Sound file: gratin
Register #1: normal
Translation: baked dish with something grated on top, such as cheese or breadcrumbs*
Il va faire une sole au gratin. – He’s going to make breaded sole.
J’aime bien le gratin alsacien. – I really like gratin from Alsace.
Je viens d’acheter deux plats à gratin. – I just bought two gratin dishes. (cookware ideally suited for baking gratins)
Register #2: informal
Translation: the upper crust, high society, everybody who’s anybody
Tout le gratin sera là ! – Everybody who’s anybody will be there!
Il fait partie du gratin. – He’s on the A-list.
Related
- gratiner – to cook au gratin, to turn golden brown
- gratiné
– cooked au gratin, having a crunchy top
– (informal) wild, difficult, hot stuff - French food vocab
* In English, au gratin means “with cheese,” whereas in French it’s more like “baked dish with crusty top.”
And according to a French friend of mine, le gratin dauphinois, aka pommes de terre dauphinoises, should never include cheese. The real thing is made with potatoes baked only in béchamel sauce or a simple mix of milk and cream which cooks away and leaves the impression of a kind of cheesy sauce.
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