''Garbure'' is a thick French

stew A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. A stew needs to have raw ingredients added to the gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables a ...

traditionally based on

cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.&n ...

and confit d'oie,ROBUCHON, J., & MONTAGNÉ, P. (2001). Larousse gastronomique. New York, Clarkson Potter. though the modern version is usually made with

ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term "ham ...

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During productio ...

and

stale bread Staling, or "going stale", is a chemical and physical process in bread and similar foods that reduces their palatability - stale bread is dry and hard. Mechanism and effects Staling is not simply a drying-out process due to evaporation. One i ...

. The name derives from the use of the term ''garb'' to describe sheaves of grain depicted on a heraldic shield or coat of arms. Thus the name of garbure, which is eaten with a fork, is a reference to the use of

pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

s to pick up sheaves of grain. It originated in

Gascony Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part ...

in the historical cultural region of

Occitania Occitania ( oc, Occitània , , or ) is the historical region in Western and Southern Europe where the Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes still used as a second language. This cultural area roughly encompasse ...

. It is similar to ''

potée A ''potée'' is a French culinary term which, in general, refers to any preparation cooked in an earthenware pot. More specifically, it refers to a soup or stew made of pork and vegetables, most frequently, cabbage and potatoes of which ''choucro ...

''. w:fr:Garbure ''Garbure'' was the daily sustenance of Gascon peasantry. It varied from home to home, resources of the cook, household income, and rhythms of the seasons. The dish is based on lengthy simmering of an assortment of vegetables and meats, generally meats preserved '' en confit''. The essential cabbage may be accompanied by

broad beans ''Vicia faba'', commonly known as the broad bean, fava bean, or faba bean, is a species of vetch, a flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated as a crop for human consumption, and also as a cover crop. Var ...

, fresh or dried, mangetout peas, potatoes, turnips, peas, onions, carrots,

celeriac Celeriac (''Apium graveolens'' var. ''rapaceum''), also called celery root, knob celery, and turnip-rooted celery (although it is not a close relative of the turnip), is a variety of celery cultivated for its edible stem or hypocotyl, and sh ...

kohlrabi Kohlrabi (pronounced ; scientific name ''Brassica oleracea'' Gongylodes Group (horticulture), Group), also called German turnip or turnip cabbage, is a Biennial plant, biennial vegetable, a low, stout cultivar of wild cabbage. It is a cultivar o ...

, beets, lettuce, nettles,

borage Borage ( or ; ''Borago officinalis''), also known as starflower, is an annual herb in the flowering plant family Boraginaceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region, and has naturalized in many other locales. It grows satisfactorily in gard ...

, or even chestnuts. A large tureen of garbure is often presented to the table in Bearnais restaurants at the start of the meal, and guests can help themselves to as much as they wish. Frequently the meal would end with a traditional

chabrot Faire chabrot or faire chabròl is an ancient Occitanian custom whereby at the end of a soup or broth, one adds red wine to the bowl to dilute the remnants and brings it to the lips to drink in big gulps. History Chabrot was usually performed ...

, which is a custom of mixing half a glass of red wine in with the liquid left in the bottom of one's bowl after eating the solid contents, and then consuming it.

References

{{reflist French soups Occitan cuisine Spanish soups and stews Bread soups

See also

References