WHAT IS A CASSEROLE?

Definition: A COVERED dish in which food is cooked, often, but not always, the casserole is placed in an oven. The food is seldom baked--baking being reflected DRY heat.

Properly speaking, a casserole is the course clay braising pot, so common in France and Germany, in which meats and vegetables are not only cooked but served on the table. Although most foods are, in fact, still most commonly braised; in English--British--for some unknown reason--I suppose to follow along with the USA-- this type of dish is frequently now being called a bake. 

 In North America, we MOST often reverse the two terms; calling the shallow pan intended for broiling or roasting a casserole; and the deeper, covered, dish or pan,intended for braising, a roaster.
ONE OF THE "GOOD THINGS" TO COME OUT OF FREE TRADE ERA, WHEN SO MANY OF THE PRODUCTS WE USE ARE IMPORTED, FROM OTHER COUNTRIES, INSTEAD OF BEING MANUFACTURED HERE; IS THAT THERE ARE NOW SOME VERY PRACTICAL/SERVICEABLE BROILING-ROASTING PANS APPEARING ON RETAIL SHELVES. IN A FEW CASES, ALTHOUGH I SUSPECT THEY ARE USING ALUMINUM FOIL AS A COVER, I HAVE SEEN CUSTOMERS BUY THEM IN PREFERENCE TO THE USUAL LOW QUALITY BRAISING POT (COVERED U.S. STYLE ROASTER) WHICH WAS FORMERLY ALL THEY KNEW OF.

The Romans, well-known not only for their military conquests, their law and architecture, but also as lovers of pleasure, of good wines and food, used this method to produce really excellent meals. They cooked in earthenware casseroles. And even before them, our most primitive ancestors, who lived from the fruits of the hunt, cooked the meat of the animals they had found in simple clay containers placed in the glowing embers of their camp fires. Both these methods were basically the same.

En Casserole is probably the second oldest cooking method used by man. The casseroles North Americans know today are a relatively new phenomenon. Early 18th century North American casserole recipes consisted of rice that was pounded, pressed , and filled with a savoury mixture of meats such as chicken, or sweetbreads. Some time around 1870 this sense of casserole seems to have slipped in to the current North American use. Cooking in earthenware containers has always been common in most knowledgeable nations(the ones that win culinary awards year after year), but the idea of "en casserole"--cooking as a one-dish meal became popular in the United States in the twentieth century, especially in the 1950s when new forms of light weight metal "roasters" and glassware "bakers appeared on the market. By the 1970s--you know, that period that started North America's obesity epidermic and contributes greatly to cardiac and heart  disease-- en casserole took on a far less than sophisticated image (often becoming associated with garbage left-overs).

A characteristic method of preparing casserole in the United States; particularly in the Midwest and South is to slosh a can of condensed soup, especially Campbell's Cream of mushroom over any leftovers found in the fridge. Other examples of bakes or casseroles prepared in this manner are tuna bake(with canned tuna, cooked pasta, sometimes peas, and cream of mushroom soup) and a green bean casserole (green beans with cream of mushroom soup, topped with deep  fried onions).

A similar present day staple food, macaroni and cheese (cooked macaroni and a can of Campbell's cream of cheddar soup)can also be prepared as a bake.

©Al (Alex-Alexander) D. Girvan 1995. All rights reserved.