French onion soup (French: ''soupe à l’oignon'' ) is a soup usually based on meat stock and onions, and often served gratinéed with

crouton A crouton is a piece of rebaked bread, often cubed and seasoned. Croutons are used to add texture and flavor to salads—notably the Caesar salad— or eaten as a snack food. Etymology The word crouton is derived from the French ''croûton' ...

s or a larger piece of bread covered with

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

floating on top. Ancient in origin, the dish underwent a resurgence of popularity in the 1960s in the United States due to a greater interest in

French cuisine French cuisine () is the cooking traditions and practices from France. It has been influenced over the centuries by the many surrounding cultures of Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium, in addition to the food traditions of the r ...

. French onion soup may be served as a meal in itself or as a first course.

History

Onion soups have been popular at least as far back as

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

times. Throughout history, they were seen as food for poor people, as onions were plentiful and easy to grow. The modern version of this soup originates in Paris, France in the 18th century, made from beef broth, and

caramelized Caramelization is a process of browning of sugar used extensively in cooking for the resulting sweet nutty flavor and brown color. The brown colors are produced by three groups of polymers: caramelans (C24H36O18), caramelens (C36H50O25), and c ...

onions. It was introduced to the United States by the New York restaurant of Henri Mouquin in 1861, where his wife Marie Julie Grandjean Mouquin was the chef. It is often finished by being placed under a salamander in a

ramekin A ramekin (, ; also spelled ramequin) is a small dish used for culinary purposes. Name The term is derived from the French ', a cheese- or meat-based bowl baked in a small mould. The French term is in turn derived from early modern Dutch ', wh ...

with croutons and Comté melted on top. The crouton on top is reminiscent of ancient soups (see history of soup).

Preparation

Recipes for onion soup vary greatly:

Though the liquid is usually meat stock, it may be simply water. Milk may be added. It may be thickened with eggs or flour. It may be gratinéed or not.
Robert Courtine Robert Julien Courtine (16 May 1910 – 14 April 1998) was a French food writer who also wrote under the pen names "La Reynière" and "Savarin". Background Courtine was a member of the far-right Action française during the 1930s, and was close to ...
, Derek Coltman, trans. (1973) ''The Hundred Glories of French Cooking''. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. p. 18. Marie Ébrard (1927) '' La bonne cuisine de Madame E. Saint-Ange'', Editions Chaix. p. 186.

Generally, recipes specify that the onions should be cooked slowly, becoming

. Brandy,

sherry Sherry ( es, jerez ) is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain. Sherry is produced in a variety of styles made primarily from the Palomino grape, ranging from light ver ...

, or white wine is added at the end to deglaze. The soup base is often topped with slices of (toasted) bread (a "croute" or "crouton"). For the gratinéed version, the croute is topped with cheese and broiled or baked. The soup is then immediately served in the bowl or ramekin in which it was broiled (grilled), baked, or—in family-style—immediately transferred to individual serving bowls via a ladle.

In commerce

Commercial

dehydrated In physiology, dehydration is a lack of total body water, with an accompanying disruption of metabolic processes. It occurs when free water loss exceeds free water intake, usually due to exercise, disease, or high environmental temperature. Mil ...

onion soup is widely available, and is the key ingredient in

French onion dip French onion dip or California dip is an American dip typically made with a base of sour cream and flavored with minced onion, and usually served with potato chips as chips and dip. It is also served with snack crackers and crudités. It is n ...

Alternative names

Some alternative names for the soup include: *Soupe à l'oignon à la Parisienne *Gratinée Parisienne *Gratinée des Halles *Gratinée Lyonnaise *Soupe à l'oignon Lyonnaise *Soupe à l'oignon Gratinée

References

External links