wag isnabin ang leche flan.. hehehe

Flan

The history of flan (and custard, a closely related recipe) begins with the Ancient Romans. Eggs figured prominently in many Roman recipes. The flan prepared by the Ancient Romans was quite different from the food we eat today. Their flan was often served as a savory dish, as in "eel flan," although sweet flans, made with honey and pepper, were also enjoyed. When the Romans conquered Europe, they brought their culinary traditions with them. One of these was flan. Both sweet and savory flans (almonds, cinnamon & sugar; cheese, curd, spinach, fish) were very popular in Europe during the Middle Ages, especially during Lent, when meat was forbidden. According to Platina's De Honesta Voluptate[On Right Pleasure and Good Health], an Italian cookery text published approximately 1475, custard-type dishes were considered health food. In addition to being nourishing they were thought to soothe the chest, aid the kidneys and liver, increase fertility and eliminate certain urinary tract problems. Creme caramel evolved in France.

"[English] Roman period...eggs took on a much greater importance in Roman times, when domestic fowl first became common. With eggs for the first time available on such a scale, it was now possible to consider them seriously in cookery..[the Romans] exploited eggs as a thickening or binding agent for other foods. They borrowed from the Greeks the idea of combining eggs with milk to form a custard mixture, which was either cooked very slowly in an earthenware pot, or fried in oil...Another kind of egg confection was made of fruit or vegetables, or fish or shredded meat, bound with eggs and lightly cooked in the open dish called a "patina." ...The "flathons" (flans), "crustards" and other open tarts of medieval cookery again recall the old "patinae," with the shallow open dish of the Romans replaced by an open pastry crust, and the filling once more mixed and bound with eggs."
---Food and Drink in Britain: From the Stone Age to the 19th Century, C. Anne Wilson [Academy Chicago Publishers:Chicago] 1991 (p. 138, p.142)
NOTE: This book has an excellent chapter on the histoy of eggs in English cookery (pages 137-148)

"Flan is an open tart filled with fruit, a cream, or a savoury mixture. A flan may be served as a hot entree or as a dessert. The word comes from the Old French "flaon," from the Latin "flado," [meaning] a flat cake. Flans have been in existence for centuries. They are mentioned in the works of the Latin poet Fortunatus (530-609AD), and featured in medieval cookery--Taillevent gave numerous recipes for flans. The word flan in France and Spain is also used for an egg custard, often carmel-flavoured, that is made in a mould and then turned out and served cold."
---Larousse Gastronomique, edited by Jenifer Harvey Lang [Crown:New York] 1989 (page 445):

"Flan is a term with two meanings. The one most familiar in Britain...is An open pastry or sponge case containing a (sweet or savoury) filling. A typical flan of this sort is round, with shortcrust pastry. It is either baked blind before the hot or cold filling is added, or baked with the filling. The filling, especially if it is a sweet one, may incorporate custard. In France, the term "flan" carries the first meaning as described above, but often has the second meaning: a sweet custard which is baked in a mould in the oven until set, when it may be served in the mould or turned out. The second meaning is the one which is used in Spain and Portugal, where flan is a standard dessert, and in many countries, e.g. Mexico, where either language is used. The second and very widespread meaning is the one which corresponds to the etymology of the term. The Old French "flaon" derived from the Latin "flado" had as its principal meaning a "custard." From the same Latin root came the Middle English word "flaton" and "flawn" from which much later came flan."
---The Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 305)

About flan in Spain
"Both Spain and Portugal also have a Moorish inheritance of very sweet egg-rich desserts, some ingeniously using up the egg whites left over from a pudding using only egg yolks--Pudim Molotoff (Molotoff Pudding), for example. Flan, caramel custard, the Creme Renversee au Caramel of the French, is universally popular. It may be flavoured with orange, if liked, but it is the traditional caramel custard that enjoys such popularity and is an equal favorite throughout Latin America...Quite literally everyone loves flan."
---The Food of Spain and Portugal: The Complete Iberian Cuisine, Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz [Atheneum:New York] 1989 (p. 264)

"...the Spanish sweet tooth is gratified by a range of dessert wines and liqueurs and special-occasion candies, some of almost Oriental sugariness. Almonds and honey are included in many of them Turron, or nougat, white or dark, soft or brittle, is exceedingly more-ish and is now a big industry in Jijona. The Arabic influences in candy-making are pronounced and candies such as amarguillos date from Moorish times...In the Spanish kitchen, milk and cream are commandeered for desserts, particularly in the north...The national dessert...is caramel custard, called flan."
---Recipes from a Spanish Village, Pepita Aris [Simon & Schuster:New York] 1990 (p. 124)

"...in looking for the roots of Spanish food traditions one must go back to the Phoenicians, who founded the city now called Cadiz in 1100BC; the ancient Greeks, and the Carthaginians...and more important, the Romans who used Spain as a major source of food, especially wheat and olive oil...Introductions by the Arabs were also of fundamental importance for Spain's future. They are particularly associated with the use of almonds (the essential ingredient for so many Spanish desserts, baked goods, and confectionery items); with the introduction of citrus fruits (including the lemon and the bitter (Seville) orange, without which British marmalade would never have been born); sugar cane and the process of refining sugar from its juice..."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 741)
[NOTE: this book has plenty of information on the history of almonds, citrus, sugar cane etc. Ask your librarian to help you find a copy.]

How to pronounce the word flan? That depends upon which language you speak. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the English pronunciation is expressed as "flaen," which would rhyme with "man." According to the Food Lover's Companion, Sharon Tyler Herbst, 3rd edition (p. 237) the correct pronuncation is "flahn," which would rhyme with "balm." More pronuncations here.

Historic recipes for flan (adapted for modern kitchens):

* Ancient Rome: Tiropatinam
* 15th century, England: A Flaune of Almayne
* 16th century, France: Flaon Cochus

If you are conducting an extensive project on the origins of flan, ask your librarian to help you find books on Ancient Roman and Medieval European food history and reprints of period cookbooks. Check the indices for flan, custard and darioles. This will give you a better understanding of the types of flans and typical ingredient combinations that were prepared during these periods. You might also compare/contrast them with today's recipes. Think about this: if you were a French noble from 1475 dining in a restaurant today would you recognize the flan served at the end of your meal? http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodpuddings.html#flan