the.com/flamb
the deliberate act of setting dinner on fire and calling it elegance
means To flambé is to douse food in a splash of liquor and ignite it, burning off the alcohol for a quick blaze of flavor and theater.
from A clipping of French flambé, meaning 'flamed' or 'singed,' from flamber, 'to flame,' which traces back to Latin flamma, 'flame.' The full word arrived in English in the 19th century as French haute cuisine swept dining rooms; 'flamb' is the casual, dropped-accent shorthand cooks reach for when the brandy's already lit.
- science
- alcohol burns off above 78 degrees Celsius
- origin
- crepes Suzette were reportedly flambeed by accident
- flavor myth
- the flame adds spectacle, barely any taste
- french root
- flamber means to singe or flame
- danger
- restaurant flambes cause real kitchen fires yearly
for instance
bananas foster — dessert flambéed tableside at brennan's restaurant in new orleans since 1951
cherries jubilee — flambéed cherry dessert served at victorian-era restaurants, made famous at le petit montmartre in london