French onion soup ( ) is a
soup
Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot – though it is sometimes served chilled – made by cooking or otherwise combining meat or vegetables with Stock (food), stock, milk, or water. According to ''The Oxford Compan ...
of
onion
An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classifie ...
s, gently
fried and then cooked in meat
stock
Stocks (also capital stock, or sometimes interchangeably, shares) consist of all the Share (finance), shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporatio ...
or water, usually served
gratinéed with
croutons
A crouton () is a piece of toasted or fried bread, normally cubed and seasoned. Croutons are used to add texture and flavor to salads—notably the Caesar salad— as an accompaniment to soups and stews, or eaten as a snack food.
Etymology
T ...
or a larger piece of
bread
Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...
covered with
cheese
Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range 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 prod ...
floating on top.
Onion soups were known in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
since
medieval times
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and t ...
, but the version now familiar dates from the mid-19th century.
History
Onion soups have been popular at least since Roman times.
[ Onions, a widely grown and generally inexpensive vegetable, were familiar in France, as elsewhere, from time immemorial.][ ]Simone Beck
Simone "Simca" Beck (7 July 1904 – 20 December 1991) was a French cookbook writer and cooking teacher who, along with colleagues Julia Child and Louisette Bertholle, played a significant role in the introduction of French cuisine, French cooki ...
, Louisette Bertholle
Louisette Bertholle (26 October 1905 – 26 November 1999) was a French cooking teacher and writer, best known as one of the three authors (with Julia Child and Simone Beck) of the bestselling cookbook ''Mastering the Art of French Cooking''.
H ...
and Julia Child
Julia Carolyn Child (Birth name#Maiden and married names, née McWilliams; August 15, 1912 – August 13, 2004) was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for having brought French cuisine to the American pu ...
comment in their ''Mastering the Art of French Cooking
''Mastering the Art of French Cooking'' is a two-volume French cookbook written by Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, both from France, and Julia Child, from the United States. The book was written for the American market and published by Kno ...
'', "It is hard to imagine a civilization without onions". In general the onion was regarded as peasant food and the upper classes avoided it:[Davidson, p. 555] in the middle of the 18th century a cookery book by the head chef to a French prince included a recipe for "peasant-style onion soup" – . The food writer Waverley Root comments that the origins of French onion soup may lie in Alsace
Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...
, although the dish is popular throughout France and "apparently no region lays particular claim to it". Onion soups from other regions include the from Quercy
Quercy (; , locally ) is a former province of France located in the country's southwest, bounded on the north by Limousin, on the west by Périgord and Agenais, on the south by Gascony and Languedoc, and on the east by Rouergue and Auverg ...
-Périgord
Périgord ( , ; ; or ) is a natural region and former province of France, which corresponds roughly to the current Dordogne department, now forming the northern part of the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It is divided into f ...
and the from the Béarn
Béarn (; ; or ''Biarn''; or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in Southwestern France. Along with the three Northern Basque Country, ...
.
Although onions were plentiful and affordable by the poor,["French Onion Soup"]
''World in Paris'', 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2023 a medieval recipe in ''Le Ménagier de Paris
''Le Ménagier de Paris'' (; often abbreviated as ''Le Ménagier''; ) is a French medieval guidebook from 1393 on a woman's proper behaviour in marriage and running a household. It includes sexual advice, recipes, and gardening tips. Written in t ...
'', published in 1393, includes among its ingredients ginger
Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...
and saffron
Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of '' Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent ...
– rare and expensive spices – making this version of the dish one for wealthy households.[" Dégustation : la soupe à l'oignon, bonne à en pleurer!"]
''Le Parisien'', 21 January 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2023 In his ''Le cuisinier françois'', published in 1680, François Pierre de la Varenne
François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis.
People with the given name
* François Amoudruz (1926–2020), French resistance fighter
* François-Marie Arouet (better known as Voltaire; 1 ...
offered two recipes for onion soup, in the first of which the onions are cooked in oil or butter and then simmered in water and meat broth. Hard-boiled egg yolks are added, and the finished soup is passed through a sieve.
According to Alexandre Dumas
Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright.
His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...
in his ''Grand dictionnaire de cuisine'' (1873), onion soup was introduced to the royal court at Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
in the 18th century after Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...
's father-in-law, the exiled Polish King Stanislas, enjoyed it at an inn and insisted on learning the recipe. As reported by Dumas, it consisted of three main ingredients: fried onions, water and croutons. A recipe in the '' Dictionnaire des alimens, vins et liqueurs'', published during Louis XV's reign, is similar, but adds "a spoonful of good lean broth" before serving. None of these recipes call for grated cheese or gratinating.
A dining club called the "Dîner de la soupe à l'oignon" was founded in Paris in the 1810s. Its twenty members all aspired to – and eventually did – become members of the Académie française
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
. They met every three months, and every dinner began with onion soup.
The modern version of French onion soup dates from the mid-19th century, in Les Halles
Les Halles (; 'The Halls') was Paris' central fresh food market. It last operated on 12 January 1973 and was replaced by an underground shopping centre and a park. The unpopular modernist development was demolished yet again in 2010, and replac ...
