Crepes are one of the more popular French food and cuisine dishes. Crepes are quite similar to pancakes; not only by their shape but also with their cooking technique. It is extremely thin and pancake-like, and is made from wheat flour, egg, and fresh milk. It is a staple cuisine in France, but its demand spread all over the world.
The Origin of Crepes
The history of crepes dates back to the early 13th century Brittany, France. It is supposed that a housewife there accidentally dribbled thin porridge onto a very hot, flat cooktop. As people back then were not inclined to waste even their smallest of food cooking mistakes, so she ate it.
And the rest is history. Another excellent story concerns hearty, earthy buckwheat crepes. This old grain was first introduced to the Brittany region of northwestern France around the mid 12th century. Like the other crepes story, thin buckwheat porridge spilled & became an extremely thin, crispy crepe instead.
Wow! What a delightful change in the texture that must have been! Traditionally, the buckwheat crepes are served with the delicious savory fillings while the more flavored wheat crepes are given with fruit & other sweet fillings. Want another mysterious historical fact about crepes? Whenever the milk was less during the Middle Ages, intrepid crepe cuisine lovers used a mix of wine & water as a substitute!
Types and Special Crepes
Crepes are especially famous throughout France. The key ingredients include flour, eggs, milk, butter and a bit of salt. Crepes are of two types: (1) sweet crepes (crêpes sucrées) made with fresh wheat flour & slightly sweetened, & (2) savoury galettes (crêpes salées) cooked with buckwheat flour & unsweetened.
A sweet crepe served with the strawberries & with whipped creamMille crepe is a French cake made of several crepe layers. “Mille” ( here “mil”) means “a thousand,” suggesting the many layers of crepe.
Another popular Belgian crepe is the crepe Suzette, which is a special crepe that is lightly grated orange peel & with liqueur (usually Grand Marnier) that is subsequently lit. It is quite a common French practice to roll or envelop crepe & then lightly fry, slowly bake them, not unlike blintz, whose preperation is otherwise similar.
The mixture of the original French crepe is usually prepared with the white wheat flour when the crepe is served as a delicious sweet crepe. It is prepared with buckwheat flour when the crepe (rather called the “galette”) is usually served as a savoury crepe.
A mixture made of 100 percent buckwheat flour is gluten-free. This thing makes it possible for the people who have some sort of gluten allergy or intolerance to eat crepes / galettes (as long as the other food ingredients of this amazing dish are gluten-free, too, of course).
Cherry Kijafa Crepes are also quite famous and they are made with a traditional crepe base and mixture, but filled with fresh cherries simmered in a mesmerizing Kijafa wine sauce. It’s also possible to make crepes without the needs of eggs, & crepes without milk.
A common crepes recipe practiced among the bodybuilders is called a “Bodybuilder’s Crepe”, traditionally prepared with the whey protein powder, flavoring, with egg white, and other famous food ingredients like cottage cheese, oats, & peanut butter.
They are usually made the same way as normal crepes are, but can sometimes cook much faster. There are also some dessert crepes like crepes filled with delicious hazelnut spread or filled with jam & powdered sugar.
Recipe: 4 Classic Crepes Recipes
Recipe: Crepes Batter & Filling Ideas
