Monday, April 7, 2014

F is for Florentine and Fond and Fricassée


Okay, so I couldn’t decide on just two for today’s post. This is an issue for other letters, too. Sometimes there are just too darn many good ones! So, I whittled “F” terms today to three. Believe me, I could have done more. So let’s get to it! F is for . . .

I must admit, prior to starting this series, I thought florentine merely meant adding spinach to a dish. Turns out it is more complicated than that. Okay, I knew adding florentine to a title meant to prepare it in a way traditionally used in Florence, Italy and its environs.

What I didn’t realize is that florentine means the fish, poultry, or meat would not only be served on a bed of spinach, but it would be covered with Mornay sauce. Or a florentine dish could just have cheese on top that is browned up. (By the way, Mornay is a variation of the Mother Sauce, Béchamel.

Just to muddy the waters more, there is a florentine cookie lacking both spinach and cheese. This cookie is a honey-nut wafer commonly coated with chocolate.


Many of us are fond of fond! Those little browned bits in the bottom of your pan are fond. In fact the word fond in French means “bottom”.  I’ll bet you do what I do with fond. I deglaze my pan with beer or wine (you could use water, too) to get up the bits that I add to the sauce I am serving with the meat. Some people only deglaze in order to make clean-up easier. No, no, no! Use that fond.

One could collect fond and freeze the bits to use later in soups to add depth of flavor. (Maybe have a fond bag in the freezer) Fond is a concentrated version of whatever you were cooking.

Now here’s another one of those words where the French use it in more than one way. Fond is also French for “stock”. You can have a white stock (fond blanc), brown stock (fond brun), or a veggie stock (fond de vegetal).


Lucky for us, fricassée has just one meaning: stew, and traditionally a chicken stew (although veal can be used, too). And the traditional fricassée is a white stew.

Fricassées, white stews, do not use braised meats. Cut-up meat is cooked in oil or fat over low heat and is not browned, just cooked partially through (thereby remaining “white”).

The meat is added to the stew liquid to finish cooking. A fricassée is often prepared with a white sauce, thus the name “white stew” stems from two sources.

8 comments:

  1. I am very Fond of the Cookie Florentines, and sometimes make them with dried fruit. It's very strange that I didn't realise that's what Fricasee was, and thought it was something to do with frying, so I'm pleased to have the correct explanation, thank you.

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    1. The stuff I don't know is kind of scary! lol That's been part of the fun, learning so I can clarify my own thinking/understanding, too. Thanks for coming by! Poke around in some of my old posts if you want recipes.

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  2. This is the kind of blog that makes my mouth water ;-)
    I didn't know about the Mornay part of Florentine, either -- like you, I thought it was the bed of spinach that made a dish "Florentine" Thanks!

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    1. Victoria, so glad you stopped in. I hope you found some other posts you liked! Isn't food stuff just too fascinating? I am loving this A-Z challenge more than last year's. Stop in again!

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  3. Eggs florentine: toasted english muffin topped with sauteed spinach, poached egg & hollandaise - like this one I made in 2010: http://bit.ly/1gFAULC or the chocolate coated 'cookie' version I made here: http://bit.ly/1enakHr

    Aren't cooking terms great! The word 'fond' brings back haunting memories of shouty chefs 'Ahhhhh fonds de volaille!"

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    1. Yes, James! I revel in the language of cooking. I am especially partial to poultry fond! Thanks so much for coming by. And even more thanks for the recipe. I can see myself serving that at brunch this weekend for my hubs. Hope you'll be back!

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  4. Oh my God, I am so cooking ignorant! You mean your supposed to do something with the stuff in the pan. Gads. Who know! And I've heard of Florentine but didn't know what it was. I'm getting quite the education.
    History Sleuth's Writings - Blogging A-Z

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    1. LOL, Cindy! You crack me up! I'm glad someone besides me is learning something. Good to see you back!

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