What is the difference between a Croque-monsieur and a Croque-madame?

Most taverns offer delicious French 'sandwiches' on the menu, in a pan or oven, consisting of two slices of white bread, with a slice of cheese and a slice of ham in the middle. Find out more in this article.

The definition of croque monsieur

Croque Monsieur is a hot sandwich made of ham, cheese and Emmental or Comté bread. It is best cooked in frying pans, coal stoves or even special long-handled cast iron fireplaces. Kitchen utensils called "croque-monsieur" or "iron sandwich", or grilled in stoves, ovens, or special electric appliances since the seventies and eighties.

The origin of the croque monsieur

Some sources indicate that it first appeared on the menu of the Parisian café Boulevard des Capucines1 in 1910. Despite this, the origin of the word is still unknown and the more general theory is that the café tavern Michel Lunarca2 will joke that the meat in the sandwich is human flesh. Mr. 3 was invented before him and was on the restaurant menu, and you've seen it mentioned in the late 19th century so, in 1891, La Revue athlétique says: "It's getting late and you are very hungry. What should you do for lunch? As time goes by, ham becomes monotonous. A diplomat who is a bit greedy is like Talleyrand, with an idea. "Be a croque-monsieur. "Soon, toast bread, butter, Gruyère, ham, a little pepper and then work. A bit big, made for the mouths of giants, but still. He ate it, went back to it, and was ecstatic. Croque monsieur: croque monsieur. The recipes he gave were more or less the same.

The definition of croque madame

The croque-madame or croquemadame is a ham and cheese sandwich. The most common is Emmental cheese, which is cooked in a pan, oven or special utensil with a fried egg on top. It is a variant of the croque-monsieur. The croque madame has the same preparation and the same basic ingredients as the croque monsieur. The difference is that the eggs on top of the bread are reminiscent of the hats worn by women at the time, which is why this recipe has been called "croque madame" since then.