is a savoury French tart with a filling of cream, eggs, and bacon, in an open pastry case. It was little known outside the French region of Lorraine until the mid-20th century. As its popularity spread, nationally and internationally, the addition of cheese became commonplace, although it has been criticised as inauthentic. It may be served hot, warm or cold.
History
According to , quiches (sometimes spelled kiches) originated in the eastern French region Lorraine. The name may derive from the German , a term used for similar dishes. Originally a was baked with a bread-dough case similar to that now used for and pizzas, but in modern versions, shortcrust or puff pastry is generally used. In Lorraine it was traditionally served on May Day following a dish of sucking pig in aspic.
Ingredients
The classic ingredients for the filling are eggs, thick cream, and ham or bacon (in strips or lardons), made into a savoury custard. and David in particular was scornful of cooks and manufacturers who added it. She considered they did so for reasons of cost and convenience rather than taste: a classic quiche Lorraine, with only a cream, egg and bacon filling, is "quite tricky to get right".
upright=1.2|thumb|alt=French text, translated in the note to this caption|1901 recipe for quiche Lorraine, in [[Le Figaro]]
David placed the responsibility for the inauthentic addition of cheese with Parisian chefs. In 1870 Jules Gouffé introduced a version to which he added Parmesan, Attempts were made to restore the simplicity of the original dish: in 1901 Le Figaro printed a recipe that excluded not only cheese but also bacon, and in 1904 André Theuriet and a fellow native of Lorraine, Edmond Richardin, published another recipe that included neither bacon nor cheese, but in 1932 Marcel Boulestin, a highly influential restaurateur and writer, specified the addition of grated Gruyère, David cited a London cookery school where the students were taught to use evaporated milk and processed Cheddar for their fillings.
Among some recent versions of the dish, Anne-Sophie Pic's adds Comté, and Delia Smith's adds both Cheddar and Parmesan. No cheese is used in the versions by Lindsey Bareham, Felicity Cloake, Alain Ducasse, Simon Hopkinson, Thomas Keller and Dan Lepard. Anne Willan distinguishes between – made without cheese – and – with sliced Gruyère placed on top of the bacon before the egg mixture is added. In Britain, the stronger Cheddar was prevalent, constituting 15% of the quiche from Waitrose and 9% of that from Marks and Spencer (with a further 8% of Emmental). Ready-made American quiches Lorraines contained unrevealed quantities of "Grand Cru Cheese" (cultured pasteurised milk, salt, enzymes, potato starch and powdered cellulose) from Whole Foods Market, and unspecified Swiss cheese in Nancy's version.|group=n
The dish may be served hot, warm or cold.