crème caramel

Homemade flan, Florida style

Crème caramel, flan, or caramel custard is a rich custard dessert with a layer of soft caramel on top, as opposed to crème brûlée, which is custard with a hard caramel top.

Both 'crème brulee' and 'flan' are French names, though 'flan' more commonly means a custard tart in French. The dish has spread across Europe and the world, and is known as 'flan' in Spanish-speaking countries. In the United States, the dish is now best-known in a Latin American context, so is called flan; in Europe, it is generally known as crème caramel. Food historian Alan Davidson remarks,

"In the later part of the 20th century crème caramel occupied an excessively large amount of territory in European restaurant dessert menus. This was probably due to the convenience, for restaurateurs, of being able to prepare a lot in advance and keep them until needed."^[1]

Preparation

Crème caramel is a variant of plain custard (crème) where some sugar syrup, cooked to caramel stage, is poured into the mold before adding the custard base. After the custard has set, it can be turned out, leaving a caramel sauce on top. Like all custards, crème caramel is made with whole eggs, milk or cream, and sugar. The typical flavoring is simply vanilla, however, there are numerous variations, including coconut, almond, pistachio, lemon, and many types of fruit. Another variation, very popular in Puerto Rico, involves adding a layer of cake to the flan. It is called Flancocho (flan-cake).

An imitation of crème caramel may be prepared from "instant flan powder", which is thickened with agar or carrageenan rather than eggs; "Royal" is a popular brand. In some Latin America countries, the true custard version is known as "milk flan" (flan de leche) or even "milk cheese", and the substitute version is known as just "flan".

Flan

Flan with cream (right), and flan with dulce de leche (left).

Under the name flan, the dessert is very popular in Spain and in former Spanish colonies in Latin America and the Philippines. Through Mexican restaurants, this name has become common in the United States, while 'flan' in English elsewhere still refers to a kind of open tart, as in French. The name 'crème caramel' remains more common outside the Spanish-speaking and American-influenced parts of the world.

Store bought Spanish Flan de Huevos

Geographical origin and use

Crème caramel may have derived in Southern regions of France and the Northern regions of Spain.^{[citation needed]} Vitoria and Toulouse, one a Spanish city and the other a French, are both famous for crème caramel. See also crema catalana.

Packaged crème caramel is ubiquitous in Japanese convenience stores under the name purin (プリン, purin^?), or "custard pudding". Often, an entire shelf in a Lawson or 7-Eleven is dedicated to over a dozen brands and varieties. In Argentina, Uruguay and some neighbouring countries, crème caramel is usually eaten with dulce de leche. Crème caramel is also common in Vietnam.

See also

• Crème brûlée, a dessert consisting of a rich custard base topped with a layer of hard caramel.

Bibliography

• Alan Davidson, The Oxford Companion to Food, 1999. ISBN 0-19-211579-0.

References

1. ^ Davidson, s.v. crème caramel

External links

• Recipe for Flan as originally made in Cuba
• Authentic Spanish flan recipe
• Delicious Caramel Flan
• Philippine Leche Flan

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Flan

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