the world of mirepoix

what is mirepoix?

Mirepoix is a recipe base made from diced vegetables that are cooked slowly (usually with some sort of fat, like butter or oil) to sweeten and deepen the flavors of a dish. The mix is cooked over very low heat, as the intention is to intensify the vegetables' flavor — not to caramelize them.

the french method

French mirepoix is made with celery, onions, and carrots. The traditional ratio is 1:2:1 (one part celery, two parts onions, and one part carrots). The trio serves as the foundation for many Western soups, stews, and sauces.

pincage

Pincage is simply mirepoix with tomato paste. The mixture is cooked until the tomato paste turns brown, and becomes more savory than sweet. You'll often find pincage in vegetarian recipes, as it adds a bit of umami flavor to meatless dishes.

a brief history of mirepoix

Though the use of carrots, onions, and celery as a flavor base is likely more than a few hundred years old, mirepoix is likely named after the 17th-century Duke of Mirepoix (a town in Southwestern France), whose cook was known for popularizing the mixture.

The duke was "an incompetent and mediocre individual," Pierre Larousse wrote in The Oxford Companion to Food in the late 19th century, "who owed his vast fortune to the affection Louis XV felt toward his wife and who had but one claim to fame: he gave his name to a sauce made of all kinds of meat and a variety of seasonings."

The term is not encountered regularly in French culinary texts until the 19th century, so it is difficult to know what a dish à la mirepoix was like in 18th-century France. Antoine Beauvilliers, for instance, in 1814, gives a short recipe for a Sauce à la Mirepoix which is a buttery, wine-laced stock garnished with an aromatic mixture of carrots, onions, and a bouquet garni. Marie-Antoine Carême, in 1816, gives a similar recipe, calling it simply "Mire-poix". By the mid-19th century, Jules Gouffé refers to mirepoix as "a term in use for such a long time that I do not hesitate to use it here". His mirepoix is listed among essences and, indeed, is a meaty concoction (laced with two bottles of Madeira), which, like all other essences, was used to enrich many a classic sauce.

By the end of the 19th century, the mirepoix had taken on its modern meaning. Joseph Favre, in his Dictionnaire universel de cuisine (c. 1895, reprinted 1978), uses the term to describe a mixture of ham, carrots, onions, and herbs used as an aromatic condiment when making sauces or braising meat. The matignon is very similar to the mirepoix, except that the matignon is designed to be brought to the table and eaten with the dish or alone as a side dish.

According to the 1938 Larousse Gastronomique, a mirepoix may be prepared au gras (with meat) or au maigre (without meat). Mirepoix au maigre is sometimes called a brunoise (though strictly speaking this term more accurately merely designates the technique of dicing with a knife).

A mirepoix au gras contains diced ham or pork belly as an additional ingredient. Similar combinations, both in and out of the French culinary repertoire, may include leeks, parsnips, garlic, tomatoes, shallots, mushrooms, bell peppers, chilies, and ginger, according to the requirements of the regional cuisine or the instructions of the particular chef or recipe. The analogous soffritto (frequently containing parsley) is the basis for many traditional dishes in classic Italian cuisine, and the sofrito serves a similar purpose in Spanish cuisines. In Cajun and Creole cuisine, a mirepoix or (jocularly so-called) "holy trinity" is a combination of onions, celery, and bell peppers.

mirepoix vs. cajun holy trinity

Unlike French mirepoix, which uses a 1:2:1 ratio of carrots to onions to celery, the Cajun Holy Trinity is made from equal parts celery, onions, and bell peppers.

Cajun cuisine is famously inspired by French methods and flavors, as French Catholics and Acadians (or "Cajuns," as pronounced by English-speaking Louisianians) settled in New Orleans in the early 18th century. The settlers quickly realized that, while the Louisiana ground wasn't suitable for growing carrots, it was ideal for growing bell peppers.

videos on making mirepoix for stock

CHEF JEAN 5 MIREPOIX & MAKING THE STOCK REVISED

Mirepoix!!! Explained!!! Intro to Stocks, Soups and Sauces!!

Hopefully you have a great understanding of the kitchen so far. Next we dive into the foundations of soups, sauces and stocks.

How to Cut Vegetable Mirepoix - Mirepoix Ratios - Mirepoix Cut

Learn how to cut a Mirepoix. Mirepoix is the French name for a combination of vegetables, learn the Mirpoix cut for stocks, braise, and stew.

Mirepoix, either raw, roasted or sautéed with butter is the flavor base for a wide number of dishes, such as stocks, soups, stews, and sauces.

in conclusion

When the mirepoix is not precooked, the constituent vegetables may be cut to a larger size, depending on the overall cooking time for the dish. Usually the vegetable mixture is onions, carrots, and celery (either common 'Pascal' celery or celeriac), with the traditional ratio being 2:1:1—two parts onion, one part carrot, and one part celery. Further cooking, with the addition of tomato purée, creates a darkened brown mixture called pinçage.

Similar flavor bases include the Italian soffritto, the Spanish and Portuguese sofrito/refogado (braised onions, garlic and tomato), a variation with tomato paste instead of fresh tomato of the Eastern Mediterranean and Balkans region, the German Suppengrün (leeks, carrots and celeriac), the Polish włoszczyzna (leeks, carrots, celeriac and parsley root), the Russian/Ukrainian smazhennya or zazharka (onion, carrot and possibly celery, beets or pepper), the United States Cajun/Creole holy trinity (onions, celery and bell peppers), and possibly the French duxelles (mushrooms and often onion or shallot and herbs, reduced to a paste).

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