What is Quiche?

Many believe that quiche [ki:ʃ] originates from France, however, prior to French, chefs of Lothringen – a medieval kingdom under the rule of Germany- made an egg custard pie called kuchen, meaning cake. When Alsace-Lorraine region flipped to the French rule, Lothringer was named Lorraine and German kuchen was altered to “küche”. Typical Alemannic changes unrounded the ü and shifted the palatal “ch” to the spirant “sh”. This resulted in “kische”, which in standard French orthography was spelled “quiche.”

„Quiche Lorraine“ in France and „Lothringer Speckkuchen“ in Germany is the same pie. Today the Quiche Lorraine/ Lothringer Speckkuchen is an egg custard combined with Gruyere, bacon, and almost always a touch of nutmeg. Variants like the Quiche Alsacienne include onions.