QUICHE – the most famous French savory pie, loved all over the world

Quiche can be found everywhere today - it is offered by all the best bakeries in the city, it can often be found as an appetizer on the menus of restaurants and bistros, and it is also often found in pastry shops. This French pie made of crumbly pastry with butter and a variety of savory fillings is now globally popular and loved and represents a great ambassador of French gastronomy.

The word "quiche" appears for the first time in 1586, in the records of Count Charles III of Lorraine, in the city of Nancy - the count would usually want to eat it on fasting days. However, it was only in the 19th century that it began to appear in cookbooks, as a recipe, under the name la Quiche Lorraine.

At that time, its preparation was quite different from the one we know today – with pieces of bacon, eggs, cream and cheese. In the beginning, it was prepared from white poppy seeds and onions, by soaking the poppy in water overnight, and then, with the addition of a little milk, it was ground in a mortar until a thick mixture was formed. Cream and onions, previously sauteed in butter, were then added to it. This mixture was used to fill the puff pastry, which was coated with egg and baked in a round mold.

At the beginning of the 19th century, quiche Lorraine was almost unknown in Paris. The large general dictionary of old and modern French cuisine (Dictionnaire général de la cuisine française ancienne et moderne) from 1839 describes it as a type of egg flan, the recipe of which originates from the province of Lorraine. There is also a mention of corn quiche, which was served with roasts, offal and various other meat dishes.

Before it became exclusively a savory dish, quiche also appeared in sweet versions - with sweet cream and sugar, with rice and vanilla or with pastry cream.

The bacon arrived later

Despite the numerous variations, the salty version with eggs and cream gradually established itself as the most frequently prepared and most loved. Pieces of dry bacon or ham entered the recipe only during the 19th century and have remained there until today. Quiche is today a favorite snack, appetizer or brunch all over the world - from Europe to Australia, and it comes with many different fillings, the basis of which are still eggs, cream and cheese. Various vegetables, mushrooms, smoked salmon, and mature cheeses such as Roquefort or Gorgonzola are added to them, and there are also vegan versions with tofu or seitan.

Be that as it may, we can safely say that what is pizza to Italians, is definitely quiche to the French. It may not be the best dish that this cuisine can offer, but it is certainly the most famous and loved in the whole world.