Eggs Florentine: History, Story, and a Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the history of eggs Florentine? ›

While some consider eggs Florentine a simple variation of eggs Benedict, the dish is thought to have originated with Catherine de Medici, the Florence-born wife to France's King Henry II. Legend has it the young queen was particularly enamored of spinach.

In Italian cuisine, the term "Florentine" is often used to indicate dishes prepared in the style of Florence, characterized by simplicity and an emphasis on fresh, seasonal ingredients. Eggs Florentine combines the natural goodness of sautéed spinach with the classic components of Eggs Benedict.

This is a great dish for weekday evenings when you don't have time to spare, as it only takes about 20 minutes to make. According to one fellow food blogger from Tuscany, Giulia Scarpaleggia from Juls' Kitchen, Eggs Florentine is simply a French invention, full stop, with nothing to do with Florence at all.

LeGrand Benedict in the 1860s, who was looking to try something new. She told him to create a dish out of poached eggs, ham, hollandaise and truffles. However, Ranhofer claims to have invented the dish himself and published it as his own recipe in his 1894 cookbook.

Summary. Machiavelli's Florentine Histories originated under Medici patronage at a moment in which, after the death of Lorenzo the younger in May 1519, Cardinal Giulio de' Medici controlled Florence (on behalf of Pope Leo X) and the regime seemed open to the possibility of major constitutional overhaul.

The Origins of Eggs Florentine

The term Florentine as used in dishes like Eggs Florentine or Chicken Florentine, is actually more French than Italian. It's believed that the term was coined by French chefs in honor of Catherine de Medici, a Florence-born noblewoman who became queen of France in the mid-16th century.

Florentine or à la Florentine is a term from classic French cuisine that refers to dishes that typically include a base of cooked spinach, a protein component and Mornay sauce.

Florence is known and loved for its rich culinary traditions. However, some people believe that Florentines actually originated in France. The name was perhaps in honour of Queen Catherine de Medici who took to the French throne in 1547 but was born in Florence.

plural Florentines. : a native or inhabitant of Florence and especially of Florence, Italy.

Caravaggesque in the alternation of white and deep red. Renaissance in its origins, when it was cooked over large bonfires on the night of San Lorenzo. But above all Florentine: steak has made a pact with the city. It is Florence's most famous dish in the world even though the name has English origins.

Who invented Florentine? ›

The Italian link appears to be the French Queen, Catherine de Medici, who did actually origionally come from Florence in Italy. The thinking is that in the seventeenth-century French monarchs commissioned the chefs at the palace to create and name a new biscuit as an token of their admiration of, the Medici family.

Eggs royale is similar to Eggs Benedict or florentine but uses smoked salmon instead of ham or spinach. Using cold butter rather than warm, melted butter means the sauce takes a few extra minutes to come together, but there's far less risk of it splitting – worth the time we think. Read more about sharing.

A Delectable History: Tracing its French and Italian Roots

During this time, the term "à la Florentine" emerged as a descriptor for dishes that prominently featured spinach, an ingredient beloved by the Italian city of Florence.

Fun fact: a hungover stockbroker by the name of Lemuel Benedict claimed to have invented eggs benny in New York's Waldorf Hotel in 1894 by ordering buttered toast, poached eggs and crisp bacon with “a hooker of hollandaise.”

Eggs Benedict is a common American breakfast or brunch dish, consisting of two halves of an English muffin, each topped with Canadian bacon, a poached egg, and hollandaise sauce. It was popularized in New York City.

Florence is known and loved for its rich culinary traditions. However, some people believe that Florentines actually originated in France. The name was perhaps in honour of Queen Catherine de Medici who took to the French throne in 1547 but was born in Florence.

History. Culinary lore attributes the term to 1533, when Catherine de Medici of Florence married Henry II of France. She supposedly brought a staff of chefs, lots of kitchen equipment and a love of spinach to Paris, and popularized Florentine-style dishes.

The fourteenth-century Florentine vernacular thus became a new cultured language, an alternative to Latin. Its use continued with artists, intellectuals, and scientists who have revolutionized the world: Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Botticelli, and many, many others.

Eggs royale is similar to Eggs Benedict or florentine but uses smoked salmon instead of ham or spinach. Using cold butter rather than warm, melted butter means the sauce takes a few extra minutes to come together, but there's far less risk of it splitting – worth the time we think. Read more about sharing.