Crutons

Croutons – this elegant foreign word hides a variety of croutons originally from France. From French, the word crouton is translated as “pink” or “crust”. A dried loaf with the addition of oil, salt, seasonings, fragrant herbs, various spices, herbs and garlic can play the role of an independent snack or become a good addition to salads, other snacks, and desserts. By the way, initially in the homeland of croutons, in France, these crackers were used precisely as part of desserts, that is, they can be both salty and sweet. It is interesting that real croutons differ in cooking technique from banal crackers and croutons, while the French and residents of other countries of the European Union have the opportunity to use bread specially made for this purpose to dry croutons. It is hardly possible to find this kind of bread in stores in Russia or Ukraine. However, do not despair, because, forgive us, the French, these fragrant, lightly toasted croutons can be made from any kind of bread, for example, yesterday’s loaf, which has already begun to slightly stale.

A little about the history and features of croutons

This type of toast was invented for serving desserts. Initially, toasted bread was used to present rare and expensive fruits and desserts to a large number of people with the least waste of a valuable product. In this case, the cracker played the role of a “foundation” for demonstrating an exclusive ingredient or dish, set off its taste and increased its calorie content. Thus, peaches, apricots, candied lemons were offered to the table.

Some time later, having appreciated the advantages of such a serving, culinary specialists began to present not only desserts to the table in this way, but also meat, fish, poultry, and vegetables. A little later, croutons became an ingredient in cream soups and mashed potatoes. Traditionally, for this type of toast, bread was cut in the form of cubes, but now there are no such strict restrictions – they can be oval, rectangular, oblong, rounded, because whatever the cook’s imagination can come up with.

If you still try to draw a line between croutons and traditional croutons, then the latter, for example, are made from white bread. You can also use rye or bran, although true French gourmets would probably find fault with the fact that such products are not exactly croutons. Black and gray bread is suitable for croutons.

It is believed that the most suitable type of bread for croutons is a baguette, so that the crust does not have to be cut off the bread slices.

Another factor that distinguishes croutons and croutons from each other is the method of roasting. If the former are fried, then for the latter, only slight drying, a slightly golden crust and an airy, not too hard structure are permissible. In addition, chefs advise using a sharp knife with a long thin blade to cut bread into croutons – this way the pieces will turn out neat, have an even shape and approximately the same size.

By the way, not only croutons themselves are called croutons, but also snacks served by them. Usually such dishes are served at buffet events. In this case, bread is cut out using a specially designed metal mold in the form of various figures, or it can be cut into traditional cubes. Then it is fried on both sides with a minimum amount of butter. Drying in a toaster without oil is acceptable. On top of the crackers spread fish, cheese, vegetable or meat platter.

French crackers are also prepared with the addition of flavorings, and when it comes to industrial production, not always natural ingredients are used. These croutons can taste and smell like garlic, cheese, ham, tomato, or spices.

Product Submission Rules

Croutons are eaten with the hands. For a buffet table, the dish is served on large plates or trays on large linen napkins. According to the requirements of etiquette, each crouton is taken separately with special tongs and placed in portions on the guest’s plate. Also, wooden or plastic skewers are placed in the center of the tray with croutons so that guests can take a portion of the dish for themselves.

Serving Caesar salad with croutons is considered traditional. It is decorated with dried croutons on top when the preparation is already over and the salad is seasoned. The cooking method differs from other crackers: a white loaf is cut into slices, after which they are kept in vegetable oil on both sides. Next, the pieces are cut into cubes, spread on a baking sheet and sprinkled with salt. They will brown in the oven for 5 minutes on each side. Cooked breadcrumbs should be crispy on the outside but soft on the inside.

Caloric content and composition

The product is a high calorie food. This is not surprising, because it is made from bread using butter, and both ingredients are by no means dietary. 100 g of the product contains 426 kcal, 10,1 g of protein, 9,7 g of fat, 71,1 g of carbohydrates.

The nutritional value of crackers is not limited to this. They contain vitamins B1, B2, B5, B6, B9, A, E, C, K, PP and choline.

Of the minerals and nutrients present: iron, calcium, fluorine, potassium, phosphorus, sodium, selenium, magnesium, copper, zinc.

