French onion soup
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French onion soup is an onion and beef broth based soup with croutons and cheese as toppings. Onion soups have been popular at least as far back as Roman times. They were, throughout history, seen as food for the poor people. The modern version of this soup originates in France in the 17th century, made from dry bread or croutons, beef broth, and caramelized onions. It is often broiled in a ramekin traditionally with Gruyère melted on top. The crouton on top is reminiscent of ancient sops (see "Early history" section of soup).
The rich flavor of the base is not due just to the broth, but to the caramelized onions. Caramelization, in this case, is the procedure in which the onions are cooked slowly until the melting sugars slightly burn, thus causing browning. This can be accomplished within half an hour, but many chefs and cooks allow for hours of cooking to bring out the complex flavors of the onions' sugars. In the final stages of cooking, cognac or sherry is often used to enhance the caramelized onion flavor and to deglaze the pan.
The base is usually topped with the crouton, which will be very dry and crusty to allow it to withstand lying on the soup surface while baked or broiled with a good melting cheese on top. The soup is then served in the bowl or ramekin in which it was broiled or baked.
"In this instance this soup's creation is credited to King Louis XV of France, who, it is said had returned late one night to his hunting lodge, to find nothing more in the larder than onions, butter and champagne. Creative cook that he was, he mixed them together, and voila, the first French onion soup."
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The editors of Saveur Magazine comment in their book, "Saveur Cooks Authentic French" that:
- "An oft-repeated culinary legend not-withstanding, it is extremely unlikely soupe à l'oignon was invented by Louis XIV (who concocted it, according to one story, with champagne!). Nor did the soup necessarily originate in Lyon, despite the fact that the region is famous for its onions (and that dishes cooked à la lyonnaise inevitably contain them). According to Dr. Paul Henry, a respected Lyonnais historian, the origins of the soup are probably quite pedestrian. Until relatively recently in rural France, soup was a staple of every household, kept simmering on the stove and eaten daily, often for breakfast. It was made of anything that was cheap, or grew plentifully in the garden — and the onion certainly qualified. It also had the virtue of being available most of the year — and was one of the more flavorful of vegetables. "The addition of cheese to the soup and its evolution to a 'gratinée'," adds Henry, "would probably have come from the Savoie, where cheese is often used in cooking."
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