French Onion Soup from 1651

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Subtitles: Jose Mendoza | IG @worldagainstjose

PHOTOS

MUSIC
Corelli - Concerto Grosso G Minor 2 - Advent Chamber Orchestra, CC BY-SA 3.0

#tastinghistory #frenchonionsoup

[thebratqueen]

I appreciate how, unlike many recipes, you don't pretend that onions can be caramelized in 15 minutes or something ridiculous. That takes time, dang it!

[ChefBoyareB]

To see where this channel started to where you're at now, Max, is absolutely astonishing and so well deserved.

[katrichardsonwriter]

Max's little smile after the first bite says it all. It's always the first-taste smile that makes these videos perfect.

[kenyonhaff]

I made this tonight--it's delicious! As a historical reenactor I learn through doing, and I can definitely see why this would be popular: easy, simple easy to find ingredients, and makes do with stale bread. I love this channel--it neatly falls into the middle part of a Venn diagram of our love of history, food, and Pokemon.

[frankfilippelli]

Man, your linguistic skills are absolutely impressive. I know this channel is about food but I can’t help but notice how precise and eloquent you speak in every language, English, French, Italian. It’s kind of crazy and almost seems a little super natural the way you can just switch like that and almost sound like a native speaker of the selected language 😆 great job 👍

[NekoArts]

"Mind your onions" made me think of a story I was told by the headmistress of my elementary school many many years ago. She was one of those people who seemed to have had a very rich life and as a result always had an abundance of stories to tell. We all adored her at school as well so she always had a willing audience. Anyway, so in this particular story, she was living in New York in the US (she's Swedish) with a dear friend of hers. Apparently, they were living in a semi-rough neighborhood at the time and her friend had been ambushed by a robber on her way home from the supermarket. Carrying two large grocery bags in her arms, she did what any normal person would do in such a moment of panic and shouted in a strong Skåne-accent (it's a very strong dialect from the south of Sweden) "Röööör inte mina potäter!!!" ("Don't touch my potatoes!"). The robber was obviously confused and caught completely off-guard by her actions, most likely having no idea what in the world this crazy woman was screaming so he left without taking anything. It must have been almost 30 years now since I first heard that story and it's still one of my all-time favorites. Mind your onions and don't touch my potatoes.

Update: thank you for the likes and comments, everyone! I’m happy that Margareta’s story could bring a smile (and some laughs) to so many people. I’m sure she would be happy to know that her stories are still enjoyed even today as well. I don’t for a second miss school, but I really miss her stories. She was an amazing storyteller and just an all-around lovely person.

[JustineJacot]

As a French person born in Paris and who has eaten countless onion soups at home and in restaurants, I can't tell you how happy this video makes me! Hearing you speak French must be my favorite thing in the whole world right now.

[DiecastDreamCustoms]

My grandmother got stuck in Paris in 1940 (we all know what happened then, right?). A little Irish woman with a bad attitude would obviously stick out like a sore thumb, so she hid in a restaurant for most of the time she was there. She learned a LOT of recipes, not all of them French and brought them home with her. THIS WAS ONE OF THEM. I'm thrilled that you did this. I've learned a LOT watching your videos. Thank you for this. A lot of memories for me in that bowl. :) -Vic

[mrtoast]

I just got my copy of Tasting History and I love the way it's laid out. It feels like I'm reading a history book instead of just a cookbook, with historical images and sources for where the recipe came from (including a bunch of info about the recipe's history. Just like the simulations!). All the recipes (except for the spartan black broth) look like ones I would actually like to try out. The french onion soup is super good.

[desiredaniel]

What I really love is that you're still making videos of foods that will be in your cookbook; you're not hoarding them as a selling point- you're SHARING them as a selling point; so instead of a huge discovery of new recipes, it's like a sing-along for cooking. Though I have to say, it would be really cool when you mention new vs. Old recipes, if you made both and compared their flavor profiles for anyone who hasn't had that food before, or just to highlight differences in how the human palate has changed. So excited for your book release, and we're all so proud of how far this journey has taken you, and how much farther you can go- the sky's the limit!

[mypal]

I love how the bowl shrank but the slice of baguette is consistent when this soup evolved over the centuries.

[hungarianbaron]

In Hungary it is somewhat customary to serve french onion soup in a round bread loaf, and the other detail I noticed is that my own mother also creates this dish with milk!

[PokhrajRoy.]

Max has decided to be as French as Onion Soup. I love It! Also, nice to see us return to a milk soup recipe again.

[jakecavendish]

I made a long-forgotten onion dish I found in a book from 1667. It was apparently known in the 1300s as "Lady's Palfrey' and described then as "An Tyckke stewe of onyen rightly boilèd and none speedily groyned and gadrooked by nymberèd hyrbs dishèd in ye bodrundrum pot." The C17th recipe was similar and tasted more or less like eating raw onion despite being boiled in sherry for 10 hours. The person who wrote down the recipe added a poem: _Hebe's Lament, or, The Disparaged Maiden_ "I long to suckle on thy milk, O spicy tumour of the earth, fair trollop of the tillage realm, who can esteem thy fragrant worth?" It went on for 8 pages but with no cooking instructions.

[victoriagossani]

In my French family, it's a tradition to make an oignon soup at 4/5am the first January after a night of alcool for avoid a possible hangover. It's also a way to begin the year with something traditional, comforting and that bring all the family (and friends) in the kitchen around the cook, speaking (loud) about food. The typical French way of life.
By the way, thank you for this History lesson and I will definitely give a try to this recipe.

[acaliaaidras]

I just want to say a big thank you for taking the time to add captions for those of us who having hearing impairment. It's just another feature that adds to my enjoyment of your channel.

[janineduncan]

This recipe is almost identical to a family German-Swiss noodle recipe: boil egg noodles (probably spaetzle originally), pour over a sauce of caramelized onions and milk, sprinkle with caraway seeds, and serve. My German-Swiss grandmother made these often because they were a family favorite, although she eventually stopped sprinkling caraway seeds. And now I'm craving noodles. Thanks for sharing this recipe, Max!

[aariley]

😂🤣😂🤣 French onion soup always reminds me of a hilarious family story. When my dad was a teen, he and his best friend and their girlfriends went to the local drive-in. They had q very diverse restaurant and onion soup was one of those choices. My dad got the soup. Well it caused a hideous case of gas, but of course he didn't want to pass gas when he was on a hot date, so for two hours he held it in. His friend was driving, they dropped off their dates. Then dad let it rip. It was so bad his friend pulled the car over and threw up. You might be curious as to what movie was kid you not...it was "Gone With the Wind!" 😂😂

[g.b.s.]

Max - in a world full of division and derision, it warms the heck out of my heart to see someone like you just absolutely crush it while educating and enlightening. Super pumped for the cook book and thank you so much for bringing a few extra rays of sunshine in these darkening times. Keep kicking a$$ homie.

[patriot]

So I've followed your channel since about a month or 2 after you started it and I've seen every video you've made. I just made this recipe and it is absolutely amazing and I plan on buying your book Wednesday. Thank you so much for everything you've done with this channel. From one culinary history buff to another, thank you and I wish you the utmost prosperity in the future.