flambé
flambé Lexical Profile
• verb
To douse with a spirit such as brandy, rum, or liqueur and ignite briefly to burn off the alcohol and impart a rich, caramelized flavor (of food).
"The chef will flambé the sliced bananas with dark rum and brown sugar before serving them over vanilla ice cream."
• adjective
Served with an alcoholic liquor that has been poured over the food and ignited just before presentation.
"We ordered the crêpes flambé as a celebratory dessert at the end of our anniversary dinner."
Having a mottled, streaked, or flame-like iridescent glaze, typically produced on porcelain by firing copper oxide in a reducing atmosphere.
"The museum recently acquired a nineteenth-century vase featuring a rich crimson flambé glaze."
• noun
A dish or dessert over which an alcoholic spirit, such as brandy or rum, has been poured and set alight briefly before serving.
"The waiter prepared a dramatic peach flambé right beside our table."
A type of decorative ceramic ware, originating in China, characterized by a variegated, flame-like red and purple transmutation glaze.
"The collector specialized in Qing dynasty flambé and celadon porcelain."
Word Nuance & Usage
When used as an adjective in culinary contexts, 'flambé' is frequently placed postpositively after the noun it modifies (e.g., 'bananas flambé' or 'cherries flambé'), following French syntactic convention.
• Rhymes for flambé
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from French 'flambé', the past participle of 'flamber' ('to flame' or 'to singe'), derived from Old French 'flambe' ('flame'), which comes from Latin 'flammula', a diminutive of 'flamma' ('flame').
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.