Julia Child's French Onion Soup (2024)

FAQs

What was Julia Child's favorite soup? ›

Let's test her vichyssoise recipe to find out! Soup was one of Julia Child's favorite things to eat, and reportedly, her absolute favorite was vichyssoise.

Child's Boeuf Bourguignon recipe was featured in one of the earliest episodes of The French Chef and has become a classic among the many Child enthusiasts at GBH. In fact, GBH News host Henry Santoro concludes there's no better recipe for the dish.

A few sprigs of thyme and a bay leaf elevate the soup even more, but I take it a step further, adding a splash of fish sauce for complexity and depth—don't worry, it won't taste fishy—and a hit of cider vinegar to balance some of that oniony sweetness.

Myriad forms of booze can be incorporated into your favorite French onion soup recipe — from white wine, to sherry, to stouts — but brandy, with its full-bodied, slightly sweet flavor, truly takes the dish's flavors to the next level.

For their first meal in France, Paul ordered oysters, sole meunière and a green salad. Child devoured the meal, calling it “perfection.” Alex Prud'homme, Child's grandnephew and cowriter of her memoir, “My Life in France,” opened the book with this now famous scene.

Child's last meal of French onion soup was actually prepared by someone else; though, The Los Angeles Times reported when the news of her death broke. Though Child was in her own home when it happened, her assistant Stephanie Hersh was the one who had cooked the French onion soup.

If you don't add enough salt, pepper, or other herbs and spices, the soup may taste bland.

The caramelized onions for this soup cook more quickly due to a pinch of baking soda but still have that deep, slow-cooked flavor. Topping the soup with hot, cheesy toasts prepared while the soup simmers, eliminates the need to bake the soup in specialty French onion soup bowls.

What is the Difference Between Onion Soup and French Onion Soup? French onion soup is always made with beef stock. Other onion soups can be made with chicken, vegetable, or beef stock. Additionally, French onion soup typically contains wine or sherry, which isn't typical or necessary in other onion soups.

Sweet caramelized onions in a savory broth with a sherry wine vinegar gastrique, sea salt, topped with cheese and black pepper and sea salt croutons.

What is the best wine to use for French onion soup? ›

Wine is optional to deglaze the pan and add flavour to the soup. I recommend a dry white or red wine, such as a good quality Pinot Grigio/Gris, Sauv Blanc, Sémillon, Chardonnay, Merlot or Pinot Noir. Generally, if you can't drink it, don't cook with it.

The Onion Soup, a traditional and warming dish

It has even become a trendy dish that tourists are eager to try to experience French gastronomy. However, onion soup is in fact not part of French people's daily meals. It was originally meant to be eaten after a family reunion in the middle of the night to cure hangovers…

Where did Julia Child shop? Aside from the many French restaurants Julia would frequent, her favourite place to go was E. Dehillerin — a French cookware store in Paris. Established in 1820, this historic landmark was Julia's treasure trove of copper pots during her time living in Paris in the 50s'.

A Reine de Saba cake is a French, rich, sophisticated, chocolate cake made with ground almonds, rum, meringue and of course chocolate. It's topped with a chocolate ganache and can be decorated with almond slices. It's said to be one of the first French cakes that Julia Child ever ate and fell in love with!

Child -- put me and them at ease with her genuine friendliness and zest for living. She ordered a hearty breakfast -- grapefruit half, plain yogurt, fried egg, 2 strips bacon, toast with butter and preserves, orange juice, and coffee with milk -- and ate most of it despite constant interruptions.

3. She used an exorbitant amount of butter — even later in life. According to PBS, Child used a whopping 753 pounds of butter during the time she filmed "Baking with Julia." That program aired for just four seasons, from 1996 through 1999, so that's a pretty impressive amount of dairy.