Quiche Vs. Flan, How Can You Tell Each Of Them Apart?

Pastries are a preferred delight. We love them and can’t have enough of them. Sometimes we can’t even tell the difference between pastries, but we still devour them any chance we get.

The Quiche and the Flan are both pastries. The difference between them is that a Quiche is an open savory pastry with a crust. The flan is a spongy pastry without a crust. One is salty, the Quiche, the other one is sweet, the Flan.

The flan is like a pudding made with milk and eggs, cooked differently, and served cold. The quiche is an open pie with a crust that you make separately from the stuffing.

The quiche’s ingredients are scrambled eggs with more ingredients that could be different vegetables with cheese and bacon. It is served warm or hot.

A flan is sweet and only has liquid ingredients, and you could only alter the flavor by using fruits and maybe coconut milk. It also contains a syrup that you cook separately.

The flan is deep and shallow, while the quiche is only shallow. Both require a lot of eggs but are prepared differently. Because of this, they look and taste different.

Looking for a Quiche and a Flan, you may also find yourself with a pie and a tart.

The difference between all of them comes from the crust and the temperature. Quiche and tart only use one crust and cover the bottom and sides.

A pie has a double crust, bottom, and top. The pie and quiche are served warm or hot.

A tart is served cold, and it is mostly sweet. Flan is a dessert that has no crust.

Where Do The Quiche And The Flan Come From?

The word Quiche was first recorded in French in 1805. A couple of centuries earlier, in the language of Lorrain Patois. A minority of people from Lorraine, France, spoke this dialect.

Other sources say that Quiche is of German origin. They say the word comes from “kuchen,” which means cake in German. Italy and England also have a say in the origins, not of the word, but of the baking of Quiche. There have been centuries of recipes for baking eggs and cream in dough in Italy. Using eggs and cream in pastry has been a practice in England since the 14th century.

In the history of the word “Flan” is where the confusion lies. A flan was initially a British cuisine that contained sweet and savory fillings. In Roman cuisine and the middle ages, you could find both: sweet and savory flans. They became very popular in middle age Europe during Lent, when Christians aren’t allowed to eat meat for six weeks.

The English word Flan and some of its earlier forms like “flaune” come from the old french “flaon.” All are coming from Latin with the initial meaning of flat or broad.

Nowadays, what we know as Flan, the sweet spongy dessert, comes from the Philippines. Some say it started in Europe, with Spain adding caramel syrup to the top. It has become an American dessert since the Europeans came to America. It is now one of the main desserts in Latin American cuisine.

It’s true that there was a time when quiche and flan meant the same thing—except for quiche never being a sweet dessert. However, Flan is now considered only to be the ice-cold, sweet dish we know today with caramel syrup on top.

Which Is The Best Quiche? How Do I Make It?

The best-known quiche, and oldest, is the Quiche Lorraine. Named after the French region it is from. The quiche is a reasonably easy-to-make pastry. Sometimes, people recommend using whatever you have in the fridge, putting it in a crust already made, and baking it.

The dish was considered a delicacy centuries ago, but nowadays, you can easily make it at home in a short time, and it serves a group of people. It is worth noting that the American chef and TV host Julia Child made the Quiche Lorraine famous for western audiences.

Julia Child graduated from one of the most famous cooking schools in the world. The Cordon Bleu in Paris, France. She co-wrote the book “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” and started a TV show in the United States.

“The French Chef with Julia Child” started in 1963 and lasted ten years. One of her more famous episodes in the PBS TV show was the recipe for the Quiche Lorraine. Child called the Quiche Lorraine wonderful because it was “foolproof and fast” to cook.

To make a Quiche Lorraine, you’ll need eggs, bacon, onions, cream, and cheese. Don’t forget the dough for your crust. Put the dough in a shallow baking dish. Cook the bacon and onions in a pan, and mix the eggs with cream and cheese in a bowl.

Put the cooked bacon and onions in the dough and pour the mix of eggs, cream, and cheese. Now you’re ready to bake. It should take about 45 minutes with the oven at 350 degrees (Fahrenheit) for the dish to be ready.

What Should I Avoid While Making A Quiche?

People suggest that you could make a Quiche by pouring the ingredients into raw dough and then baking it. But sometimes, the mix of eggs can seep out of the crust.

It is better to avoid this and bake the dough first, then pour the mix into an already crispy crust before baking again with all your ingredients.

You should also avoid using too many eggs. Mixing too many eggs in a custard with dairy and cream can make a quiche rubbery on the inside. Not having enough eggs would not allow the custard to settle.

A Quiche is regularly 9 inches. You’ll need three eggs and 1 cup and a half of milk to fill the crust for this one.

It would be best if you remembered to keep your ingredients as dry as possible. Aside from the custard, other fillings should be cooked in a pan with all moisture eliminated.

Do not leave the Quiche in the oven for too long. That’s definitely cooking 101. Keeping an eye on everything you put in the oven is common knowledge for even those who don’t cook.

The best thing about a Quiche is that it could be a dish for any given moment of the day. You can have it for breakfast, brunch, lunch, as a snack, or for dinner.

What Do You Need To Cook A Flan?

For a Flan, a Flan de Leche, that is, you’ll need white sugar, eggs, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and vanilla extract.

• The oven needs to be preheated. Set it to 350 degrees (Fahrenheit).
• You have to melt the sugar in a frying pan until it is golden. Pour this hot syrup into a baking dish.
• Mix 3 eggs with 14 ounces of sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and a tablespoon of vanilla extract.
• Bake for 60 minutes in the oven. It should be completely cool before serving.
• To serve, invert the baking dish on a plate.

Are There Any Classic Quiche Or Flan?

We already covered the Quiche Lorraine and the Flan de Leche. Those are the most notorious of each dish.

Another Quiche that you could make that is well known is the Classic French Spinach Quiche.

There’s also turkey bacon with broccoli. The Quiche Valerie is filled with vegetables, herbs, and lots of cheese. And the Deep Dish, a form of cooking that allows more filling in your Quiche.

Flan is still mostly made out of condensed and evaporated milk with eggs. There is not much variety except for one found in Latin America, specifically the Caribbean.

That flan is the Pumpkin Flan. Just imagine a Pumpkin Pie but without any dough for the crust—just the spongy custard made out of a pumpkin, eggs, milk, and cream.

Others have added coffee, chocolate, and various fruits like mango, pineapple, and berries to the established ingredients.

And, of course, you can find a vegan recipe for either meal.

So, In A Battle Of Flavors, Who Gets The Upper Hand? The Quiche Or The Flan?

Obviously, that is a preference. Sweet or salty meals, it depends on your preference.

But when one is talking about having the upper hand, the fact that you could have a Quiche at any time makes it a more demanded food. The Quiche is a perfect dish for a picnic.

You tell me which one you prefer: a quiche or a flan?

Conclusion

It is clear that centuries ago, flan and quiche meant a similar dish. Even nowadays, when you look for recipes, especially of quiche, you’ll find the author refers to it also as flan.

But flan has been for a long time a well-known dessert while quiche remains savory as a warm and hot dish.

Quiche has become a main go-to course for big celebrations like weddings, birthdays, or big get-togethers. Flan, on the other hand, is reserved as a dessert for personal occasions.