Boas Comidas

Glossário Culinário

Flambé

Técnica

Origem
From French flamber, to pass through the flame.
Também chamado de
flambe, flaming, to flambe

Flambéing means adding an alcoholic drink to a hot dish and setting it on fire, letting the flame burn off part of the alcohol and perfume the plate. The flare is quick and fleeting, and what remains is a deep aroma that cold alcohol cannot deliver — a classic touch for meats like stroganoff, rum desserts like baba au rhum, and cachaça-based drinks like the caipirinha when the cook wants that perfume in the recipe.

Characteristics

To flambé safely, take the pan off the heat before adding the drink, warm it for a moment and only then light it with a long match or a careful tilt toward the flame. The most used drinks are high-proof ones like cognac, rum and cachaça, because low-proof ones barely make a flame. The flame dies out on its own once the surface alcohol burns off, and the dish keeps cooking normally after that.

Uses in the kitchen

Flambé works for meats and poultry, where cognac goes in after browning and before cream or sauce, for sautéed seafood, for fruits like banana and pineapple served with ice cream, and for sweet crepes and pancakes with hot syrup. It also shows up in sauces, when a splash of drink deglazes the browned bits before finishing with stock or cream.

  • Savory flambé: cognac or cachaça on meats, poultry and seafood, finished with cream, stock or butter into a sauce.
  • Sweet flambé: rum or liqueur over warm fruits and crepes, served still warm, often with ice cream.
  • Alcohol deglazing: without lighting it, the drink just dissolves the pan bottom and the alcohol evaporates as it boils — a simpler, safer everyday version.

Fun facts

Flambé is no required show: if the flame does not light, the dish is still tasty, because alcohol evaporates with heat even without a visible flame. Never pour from the bottle straight over the flame — fire can travel up the stream of liquid. And a running hood plus nearby curtains are a dangerous combo; flambé with clear surroundings and the pan lid nearby to smother the flame if needed.

Recipes with flambé

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