Quiche - What Is It And How Do You Make A Quiche Lorraine

Quiche is known as a French dish but it actually came from Germany. There is an area that is directly between France and Germany that was called Lorraine, now known as Alsace-Lorraine. Hundreds of years ago the land was owned by Germany and was the kingdom of  Lothringen. This valuable and highly desired border real estate changed hands between Germany and France many, many times since the medieval times and is now in the hands of France. Alsace-Lorraine is where quiche was invented under German rule.

Quiche began as the German word ‘kuchen’ which simply meant cake. The pronunciation of the word changed several times and finally ended up as the French quiche.

In French cooking, quiche has a pastry crust made with eggs, and cream or milk made into a custard base and then baked. The shell is always baked before the ingredients are added and then baked a second time. Just about anything can, and is, added to the baked shell, such as vegetables, cheese or meat. These are added before the quiche is baked, of course. Quiche does not have a pastry covering, but is known as an open pie.

Quiche is generally thought of as a breakfast dish although it is now popular as an anytime dish. Lunch and dinner often times see quiche as a main serving dish. Quiche is also served as an anytime snack. Quiche is a truly simple and quick dish to prepare. Below is a recipe for classic Quiche Lorraine.

Ingredients for a nine-inch pie:

1 nine-inch pie pastry crust

1 cup shredded cheese (Swiss preferably)

10 – 12 slices bacon

4 eggs (beaten)

1/3 cup onion (minced)

2 cups light cream

¼ tsp sugar

¾ tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper (cayenne)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Fry bacon until crisp over medium heat.

Drain excess grease from bacon then chop into course bits.

Add cheese, bacon and onion into pastry shell.

In a separate container, whisk cream, eggs, sugar, salt, and cayenne pepper together. Pour these ingredients over the bacon, cheese and onion.

Bake 15 minutes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Then lower heat and bake another 30 minutes at 300 degrees Fahrenheit. The quiche is done when you can stick a knife into the pie one inch from the edge and the knife comes out clean. Let quiche sit for at least ten minutes before slicing.

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