A gougère (), 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 re ...

, is a baked savory

choux pastry Choux pastry, or (), is a delicate pastry dough used in many pastries. Basic ingredients usually only include butter, water, flour and eggs (auxiliary ingredients and flavorings are also added). Instead of a raising agent, choux pastry employs ...

made of choux dough mixed 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, ...

. There are many variants. The cheese is commonly grated Gruyère, Comté, or

Emmentaler Emmental, Emmentaler, or Emmenthal is a yellow, medium-hard cheese that originated in the area around Emmental, in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is classified as a Swiss-type or Alpine cheese. Emmental was first mentioned in written re ...

, but there are many variants using other cheeses or other ingredients. Gougères are said to come from

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

, particularly the town of Tonnerre in the

Yonne Yonne () is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the river Yonne, which flows through it, in the country's north-central part. One of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté's eight constituent departments, it is lo ...

department. Gougères can be made as small pastries, in diameter; aperitif gougères, ; individual gougères; or in a ring. Sometimes they are filled with ingredients such as

mushrooms A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing Sporocarp (fungi), fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the na ...

, beef, or ham; in this case the gougère is usually made using a ring or pie tin. In Burgundy, they are generally served cold when tasting wine in cellars, but are also served warm as an appetizer. This delicate dish is best for special celebrations, such as parties.

History

While the term currently refers specifically to savory choux pastries, eighteenth and nineteenth century records suggest that it was once an umbrella term for a number of preparations, some composed of just cheese, eggs, and breadcrumbs.Pierre Larousse, ''

Grand dictionnaire universel du XIXe siècle The ''Grand dictionnaire universel du XIXe siècle'' (''Great Universal Dictionary of the 19th Century''), often called the ''Grand Larousse du dix-neuvième'', is a French encyclopedic dictionary. It was planned, directed, published, and to a s ...

'', 1872, ''s.v.'' gougère, though this may be an error The presentation was usually a flat circle, neither a sphere nor a ring. Earlier forms of gougère were more a stew than a pastry, including herbs, bacon, eggs, cheese, spices, and meat mixed with an animal's blood, and prepared in a sheep's stomach. In medieval France, it was a kind of cheese tart or pie. Later, it was unknown outside what is now Belgium, where it became associated with

Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Holy ...

. But it was also attested in

Auxerre Auxerre ( , ) is the capital of the Yonne department and the fourth-largest city in Burgundy. Auxerre's population today is about 35,000; the urban area (''aire d'attraction'') comprises roughly 113,000 inhabitants. Residents of Auxerre are r ...

(Burgundy) in the 19th century under the name ''gouere''.Jean-Baptiste de La Curne, ''Dictionnaire historique de l'ancien langage françois'', 187
Google Books
/ref>

Name

The word ''gougère'' was formerly spelled ''gouiere'', ''gouyere'',''

Trésor de la langue française The ''Trésor de la langue française'' (''TLF'', subtitled ''Dictionnaire de la langue du XIXe et du XXe siècle (1789–1960)'') is a 16-volume dictionary of 19th- and 20th-century French published by the ''Centre de Recherche pour un Trésor ...

''
''s.v.'' gougère
/ref> ''goïère'', ''goyère'', or ''gouyère''. The modern spelling appears to date from the 18th century. The ultimate origin of the word is unknown.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gougere Cheese dishes French pastries

History

Name

See also

References