Potage

Potage is a culinary term for a thick soup, often made with vegetables and sometimes meat, fish, cream, or puréed ingredients.

Potage is a culinary term for a thick soup, often made with vegetables and sometimes meat, fish, cream, or puréed ingredients. In French usage, it can refer more broadly to a soup served at the start of a meal, and in some historical contexts it was distinguished from other kinds of soup. The word is related to the older term pottage and comes from French culinary tradition.

Definition

Potage is a French culinary term generally meaning a thick soup. English dictionaries also define it simply as thick soup, often with a creamy or smooth texture.

French culinary usage

In French, potage refers to a soup or liquid dish served hot or cold at the start of a meal. Traditional French classifications include clear soups, thickened soups, cream soups, and purées under the broader category of potages.

Historical background

The term is linked to Old French pottage and older English and French food traditions. Historical usage covered a wider range of pot-cooked dishes, including stews and porridge-like preparations.

Related terms

Potage is closely related to pottage in English historical usage. In modern French, soupe is more common in everyday speech, while potage is somewhat more formal or culinary.