Why did I get scolded when I made my Quiche Lorraine with cheese in it?

When you see on a menu in the United States “Quiche Lorraine” This is usually an egg and cheese pie baked with ham or bacon. A variation has sauteed onions. Generic quiche can be chock full of goodies. The original recipe for Quiche Lorraine was not so. It is mainly just eggs and cream and French style bacon known as Lardoons.

Perhaps one of the mystifying things about Quiche Lorraine to me was why the folks from Lorraine, France, are so adamant that their quiche  shouldn’t  have CHEESE, and sometimes not even ham or bacon or the “lardon”,French style bacon strips traditional in Lorraine.  It seemed dour …just a bland omelet in a pie shell.

However after having this plain old egg tart in the style of Lorraine I was amazed at the delicate texture of the custard. I wouldn’t want a bunch of stuff in it, as it would overwhelm, and for the same reason, why I don’t like M and M’s and Bubble gum and other candy stuff in my ice cream, that interfere with the mouth feel of delicate texture.

What does the Lorraine stand for?

Lorraine is a state in France that at one time was German called Lothringen.
Today in Germany this dish is called Lothringer Speckkuchen

How do you get Lorraine from Lothringen?

Medallion believed to be of Lothar

Lothar was the great grandson of Charlemagne, the holy roman emporer
Lothar was the Frankish king and ruler of the area known as Lorraine today
for centuries it was known as Lothraingia. Lorraine is the femmine version of Lothar,
and means from the land of Lothar.

The history of this area in Eastern France, because of it's geographical location,
has decided the history of Europe, according to many historians.
Here is more about this history if your interested.

Where does the word Quiche come from?

Also spelled Kishe, but seldom,  and derived from Kuche (look up Flammenk¨che) and called Kuchen back when Lorraine was German  territory known as Lothringen and is a word for cake

German Roots of Quiche Lorraine

Going way back to Roman times we find tarts made of egg and cheese called patina . The Roman empire controlled the area of Germany and this area called Alsace Lorraine in medieval times, before it became French.

Maybe why original Quiche Lorraine was so plain to begin with?

I have wondered when I saw many of the true Quiche Lorraine’s they were mostly just egg. Like a plain omlet in crust with a few bits of ham or bacon. If you taste them they are anything but bland and the texture of the eggs baked with cream is divine. However possibley the reason the tradition of being plain started is because back in Medieval Christian times every season had 3 meatless days called “Ember Days” and eventurally 4. Simple meatless foods were cooked to remind us not to live in excess, and share with the poor. There are even recipes for “Ember Day Tart”. What does Ember have to do with a meatless day? Ember is a derivation of a latin religious term.

the references for this are all over the internet if you search for
Ember Day Tart.

Being called Quiche Lorraine is a fairly recent thing

This was probably just referred to as an egg tart just as a Philadelphia cheese steak IN philadelphia is just known as a cheese steak, and in Canada , Canadian bacon is known only  as back bacon. 

While similar dishes were cooked all over Europe this became a specialty in Lorraine. Why Lorraine? I am not sure but the name sounds beautiful. Their neighbor Alsace also has an Alsatian Quiche where onions are the main filling but it never became a house hold term like Quiche Lorraine.

As with other dishes like Pizza, Quiche Lorraine was barely heard of until after WW2 when the soldiers wanted this dish they had in Alsace-Lorraine. It was very popular in the 60’s and 70’s until the cholesterol awareness dampened it a bit. Also the book “Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche” may of had an effect.

Instead of me showing you how to make Quiche Lorraine,
I will let the masters show you,