Consommé is a clear, richly flavored broth strained to remove solids, typically served hot as a soup. It represents a refined consommé when clarified with egg whites and mirepoix to achieve high clarity and a delicate taste, often used in haute cuisine. The term also denotes a refined, concentrated version of stock used as a flavorful base in sophisticated dishes.
"The chef prepared a perfectly clarified consommé, pale and transparent."
"We started with a light consommé as an elegant first course."
"The consommé was served steaming, with a garnish of julienned vegetables."
"A robust consommé provided a crisp, flavorful foundation for the tasting menu."
Consommé comes from the French consommé, from the verb consomm-er, meaning to eat up or to finish off. The culinary term arose in medieval French kitchens, evolving to describe a class of clarified soups created by simmering meat or poultry with vegetables to extract flavor, then clarifying the liquid with egg whites, lean ground meat, or vegetables to trap particulates. The key innovation was filtration through a raft of whites and other clarifiers to produce a crystal-clear broth, a technique that allowed chefs to showcase color, aroma, and pure taste. The earliest known usage in English cookery writing appears in the 17th to 18th centuries, as fine dining and nouvelle cuisine popularized the perfected consommé as a symbol of refinement. Over time, “consommé” became a generic label in many culinary languages for a refined, clear broth, though the classic method remains a benchmark for technical skill in stock preparation and clarification.
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Words that rhyme with "Consomme"
-mme sounds
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Pronounce as /ˈkɒn.səˌmeɪ/ in US and /kɒ̃ˈsəʊ.mə/ in UK. The stress centers on the first syllable, with a secondary emphasis on the final -meɪ/-mə. Start with a short “kon” sound, move to a neutral schwa in the second syllable, and end with a clear -may or -mah depending on the accent. Listen for the subtle nasal vowel in the first syllable and the final modal -e sound; the final vowel is often a reduced, non-stressed schwa in casual speech.
Common errors: 1) Crowding the second syllable with a hard ‘s’ instead of a light schwa: say /ˈkɒn.sə/ rather than /ˈkɒnsə/. 2) Mispronouncing the final -me as a hard -mee; in French-influenced English it should be a soft /meɪ/ or /mə/ depending on style. 3) Neglecting the nasal vowel in the first syllable; aim for /kɒn/ with subtle nasalization. Correct by practicing the sequence kon-sə-may and using a light, quick pause between syllables.
US typically /ˈkɒn.səˌmeɪ/ with a clear /eɪ/ at the end and a notable syllabic break; the middle syllable is reduced. UK may render the final as /ˈkɒn.səʊ.mə/ with a rounded /əʊ/ and a softer end. Australian often mirrors US but may soften the final /ə/ to /ə/ and sometimes uses /ˈkɒn.səˌmɜː/ depending on regional vowel shift. Across accents, rhoticity is generally non-rhotic in British and Australian variants, affecting the presence of /r/ in the final syllable, though not prominent here.
The difficulty lies in balancing the two consonant clusters and the delicate French-inspired final syllable. The second syllable uses a reduced vowel, often a schwa, which can be easy to mispronounce as a full vowel. Additionally, the ending -me in French lends a light, palatalized glide rather than a hard consonant, requiring careful mouth shaping and a shorter vowel duration. Practicing by isolating kon-sə-may and listening for the subtle nasalization in /kɒn/ helps overcome the challenge.
In consommé, the C is soft, as in a French influence, producing /kɒn/ rather than /kɔn/ or /sɒn/. The pronunciation begins with a hard K sound /k/, then the vowel /ɒ/ or /ɒ̃/ depending on the accent, followed by a light nasalization. The key is the minimal tension between the K sound and the light schwa in the second syllable, so you get a smooth kon-sə- sound rather than a strong, heavy consonant cluster.
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