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[iar fach goch]

Well, our yearly summer fete is nearly upon us and the categories for the competition are out, item 1 - savoury quiche, item 2 savoury flan. Now I am not the world's best cook and will not be entering either (even though perhaps I should with my lovely eggs!), but no-one seems to know what the difference is , so I thought I'd ask you the experts. One of my friends wants to enter but doesn't want to get it wrong and be disqualified as she was last year because she put butter icing in her Victoria sandwich - oh the shame!

Edited July 8, 2009 by Guest

[majorbloodnock]

I don't think there is a definitive answer, but here's the best I can do.

 

A quiche is a pastry case filled with an egg custard and baked. That much is fairly well accepted. However, what a flan is depends on where you come from. In Spain, a flan is basically an egg custard pudding, such as a creme caramel. In the UK and the US, a flan is still an egg custard pudding, but can have a pastry case, although usually the pastry is cooked with the filling (rather than being baked blind as in the case of a quiche). Therefore, a flan in the non-Spanish sense is basically a custard tart.

 

So strictly speaking, there is no such thing as a savoury flan, except for the fact that common usage has introduced it into the language anyway and everyone knows approximately what you mean when you talk about it.

 

Sorry I can't be more specific.

[Milly]

I don't know - I have been looking for a basic quiche recipe I can adapt for different fillings and it's surprising how few books contain a quiche recipe. I tried looking for flan in case it was the English version of quiche, but it didn't help!

 

Of course, I have just realised I should have looked on here first.....

 

Milly

[majorbloodnock]

Well, here I'm going to crib from Delia, since she's the reason for many of my (eventual) culinary successes.

 

The basic filling is 10 fl oz double cream, single cream, yoghurt or milk (in decreasing order of desirability according to my taste buds - probably explains the waistline....) whisked into 2 already whisked large eggs (plus an extra yolk for a firmer set) and some seasoning (I rarely cook with salt, so pepper only in my case, but whatever is your taste). That's poured over whatever other stuff you've precooked and put in the pastry case, then bake at about 180 deg C until the mixture is set and the top golden (about half an hour). My preference is for a filling that's only just set, since it'll set a bit more whilst it's cooling down.

 

Delia's pastry recipe calls for 4oz plain flour, 1 oz lard, 1 oz butter, a pinch of salt and enough cold water to mix, but I've always used all butter for the fat content. The quiche as a whole benefits hugely from the pastry being baked blind for 15 minutes, otherwise the base will go soggy in the centre. I've also found that ceramic baking beads are excellent for keeping the base flat.

 

My favourites tend to be Mediterranean variations on fillings; bacon, roasted peppers, tomatoes, onion, olives and the like. However, broccolli and blue cheese also gets me wandering back for a second slice too.

[Egluntyne]

Here is a useful explanation, found on 'tinterweb.

 

Quiche

This dish originated in northeastern France in the region of Alsace-Lorraine. It consists of a pastry shell filled with a savory custard made of eggs, cream, seasonings and various other ingredients such as onions, mushrooms, ham, shellfish or herbs. The most notable of these savory pies is the quiche Lorraine, which has crisp bacon bits (and sometimes GRUYÈRE cheese) added to the custard filling. Quiches can be served as a lunch or dinner entrée, or as a first course or HORS D'OEUVRE.

 

Flan

1. A round pastry tart that can have a sweet filling (such as CUSTARD or fruit) or savory filling (vegetable, meat or savory CUSTARD). The pastry is usually formed and baked in a special flan ring, a bottomless metal ring with straight (about 11/2-inch-high) sides. The flan ring is set on a baking sheet before the dough is baked.

2. A famous Spanish baked CUSTARD coated with caramel.

 

Tart

Very simply, a tart is a pastry crust with shallow sides, a filling and no top crust. The filling can be sweet (such as fruit or sweet custard) or savory (like meat, cheese or savory custard). Depending on the type of tart, the pastry shell can be baked and then filled, or filled and then baked. Tarts can be bite-sized (often served as HORS D'OEUVRE), individual-sized (sometimes called tartlets) or full-sized. They can be used as appetizers, entrées or desserts.

 

Pie

A sweet or savory dish made with a crust and filling (such as fruit, pudding, meat or vegetable). Pies can have bottom crusts only, or top and bottom crusts or, as with DEEP-DISH pies, only a top crust. Sweet pies are generally served as dessert and savory pies as the main course or appetizer. Crusts can be made of a variety of mixtures including short crust pastry, PUFF PASTRY, cookie crumbs, MERINGUE and even, as with SHEPHERD'S PIE, mashed potatoes.

[Milly]

They are interesting definitions - but I wonder how easy it would be to tell the first three apart if served up on a plate! They all seem fairly similar.

 

Trouble is, I had hoped they would use more eggs.......

 

Milly

[majorbloodnock]

If you want to use up lots of eggs, how about some classic patisseries?

 

Last weekend, I made up a strawberry tart which was a sweet pastry case filled with creme patissiere and topped with fruit. Four egg yolks for the pastry and two whole eggs for the creme patissiere! Yup, half a dozen eggs for one pudding.

 

Family liked it, though, and the remaining egg whites went into a strawberry sorbet. I'm currently popular with my kids.....

[Lesley]

You could check if they are using WI rules? - they have very specific rules and are quite often used in competitions like these.

 

I once entered a pie in an apple pie section - all but one were disqualified as the WI rules state that a pie should have a top and a bottom crust - or just a top crust, I can't remember now.

[iar fach goch]

Thanks for all your replies, was going to ask the lady who'd created the list at a meeting this evening but unfortunately she didn't turn up! I think most are not going to bother with the competition whilst one or two have said they are going to enter exactly the same dish in both categories!

[iar fach goch]

Well, I presume that the organisers have realised their mistake and we have been told today that " to minimize confusion savoury quiche and savoury flan will now be one category." After all your hard work - I feel that I should make the effort and enter!

[Lesley]

Nice to know we were all right!

 

Definitely enter! - and we'll need photos!

 

Good Luck