Spanish for “flamed cheese,” this dish gets its name queso flamedo as it is often served flambeed before serving. 

This involves pouring alcohol onto the cheesy dish and igniting it.

Liquors such as rum, brandy, tequila can be used for to flambe this dish.

As the cheese is flambeed, the flame also caramelizes the surface.

The flambeeing is usually done by the tableside right before it is served to the guests.

The cheesy dip is typically first prepared, and then it is finished with a flambé at restaurants by the tableside before it is eaten with corn tortilla or flour tortilla.

Queso flameado has a stunning presentation which makes for an exciting dining experience. 

The flambe process also gives queso flamedo a distinct flavor profile 

However, it is not always that this cheese gets flamed in front of an audience, and queso flameado is sometimes used to refer to this dish even when it is not flambeed.

Summary

Although it is the same dish as queso fundido, queso flamedo gets its name as the melted cheese dip is sometimes drizzled with alcohol and flambéed before it is served.

While in real sense they may both refer to the same dish, the real difference lies in the presentation.

Queso flamedo is typically made by the tableside in restaurants.

The process is brief, but the alcohol added caramelizes the cheese a bit which gives it an extra layer of flavor.

However, both queso flamedo and fundido are used interchangeably for both the flambeed version of this dish and the version that is not flambeed.