A crouton is a small piece of sautéed or rebaked bread

Bread

Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...

, often cubed and seasoned, that is used to add texture and flavor to salad

Salad

Salad is any of a wide variety of dishes, including vegetable salads; salads of pasta, legumes, eggs, or grains; mixed salads incorporating meat, poultry, or seafood; and fruit salads. They may include a mixture of cold and hot, often including raw vegetables or fruits.Green salads include leaf...

s, notably the Caesar salad

Caesar salad

A Caesar salad is a salad of romaine lettuce and croutons dressed with parmesan cheese, lemon juice, olive oil, egg, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, and black pepper. It may be prepared tableside.-History:...

, as an accompaniment to soup

Soup

Soup is a generally warm food that is made by combining ingredients such as meat and vegetables with stock, juice, water, or another liquid. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ingredients in liquids in a pot until the flavors are extracted, forming a broth.Traditionally,...

s, or eaten as a snack food

Snack food

A snack is a portion of food oftentimes smaller than that of a regular meal, that is generally eaten between meals. Snacks come in a variety of forms including packaged and processed foods and items made from fresh ingredients at home....

. The word crouton is derived from the French croûton, itself derived from croûte, meaning "crust".

Preparation

Making croutons is relatively simple. Typically the cook cuts bread into small cubes, coats them in oil or butter (which may be seasoned or flavored for variety), and then bakes them. Alternatively, they may be fried lightly in butter

Butter

Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...

 or vegetable oil, until crisp and as brown as desired to give them a buttery flavor and crunchy texture.

Nearly any type of unsweetened bread, in a loaf or pre-sliced, with or without crust, may be used to make croutons. Dry or stale leftover bread is usually used in lieu of fresh bread. Once prepared, the croutons will remain fresh far longer than the bread.

Dishes

A dish prepared à la Grenobloise (in the Grenoble

Grenoble

Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...

 manner) has a garnish of small croutons along with brown butter, capers, parsley

Parsley

Parsley is a species of Petroselinum in the family Apiaceae, native to the central Mediterranean region , naturalized elsewhere in Europe, and widely cultivated as an herb, a spice and a vegetable.- Description :Garden parsley is a bright green hairless biennial herbaceous plant in temperate...

, and lemon

Lemon

The lemon is both a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...

.

French onion soup

French onion soup

French onion soup is an onion and beef broth or a beef stock based soup traditionally served with croutons and cheese as toppings...

 is usually topped with croutons and melted cheese.

Dried and cubed bread is commonly sold in large bags in North America to make Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving (disambiguation)

Thanksgiving is a harvest festival in several countries, particularly* Thanksgiving , a holiday on the second Monday in October* Thanksgiving , a holiday on the fourth Thursday in NovemberThanksgiving may also refer to:...

 holiday stuffing

Stuffing

In cooking, stuffing or filling is an edible substance or mixture, often a starch, used to fill a cavity in another food item...

or dressing, though these are generally different than salad croutons, being only dry bread instead of buttered or oiled and with different seasonings, if any.

External links

• The History of Croutons