# Food terminology v1. What is Casserole? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 15, 2011, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v1-what-is-casserole/585508 "2011-06-15T00:06:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2011, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v1-what-is-casserole/585508/41 "2011-06-16T08:47:19Z")
Amazing how concepts can be so different. I had no idea that Americans had such a weird šŸ˜‰ idea of what a casserole is. Lasange? Shepherds Pie? It can be piled? Crikey. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v1-what-is-casserole/585508/42 "2011-06-16T19:02:25Z")
In my experience, the dishes Americans call casseroles (starch plus sauce and meat, and usually a veg or two, always cooked in the oven) are pretty uncommon in British cooking. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2011, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v1-what-is-casserole/585508/43 "2011-06-16T21:35:24Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > A casserole is a dish cooked in the oven (although I grant there are ā€œstovetop casseroles,ā€ which mimic classic oven baked casseroles) with protein, pieces of a starch (usually noodles or rice) and a binder of some sort (often egg, cream and/or mayonnaise) in a \*\*homogenous \*\*mixture, which is served as an entree or side dish. Vegetables may or may not be present. > > Baked macaroni and cheese, tuna noodle casserole and chicken rice casserole are all casseroles, while lasagne (not **homogeneous** ), stew (no binder, cooked on stovetop), souffle (no starch) and quiche (not **homogenous** , no starch in the filling) are not. > [@Chronos](#): > > I would say that a casserole is a more-or-less \*\*homogenous \*\*mix of ingredients baked in a shallow pan, and firm and dry enough to be piled on a plate. Beyond that, I wouldnā€™t stipulate much of anything about it. > [@pulykamell](#): > > And it doesnā€™t have to be a \*\*homogenous \*\*mixture at all (see, again, layered casseroles.) > [@pulykamell](#): > > Or, if you prefer your casseroles **homogenous** , you can chop up the cabbage finely and incorporate it with the other ingredients. What are you all on about? The only way I can imagine a casserole being anywhere near ā€œhomogenousā€ was if you blended all the ingredients together in an electric blender. A medium with chunks of different things in it isnā€™t homogenous. Otherwise homogenized milk would be something very different from what we expect. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2011, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v1-what-is-casserole/585508/44 "2011-06-16T21:48:48Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > A casserole is anything cooked in a casserole dish. I usually think of lame food at a church event. So the no-bake cheesecake and fudge brownies I made last night for a thing at work today was a casserole? I mean, both were made in casserole dishes. šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2011, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v1-what-is-casserole/585508/45 "2011-06-16T22:03:35Z")
Homogeneous in the sense that all of the ingredients are mixed together randomly, rather than being layered or otherwise organized. Thatā€™s a loose criterion, though, and Iā€™m not actually entirely sure that lasagna isnā€™t a casserole. ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2011, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v1-what-is-casserole/585508/46 "2011-06-16T23:41:23Z")
I didnā€™t grow up in Minnesota, so I only came to know the term [hotdish](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotdish) a few years ago. That wikipedia page I linked to considers hotdish to be a subset of casseroles. Reading the article, the sort of things they picture and describe match very closely to what I think of when I hear the term ā€œcasseroleā€. What Iā€™d call tater tot casserole or green bean casserole are the basics of the genre, to me. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2011, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v1-what-is-casserole/585508/47 "2011-06-17T02:08:57Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > What are you all on about? The only way I can imagine a casserole being anywhere near ā€œhomogenousā€ was if you blended all the ingredients together in an electric blender. A medium with chunks of different things in it isnā€™t homogenous. Otherwise homogenized milk would be something very different from what we expect. I was using the term in the way I was assuming the other posters were using the term: to mean mixed together thoroughly. Itā€™s not the way I would normally use the term, but itā€™s pretty clear what is meant. Honestly, I donā€™t think itā€™s confusing. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2011, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v1-what-is-casserole/585508/48 "2011-06-17T02:43:24Z")
Yes, I used the term ā€œhomogeneousā€ a little loosely, but I didnā€™t think it was that mysterious. Milk is homogenized when the cream is mixed in with the water and milk solids, instead of layered. Casseroles are ā€œhomogenousā€ in that the ingredients are mixed in with each other, instead of layered like a lasagne or layered like unhomogenized milk (although they do often have one top layer - breadcrumbs, cheese, crushed potato chips, etc.). ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2011, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v1-what-is-casserole/585508/49 "2011-06-17T03:42:44Z")
> [@Brynda](#): > > In my experience, the dishes Americans call casseroles (starch plus sauce and meat, and usually a veg or two, always cooked in the oven) are pretty uncommon in British cooking. I donā€™t know. If one where adept, they could easily connect theBritish meat pie with the American casserole. Just another form of pieā€¦ when come backkā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2011, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v1-what-is-casserole/585508/50 "2011-06-17T03:43:46Z")
> [@Brynda](#): > > In my experience, the dishes Americans call casseroles (starch plus sauce and meat, and usually a veg or two, always cooked in the oven) are pretty uncommon in British cooking. I donā€™t know. If one were adept, they could easily connect the British meat pie with the American casserole. Just another form of pieā€¦ when come backā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2011, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v1-what-is-casserole/585508/51 "2011-06-17T04:14:56Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > So the no-bake cheesecake and fudge brownies I made last night for a thing at work today was a casserole? I mean, both were made in casserole dishes. šŸ˜‰ Yes. Extra points if you were at a church event. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2011, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v1-what-is-casserole/585508/52 "2011-06-17T14:58:43Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Yes. Extra points if you were at a church event. Zeus, but I hope youā€™re kidding. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2011, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v1-what-is-casserole/585508/53 "2011-06-17T22:19:09Z")
Fifty-two posts, and no mention of Alton Brown? Casseroles explained [here](http://goodeatsfanpage.com/Season6/Casserole/CasseroleTrans.htm): DEB DUCHON: Well, despite its French genealogy, the concept of the one-dish meal was actually perfected by American cooks who were seeking to make ends meet through two World Wars and a nasty bout of depression. Then during the 1950ā€™s and 60ā€™s, home magazines told housewives that the casserole would ā€œset them free,ā€ especially if they relied on those space-age processed foods that were so heavily advertised in their pages. [AB] After studying many recipes, the cook came to the conclusion that casseroles are either bound like broccoli or tuna casserole, layered like lasagna or moussaka, or scoop-able like bean or pot pie. He further hypothesized that a casserole had to contain one to two main ingredients, some kind of starch, aromatics, seasonings, and a binder such as eggs and/or mayonnaise. The cook felt certain that he could improve the old recipes by using the contents of his freezer, fridge and pantry. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v1-what-is-casserole/585508.md?page=2)