What does the term ‘flan’ mean to you? (this is a poll, not a debate)
If it describes something specific, be as detailed as possible.
If it describes a whole category of stuff, try to define the boundaries (and mention what things that lie beyond those boundaries are called)
If it describes multiple categories of things, explain whether they are related only by the term ‘flan’, or are related in some other, non-semantic, actual way…
It may also be as well to include a note about where in the world you live, or originate - as the differences of view here are highly likely to be regional/national
To me, and I suspect most people here in the UK, flan is a collective term encompassing any sort of flat, open pie - in fact, it’s more about the shape and presentation than it is about the composition.
Thus, ‘flan’ is more or less synonymous with ‘tart’ (except that a tart may or may not be covered with a lattice of pastry, or may have a layer of sugary icing, which even a dessert flan does not).
Quiche is a variety of flan, but flan also includes fruit and jelly set into a pre-baked case made of sponge cake, and any shallow, open pastry shell filled with fruit or other fillings and baked or glazed.
Any given example is therefore ‘***a ***flan’
A flan is an open-faced pie, like a quiche or afruit tart. A flan = a shortcrust-based tart to me - as opposed to a biscuit-based tart or a phyllo or puff pastry one. Usually egg-based filling.
No-article flan is another name for a custard mould for some people (not me, that’s a crème caramel ). Not no-article custard, which is something else.
A recurring critter in the Final Fantasy series. I found out it was a food name only many years after knowing of it as the monster class, and to this day that’s what I think of when I hear the word.
Exactly what **zoid **and **pulykamell **posted - a custard baked in a waterbath with a caramel sauce. After it’s cooled, you invert the cooking vessel onto a plate, and the caramel flows over the flan. Same thing as a creme caramel.
To me, flan is always associated with Spanish or Mexican cuisine.
US: flan is a cooked milky pudding of latin american extraction, always served inverted with caramel/burnt sugar sauce.
Nothing with vegetables in it could ever be a flan. Nothing that doesn’t have caramel/burnt sugar sauce could ever be a flan. Rarely, slight variations are seen (as in Cuban cheese flan which is exactly as described above except more rich). It’s as specific as “creme brullee” and its only meaning is as described above.
USAian here, and yes, it’s a very specific dish in the baked custard family, without a crust and with a caramel sauce. Same thing as creme caramel, and very similar to creme brulee (which doesn’t have the sauce but instead a torched layer of caramelized granulated sugar). They’re presented in 4 or 5 inch rounds, for 1 or 2 people to share without cutting it into servings first.
Quiche is also in the custard family, but with a crust (unless it’s specifically a “crustless quiche”) and generally savory. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a sweet quiche, and I’d find it pretty unusual if it were offered me. Although now that I think about it, a blue cheese and fig quiche might be pretty awesome…
Cheesecake is technically another custard, with crust or without, but denser and stiffer than flan/creme caramel/creme brulee. It’s also larger, 6+ inches round, and cut into wedges for serving to multiple people.
A shallow pastry shell with fruit in it, or with a very thin layer of custard and then fruit on top of that, is a tart. A deeper pastry shell with custard and/or fruit is a pie, and may or may not have a lattice or whole layer of pastry over the top.
Flan: A creme caramel desert, of the type popular in Mexico. In it’s purest form, sereved with dulce de leche. Other toppings may be substituted, but then you’re drifting from the pure goodness that is Flan. Once you start creating things like Chocolate Flan you’re drifting perilously far from the basic concept.
There is no ‘crust’ in flan. Once you start adding crusts, you’re into pies and tarts, a whole different subject.