Flambé
/flÉÌËbeÉȘ/noun
Prepared or served by being briefly ignited with alcohol, or marked with a flame-like finish.
Did you know?FlambĂ© comes from French flamber, âto flame,â ultimately from a word family tied to fire and burning, which is why the term feels like a tiny spell of transformation on the plate.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bhel-
âto shine, flash, burnâ
Latin
Lat
flamma
âflameâ
Late Latin / Vulgar Latin
Lat
flammÄre
âto set on fire, inflameâ
Old French
Old French
flamber
âto flame, blazeâ
19th Century
French
flambé
âflamed; cooked with alcohol and ignitedâ
Modern English
English
flambé
âserved with a brief flame, especially after being doused in alcoholâ