, the large open-air market in Paris. The restaurants around the market – La Poule au Pot, Chez Baratte, Au Pied de Cochon – served the soup with a substantial topping of grated cheese, put under a grill and served ''au gratin''.[ According to one writer, the classic gratinée des Halles transcended class distinctions:
In Britain, a recipe for French onion soup was printed in ''The Cook and Housewife's Manual'', published in Edinburgh in 1826. It is similar to the modern version, with the onions gently cooked and then simmered in veal stock. The dish was introduced to the United States in 1861 at the New York restaurant of Henri Mouquin. More papers in Britain began giving recipes described as "French onion soup" in the 1880s, but the cooking liquid was either milk or water thickened with flour, and no cheese, crouton or gratinating was specified. In the first half of the 20th century onion soup bars became popular in London, around ]Piccadilly Circus
Piccadilly Circus is a road junction and public space of London's West End of London, West End in the City of Westminster. It was built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with Piccadilly. In this context, a ''List of road junctions in the Unite ...
, staying open all night to sell onion soup to late-night party-goers.
Ingredients
Recipes for onion soup vary greatly. Gently cooking sliced onions in butter or oil until softened and golden is the norm, but cooks differ about the cooking liquid. Beef stock is the most popular, but some cooks specify chicken or veal stock or plain water. Many cooks add alcohol to the cooking liquid, in the form of white wine, cider, calvados
Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples and/or pears.
History In France
Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Norman distillation was ma ...
or brandy.[ The cheese for the gratin is usually Gruyère, Comté or ]Emmental
The Emmental (, ) is a valley in west-central Switzerland, forming part of the canton of Bern. It is a hilly landscape comprising the basins of the rivers Emme and Ilfis. The region is mostly devoted to farming, particularly dairy farming. The ...
.[
]
Variants
Elizabeth David
Elizabeth David ( Gwynne, 26 December 1913 – 22 May 1992) was a British cookery writer. In the mid-20th century she strongly influenced the revitalisation of home cookery in her native country and beyond with articles and books about Europea ...
wrote in ''French Provincial Cooking
''French Provincial Cooking'' is a 1960 cookery book by Elizabeth David. It was first published in London by Michael Joseph.
Context
Elizabeth David (1913–1992) was a British cookery writer who spent some years living in France and other ...
'', "The onion soup generally regarded as 'French', with sodden bread, strings of cheese, and half-cooked onion floating about in it, seems to me a good deal overrated and rather indigestible"; she suggested instead another French onion soup, "Tourin Bordelais", in which the onions are gently softened in lard
Lard is a Quasi-solid, semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering (animal products), rendering the adipose tissue, fatty tissue of a domestic pig, pig. and then cooked in water, with egg yolks added before serving to enrich the soup.
The gratinée lyonnaise, originating in the restaurants of Lyon
Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
, is a more luxurious version of the basic ''soupe à l'oignon'', enriched with wine, bread, eggs and gratinéed cheese.[ Another French onion soup is velouté Soubise, in which puréed onions are blended with veal stock, enriched with cream and egg yolks and served with croutons.][Bickel, p. 94]
See also
* French cuisine
French cuisine is the cooking traditions and practices of France. In the 14th century, Guillaume Tirel, a Court (royal), court chef known as "Taillevent", wrote ''Le Viandier'', one of the earliest recipe collections of medieval France. 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 ...
* List of French soups and stews
This is a list of French soups and stews. French cuisine consists of cooking traditions and practices from France, famous for rich tastes and subtle nuances with a long and rich history.
French soups and stews
* Bisque
* Boeuf bourguignon - is ...
* List of onion dishes
This list consists of notable dishes and foods in which onion is used as a primary ingredient. Onions are widely used in cooking. They are very versatile and can be baked, boiled, braised, grilled, fried, roasted, sautéed or eaten raw.
Onion ...
* List of soups
This is a list of notable soups. Soups have been made since ancient times.
Some soups are served with large chunks of meat or vegetables left in the liquid, while others are served as a broth. A broth is a flavored liquid usually derived from ...
* List of vegetable soups
This is a list of vegetable soups. Vegetable soup is a common soup prepared using vegetables and leaf vegetables as primary ingredients.
Vegetable soups
* Atama soup – a vegetable and palm nut soup that originates in South Nigeria.
*
* ...
* Onion sauce
Onion sauce is a culinary sauce that uses onion as its primary ingredient. Some onion sauces may use several types of onions in their preparation. Some onion sauces are brown in color, while others are white.
Many various ingredients may be use ...
* Sop
A sop is a piece of bread or toast that is drenched in liquid and then eaten. In medieval cuisine, sops were very common; they were served with broth, soup, or wine and then picked apart into smaller pieces to soak in the liquid. At elaborate ...
* Vegetable soup
Vegetable soup is a common soup prepared using vegetables (including leaf vegetables, and sometimes loosely mushrooms) as primary ingredients. It dates to ancient history, and in modern times is also a mass-produced food product.
Overview
Vege ...
Notes, references and sources
Notes
References
Sources
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External links
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{{Soups
French soups
Onion-based foods
Ancient dishes
Vegetable soups