from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
Chaussons
Photograph
courtesy of Kurman Communications, Inc.
www.flickr.com/photos/kurmanphotos/15360387498/
Your breakfast menu may offer Chausson aux Pommes, a warm or hot, apple pie and a light lunch menu may be a Chausson au Jambon et Fromage, a hot ham and cheese pie. The dessert menu may offer a Chausson aux Poires, a pear pie. A bistro dinner menu may suggest a Chausson aux Pommes et au Boudin Noir, a Chausson with apple and black pudding.
N.B. Chausson in French also means slippers, the ones you may wear at home, or possibly to a ballet class, so be careful where and when you ask for Chaussons.
Chaussons = Slippers.
Be careful what you order
Photograph courtesy of ruurmo
www.flickr.com/photos/rufino_uribe/182618037/
A Chausson is much more than what some guidebook translations call a turnover. Turnovers are usually made with phyllo or filo pastry. To begin with and a Chausson is not made with phyllo pastry. A chausson will be made with the flaky French puff pastry called pâte choux or with pâte feuilletée. The pastry used depends on the filling. In any case, the difference between the pastry used for a Chausson and phyllo pastry is not in the outside appearance; the difference is in the amount of butter used, the taste, and the texture.
A few of the many Chaussons that may be on your menu:
Chaussons aux Cerises – Chaussons filled with cherries
Chausson aux Champignons – Chaussons filled with button mushrooms
Chaussons au Fromage et Lardons – A chausson filled with cheese and bacon pieces.
Chausson au Jambon - A Chausson filled with ham; usually, this is the ham used in ham sandwiches. This ham is called Jambon Blanc, white ham, or Jambon de Paris, in France. If Cured ham, Jambon Sec, is used, it will undoubtedly be noted on the menu. Cured hams are called dry-cured hams in the UK and country hams in North America.
Chaussons au Magret de Canard – Chaussons filled with sliced duck breast.
Chaussons au Poulet – Chaussons filled with chicken.
Chausson de Poires au Chocolat - A chausson with pears, served with a chocolate sauce.
Apple chaussons.
Photograph
courtesy of fugzu
www.flickr.com/photos/70253321@N00/8631650608/
Chaussons au Thon – Chaussons with tuna.
Chaussons aux Pommes – Chaussons with apples.
Chaussons on sale in a patisserie.
Photograph courtesy of Jean-Pierre
www.flickr.com/photos/cjp24/5965450395/
Chausson Camembert-Bacon – A Chausson filled with Camembert cheese wrapped in bacon and cooked together. In France, the word bacon and the word lard both mean bacon. Lard does not mean pig fat in French; that would be saindoux.
Chaussons
stuffed with ground beef and gruyere
cheese.
Photograph
courtesy of Notre Famille enfant .com
Chausson de Reblochon sur Lit de Salade - A chausson filled with Reblochon cheese and served on a bed of salad greens.
Chausson Feuilleté de Courgette et
Jambon – A chausson
made with interleaved
slices of courgettes and boiled ham. (The courgette is called by the
same name in the UK while in the USA it is a zucchini).
Le Barbajuan.
Le Barbajuan - A small Chausson, claimed as their own by both Nice, Monaco, and Menton. They call them a small Chausson, but they are mostly seen when deep-fried. I enjoyed one in Monte Carlo, and it was delicious but very different. Since this is deep-fried in the rest of France, it would usually be called a Beignet, not a Chausson.
Barbajuans
Left to right: Swiss chard, squash (pumpkin), leeks
and courgettes
(USA Zucchini), goat’s
cheese and chorizo
sausages.
The puff-pastry used to make chaussons will usually be Pâte Choux but occasionally Pâte Levée Feuilletée may be used.
Pâte Choux– One of France’s most popular puff pastries and it is the puff pastry used for éclairs, chou à la crème, chaussons and profiteroles, etc.
Pâte Levée Feuilletée or Pâte à Croissants – The yeast-based dough made for croissants. The difference between Pâte Levée Feuilletée and Pâte Feuilletée is the yeast used. Frozen pastry for croissants is available in the supermarkets; however, you will enjoy your croissant much more if you buy them already made where a trained pastry chef will make their own pâte levée feuilletée, and that will contain over 40% - 50% butter by weight!
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Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
Copyright 2010, 2016, 2021
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Thanks for the photo credit. Cindy Kurman, Kurman Communications, Inc.
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