# Food terminology v2: What is Flan? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 15, 2011, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v2-what-is-flan/585533 "2011-06-15T05:51:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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 15, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v2-what-is-flan/585533/21 "2011-06-15T16:25:50Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I think we’ll do ‘pudding’ next. ‘Tortilla’ wasn’t on my radar, but should be, so we’ll do that too… Biscuit is, of course, another obvious one. Some lesser ones: Currant, lemonade, jelly, chips, pawpaw, tomato sauce, coriander. (The last two having overlap in usages, and “pawpaw” is somewhat obscure in the US, I think.) ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v2-what-is-flan/585533/22 "2011-06-15T16:35:17Z")
Flan is basically a crème caramel. I don’t know if there is actually a difference in meaning between these words. I also would never have associated it with Mexican/Latin American cuisine (in fact, upon clicking on the link in **zoid** ’s post, my reaction was “Flan is Mexican now? :dubious:”) but I guess I was wrong. ---
**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 15, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v2-what-is-flan/585533/23 "2011-06-15T16:40:50Z")
Another norteamericano here with the same definition as all the rest of the norteamericanos. But then, I only know of the dish from a Colombian grad student who made it, so there might be other flans in other parts of the world. ---
**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 15, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v2-what-is-flan/585533/24 "2011-06-15T18:00:14Z")
It’s a custard. Supposed to be steamed (cooked in a double boiler or in a water bath in the oven), and generally topped with a sweet sauce, usually caramel, but I’ve had honey based alternatives. I’ve never met anyone from either of the American continents who would call it anything different. English people seem to have weird ideas about food, and not just the terminology either. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v2-what-is-flan/585533/25 "2011-06-15T18:45:04Z")
Flan is sweet Mexican or Spanish caramel egg custard. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v2-what-is-flan/585533/26 "2011-06-15T18:49:31Z")
Flan describes the state of my body muscles. > [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > Flan is basically a crème caramel. I don’t know if there is actually a difference in meaning between these words. I also would never have associated it with Mexican/Latin American cuisine (in fact, upon clicking on the link in **zoid** ’s post, my reaction was “Flan is Mexican now? :dubious:”) but I guess I was wrong. Same here, like thinking fries are French or Churro is mexican. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v2-what-is-flan/585533/27 "2011-06-15T19:54:07Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Biscuit is, of course, another obvious one. > > Some lesser ones: Currant, lemonade, jelly, chips, pawpaw, tomato sauce, coriander. (The last two having overlap in usages, and “pawpaw” is somewhat obscure in the US, I think.) And cider. My definition of flan would be the same as Mangetout’s. It’s helpful to know that, if I were offered a flan in the US, it would be something completely different to what I was expecting, and not something I could eat either. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v2-what-is-flan/585533/28 "2011-06-15T20:13:20Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > English people seem to have weird ideas about food, and not just the terminology either. Yeah, yeah. Foreigners are weird. Everyone in the world knows that. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v2-what-is-flan/585533/29 "2011-06-15T20:40:31Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > To me it denotes a custard baked in a waterbath with a carmel sauce. > In my world [flan](http://mexicanfood.about.com/od/sweetsanddesserts/r/easyflan.htm) has no pastry at all. +1 The caramelized sugar syrup adds a nice contrast to the egginess of the custard. There is never a pastry or crust. ---
**Author:** ![Spectralist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Spectralist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectralist)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2011, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v2-what-is-flan/585533/30 "2011-06-16T02:23:46Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > A [recurring critter](http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Flan) 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. This is my first thought as well. But if the food context is clear I think of flan as basically anything pudding/custard like. A thick liquidy goop of any sort. But I really only seem to hear it in food context from British TV and suspect I’m probably missing their meaning. Edit: Oh and I’m in western Canada. ---
**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, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v2-what-is-flan/585533/31 "2011-06-16T02:26:33Z")
Flan is the Spanish version of creme caramel and that’s all that it is. Nothing with a pastry or a base or a crust can be flan. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2011, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v2-what-is-flan/585533/32 "2011-06-16T12:04:21Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Flan is the Spanish version of creme caramel and that’s all that it is. Nothing with a pastry or a base or a crust can be flan. Is that a definitive statement or a definitive opinion? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2011, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v2-what-is-flan/585533/33 "2011-06-16T12:16:45Z")
I think definitive opinions are great here - there’s no point in us arguing about what these things mean - because they mean what they mean (I assume nobody is just making their definitions up just to be obtuse) But there is an important and interesting difference between knowing/acknowledging that something means something else to others, vs being perplexed that it possibly could mean something else - both of these viewpoints are valid and tell us something about the isolation of that particular definition. ---
**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, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v2-what-is-flan/585533/34 "2011-06-16T13:01:48Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Is that a definitive statement or a definitive opinion? Spoiling for a fight, eh? I don’t believe for a second that you don’t know which it is. Just in case you are still wondering I’ll remind you that It’s in response to to the question “What does the term ‘flan’ mean to you? (Thus is a poll not a debate)” ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2011, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v2-what-is-flan/585533/35 "2011-06-16T15:16:42Z")
Gentlemen, we can resolve this with a custard pie duel - just as soon as we’ve agreed on the meanings of ‘custard’, and ‘pie’ (future threads in this series, no doubt) ---
**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 16, 2011, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v2-what-is-flan/585533/36 "2011-06-16T15:30:05Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Yeah, yeah. Foreigners are weird. Everyone in the world knows that. Glad to see you are grasping the concept of ‘everyone’ now 😃 ---
**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, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v2-what-is-flan/585533/37 "2011-06-16T16:49:31Z")
Except that for some reason, foreigners never seem to realize they’re foreign. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2011, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v2-what-is-flan/585533/38 "2011-06-16T16:53:37Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Glad to see you are grasping the concept of ‘everyone’ now 😃 I phrased.it that way especially for you. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2011, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v2-what-is-flan/585533/39 "2011-06-16T16:55:50Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Except that for some reason, foreigners never seem to realize they’re foreign. I know what you mean. I mean, I’m not one myself, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2011, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v2-what-is-flan/585533/40 "2011-06-16T18:31:03Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > Same here, like thinking fries are French or Churro is mexican. Well, I’m not talking about its origin. If flan is an important part of Mexican and Latin American cuisines, I have no problem recognizing it as a tradition of theirs even if they may not have invented it. I meant that I had no clue that crème caramel or flan was in any way traditional in Mexico or Latin America. But I live in Canada (specifically Quebec) where Mexican food is less prevalent than in the US, so it’s reasonable that Americans would be more familiar with it than I. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-terminology-v2-what-is-flan/585533.md?page=1)