Crouton

Crouton

Close-up of croutons on a salad.
Main ingredients Bread, oil or butter, seasonings
Cookbook: Crouton  Media: Crouton
Croutons atop a salad.

A crouton /ˈkruːtɒn/ is a piece of sautéed or rebaked bread, often cubed and seasoned, that is used to add texture and flavor to salads,[1] notably the Caesar salad,[2] as an accompaniment to soups and stews,[1] or eaten as a snack food.

Etymology

Croutons in a bowl.

The word crouton is derived from the French croûton,[2] itself derived from croûte, meaning "crust". Most people consider croutons to come invariably in the shape of small cubes, but they can actually be of any size and shape, up to a very large slice. A croûton (crouton) is a diminutive form of a croûte (croute), much like a cigarette is a diminutive form of a cigar. Many people now use crouton for croute, so the usage has changed. Historically, however, a croute was a slice of a baguette lightly brushed with oil or clarified butter and baked. In French cooking 'croûte' is not only a noun but also has a verb form which describes the cooking process that transforms the bread into the crust.

Crouton. Derived from the French crouton, has been an English word since early in the 19th century, whereas two other connected French culinary terms, croute and croustade, have remained French...All these terms derive from the Latin word crusta, meaning 'shell'. Thus the outside of a loaf of bread is the crust or croute. Crouton, the diminutive form, usually refers to the familiar little cubes of toasted or fried bread which might originally have been cut from a crust...It first appears in French in the 17th century when it is described as 'a little piece of bread crust served with drinks'. In recent times, croutons are often added to fish soups, and occasionally to certain salads.
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Preparation

The preparation of croutons is relatively simple. Typically the cubes of bread[2] are coated in oil or butter (which may be seasoned or flavored for variety) and then baked. Some commercial preparations use machinery to sprinkle various seasonings on them.[1] Alternatively, they may be fried lightly in butter or vegetable oil, until crisp and brown, to give them a buttery flavor and crunchy texture. Some croutons are prepared with the addition of cheese.[3]

Nearly any type of unsweetened bread, in a loaf[1] or pre-sliced, with or without crust, may be used to make croutons. Dry or stale bread[1] or leftover bread is usually used instead of fresh bread. Once prepared, the croutons will remain fresh far longer than unprepared bread.

Gastronomy

A dish prepared à la Grenobloise (in the Grenoble manner) has a garnish of small croutons along with brown butter, capers, parsley, and lemon.

Thrifty cooks have been finding creative ways for using up stale bread since bread was invented. The connection between stale bread and soup dates to the Medieval times, when soup was served in sops (pieces of stale bread). French onion soup is classically topped with a crust of stale bread.

Dried and cubed bread is commonly sold in large bags in North America to make Thanksgiving holiday stuffing or dressing, although these are generally different from salad croutons, being only dry bread instead of buttered or oiled and with different seasonings, if any. Croutons, purposely spiced and gently toasted, are more refined twist on this culinary theme. Croutons could have originally been inspired by biscotti and other ancient twice-baked goods.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Ranken, M.D.; (et al.) (1997). Food Industries Manual. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 464–465. ISBN 0751404047.
  2. 1 2 3 Davidson, Alan (2014). The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford University Press. p. 233. ISBN 0199677336.
  3. ↑ Nargi, Lela (2008). The Farmer's Wife Comfort Food Cookbook. MBI Publishing Company. p. 41. ISBN 1610600525.
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