Elegant Soup Tureens
September 7, 2023
Imagine a dining experience where soups and stews are unveiled in vessels of grandeur, often taking the form of wide, deep ovals, adorned with fixed handles and crowned with low, domed lids adorned with their own handles. Crafted from ceramics, earthenware, or porcelain, these tureens came in various shapes—simple, round, rectangular, and even whimsically designed like birds or animals. Some took on a lavish demeanor in silver, set upon opulent trays or platters.
Originally, these culinary marvels found their niche alongside the Provençal-Catalan soup known as Oille. This hearty dish was created by simmering chicken, pigeons, beef, veal, onions, parsnips, carrots, turnips, leeks, purslane, swiss chard, and mangold together for extended periods. As the dish neared completion, bread would be placed at the bottom of the tureen, the poultry layered on top, and the strained broth poured over it.
In the era of Louis XIV, the utilitarian bowl transformed into an opulent centerpiece adorning dining tables. Concurrently, the Russian-style serving, where each dish was presented separately, overtook the French method of serving all courses at once, thus turning the tureen, which held the first course, into a ceremonial opening act for the meal. Silver tureens proliferated, becoming lavish investments, often gracing the canvases of still-life paintings of that time, as they were used to fund wars in the later years of Louis’s reign.
The 18th century brought forth whimsical renditions, with tureens fashioned to resemble vegetables and animals—cauliflower-shaped tureens and rabbit-shaped tureens, for instance. As creativity abounded, tureen designs and sizes knew no bounds. However, as societal dynamics evolved, this centerpiece of yesteryears gradually faded from common use. Yet, across Europe, one can still witness the tradition of ladling the first course from a tureen at many family gatherings, while history enthusiasts and collectors scour flea markets and antique fairs for rare specimens to grace their cherished collections.
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PADRÓN PEPPER
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