Flammekueche ( Alsatian; Standard German: ''Flammkuchen''), or tarte flambée ( French), is a speciality of the region of

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

, German-speaking Moselle,

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...

and the Palatinate. It is composed of bread dough rolled out very thinly in the shape of a rectangle or oval, which is covered with ''

fromage blanc ''Fromage blanc'' (; ; also known as ''maquée'') is a fresh cheese originating from the north of France and southern Belgium. The name means "white cheese" in French. ''Fromage frais'' ("fresh cheese") differs from ''fromage blanc'' in that, acc ...

'' or ''

crème fraîche Crème fraîche (English pronunciation: , , lit. "fresh cream") is a dairy product, a soured cream containing 10–45% butterfat, with a pH of approximately 4.5., p. 181''f'' It is soured with a bacterial culture. European labeling regulations ...

'', thinly sliced onions and

lardon A lardon, also spelled lardoon, is a small strip or cube of fatty bacon, or pork fat (usually subcutaneous fat), used in a wide variety of cuisines to flavor savory food and salads. In French cuisine, lardons are also used for larding, by thr ...

The name of the dish varies in local dialects; it is called ''Flàmmeküeche'', or ''Flàmmaküacha'' in Alsatian, or ''Flammkuche'' in Lorraine Franconian - compare (Standard)

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

''Flammkuchen''. All these names translate as "pie baked in the flames". Contrary to what the direct translation would suggest, ''tarte flambée'' is not

flambé :''Flambé is also a type of ceramic glaze.'' Flambé (, , ; also spelled flambe) is a cooking procedure in which alcohol is added to a hot pan to create a burst of flames. The word means "flamed" in French. Flambéing is often associated with t ...

ed but is cooked in a wood-fired oven.Helga Rosemann, ''Flammkuchen: Ein Streifzug durch das Land der Flammkuchen mit vielen Rezepten und Anregungen'' lammkuchen: A foray into the land of the ''tartes flambées'' with many recipes and suggestions(Offenbach: Höma-Verlag, 2009).

Varieties

There are many variations of the original recipe in terms of the garniture. The standard variations are: * ''Gratinée'': with added Gruyère cheese; * ''Forestière'': with added mushrooms; * ''Munster'': with added Munster cheese; * Sweet: dessert version with apples and cinnamon, or blueberries, and flambéed with

Calvados Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples or pears, or from apples with pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Nor ...

or another sweet liqueur.

History

The dish was created by Germanic farmers from

and the Palatinate who used to bake bread once a week. The ''Flammekueche'' was originally a homemade dish which did not make its urban restaurant debut until the "pizza craze" of the 1960s. A ''Flammekueche'' would be used to test the heat of their

wood-fired oven upA double oven A ceramic oven An oven is a tool which is used to expose materials to a hot environment. Ovens contain a hollow chamber and provide a means of heating the chamber in a controlled way. In use since antiquity, they have been use ...

s. At the peak of its temperature, the oven would also have the ideal conditions in which to bake a ''Flammekueche''. The embers would be pushed aside to make room for the cake in the middle of the oven, and the intense heat would be able to bake it in 1 or 2 minutes. The crust that forms the border of the Flammekueche would be nearly burned by the flames.Rosemann 4–5. The result resembles a thin pizza. After the annexation of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, the ''Flammekueche'' made its way as ''tarte flambée'' into

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarte Flambee Flatbread dishes Alsatian cuisine German cuisine Bread dishes

Varieties

History

See also

References