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gratin

gratin (baked dish with crust)

noun gra-TAN Rare
Food & Drink Cooking

Origin: From Old French 'gratter' (to scrape), referring to the scraped crust.

Also means

upper crust, elite (informal)

Usage Note

Gratin refers to a dish cooked with a browned crust of breadcrumbs or cheese, the most famous being gratin dauphinois (potato gratin). Informally, le gratin means the social elite — 'le gratin de la société' ('the upper crust of society'). The verb gratiner means to cook something au gratin.

Examples

"Elle a préparé un gratin de légumes pour le dîner."

Natural Translation

She made a vegetable gratin for dinner.

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