Where does the dessert “flan” originate from?
Flan is found in recipes as far back as ancient Rome. It was during Roman times that domesticated chickens were first kept for laying eggs. The Romans, with eggs in surplus, and consulting the Greek’s knowledge of the art of cooking, developed new recipes, one of which turned out to be a custard-like concoction known as flan. It was originally a savory dish (not sweet, but aromatic and pleasing to the palate). The Romans concocted many dishes that we might find interesting, such as eel flan. They also had a very nice sweet flan that was flavored with honey. Flan survived barbarian invasions (and perhaps pacified a barbarian or two). It surfaced as a generally sweet dish but still based on the old idea of mixing creme and eggs to form a custard. Our word for flan actually is derived from the Latin, “flado” (meaning flat cake), which became “flaon” in Old French. But now a days flan is a popular dish in most major countries around the world. The most original recipe is now held by the Sp