Culinary secrets: how to cook and how to use croutons

Today, these French croutons are a popular ingredient in various salads, soups, appetizers, they are served with side dishes, broths, desserts are formed with them. As an independent snack, croutons cooked with salt, pepper, paprika, various seasonings and garlic are suitable. They will make an excellent duet with beer instead of the usual chips or salted fish. Sauces, pastes, pates and mousses are spread on croutons.

A simple recipe for making croutons will be of interest to lovers of savory snacks. Ingredients:

• baguette or loaf of white bread;
• several branches of dill;
• sesame;
• 50 g melted butter;
• salt;
• pepper.

The bread is cut into strips about 1,5 centimeters thick, of arbitrary length. Mix chopped dill and butter, add salt and black pepper. Pieces of bread are laid out on a baking sheet, which can be pre-greased with oil or covered with baking paper. The surface of the crackers is smeared with a mixture of butter, dill and spices, sprinkled with sesame seeds. Next, the dish is sent to the oven preheated to 180 degrees for 10 minutes. You may need to turn the croutons over once during this time – you need to navigate by appearance. The goal is a slightly golden crust, not brown fried crackers.

There are also simpler options where only salt, oil and a baguette are needed. Such croutons will perfectly complement, for example, a simple warm salad of tomatoes and croutons. It’s great for a light dinner or snack. For the salad you need:

• 2-3 sweet large tomatoes;
• vegetable oil for dressing and frying;
• white baguette or loaf;
• salt;
• Herbes de Provence mixture.

This recipe suggests cooking croutons in a pan, lightly frying them with vegetable oil, salt and pepper. At the same time, seasonings should be put in such an amount that the salad itself then does not need to be salted. Tomatoes are cut into circles or cubes, croutons are added to them, seasoned with vegetable oil (preferably olive oil). The dish is consumed while the croutons are still warm in it.

How about the famous French consommé broth? After all, crispy crackers also rely on it. The correct consommé broth is boiled for up to 7 hours, and clarified with the help of various tricks. Of course, cooking broth for 7 hours in a home kitchen is a tedious and thankless task. But it is quite possible to try to cook a “lightened” version, and to dry a toast to it.

For consommé with croutons you will need:

• 1 kg lean beef on the bone;
• carrot;
• 2 bulbs;
• dried celery root or parsley;
• Bay leaf;
• black peppercorns;
• salt.

For 1 liter of broth – 300 g of lean ground beef and 2 beaten egg whites (for clarification).

First you need to cook the usual beef broth with vegetables: onions, carrots and celery root or parsley. Cooking time is approximately 2,5 hours. The foam and fat that are released during the process must be removed. After cooking, the meat with the bone is removed, the broth is filtered into a clean pan. The mixture of minced meat and protein should be diluted with a cup of warm broth, after which all these ingredients should be sent to the pan with the remaining liquid. Within 10 minutes, the broth is mixed, and when foam begins to appear and the minced meat floats to the top, a hole must be made in its layer with a ladle. So the dish can boil without violating the integrity of the minced meat layer, and it will be easier to remove it later. The future consomme should be boiled in this way for half an hour, after which it is filtered through a sieve into a clean bowl.

Now it’s time to take out the dried croutons from the oven. For them, you can prepare several sauces, for example, mix hard cheese and unsweetened yogurt, add finely chopped greens, sesame seeds or poppy seeds.

A cup of hot consomme, fragrant croutons with spicy sauce – a recipe for those who want to feel “like in the best houses of Paris”.

A variety of French croutons, which are prepared from a special baguette with the addition of herbs, spices, sauces and seasonings, will drive any gourmet crazy. Croutons have become part of the national cuisine of France, however, in order to try them, it is not at all necessary to cross the border of your native state. With bread, olive or butter, salt, and a desire for culinary excellence, you can prepare the easiest version of this delicious appetizer. But you can’t get off with just a snack, because the product is an ingredient in many different dishes – salads, desserts, soups, meat and fish cuts, canapes. It is these breadcrumbs that adorn the world-famous Caesar salad and French consommé. Therefore, starting with a simple toasting of croutons, you can end up with preparations of higher levels of complexity.

Like any flour products, croutons with a beautiful foreign name “crouton” do not have a low calorie content, therefore, excessive abuse of them can cause excess weight and disorders in the pancreas. However, from time to time, you can definitely pamper yourself and your household with fragrant dried bread with spices – for broth, cream soup or salad.