French Onion Soup from 1651 

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I appreciate how, unlike many recipes, you don't pretend that onions can be caramelized in 15 minutes or something ridiculous. That takes time, dang it!

"Mind your onions" made me think of a story I was told by the headmistress of my elementary school many many years ago. She was one of those people who seemed to have had a very rich life and as a result always had an abundance of stories to tell. We all adored her at school as well so she always had a willing audience. Anyway, so in this particular story, she was living in New York in the US (she's Swedish) with a dear friend of hers. Apparently, they were living in a semi-rough neighborhood at the time and her friend had been ambushed by a robber on her way home from the supermarket. Carrying two large grocery bags in her arms, she did what any normal person would do in such a moment of panic and shouted in a strong Skåne-accent (it's a very strong dialect from the south of Sweden) "Röööör inte mina potäter!!!" ("Don't touch my potatoes!"). The robber was obviously confused and caught completely off-guard by her actions, most likely having no idea what in the world this crazy woman was screaming so he left without taking anything. It must have been almost 30 years now since I first heard that story and it's still one of my all-time favorites. Mind your onions and don't touch my potatoes. Update: thank you for the likes and comments, everyone! I’m happy that Margareta’s story could bring a smile (and some laughs) to so many people. I’m sure she would be happy to know that her stories are still enjoyed even today as well. I don’t for a second miss school, but I really miss her stories. She was an amazing storyteller and just an all-around lovely person.

To see where this channel started to where you're at now, Max, is absolutely astonishing and so well deserved.

I made this tonight--it's delicious! As a historical reenactor I learn through doing, and I can definitely see why this would be popular: easy, simple easy to find ingredients, and makes do with stale bread. I love this channel--it neatly falls into the middle part of a Venn diagram of our love of history, food, and Pokemon.

Man, your linguistic skills are absolutely impressive. I know this channel is about food but I can’t help but notice how precise and eloquent you speak in every language, English, French, Italian. It’s kind of crazy and almost seems a little super natural the way you can just switch like that and almost sound like a native speaker of the selected language 😆 great job 👍

As a French person born in Paris and who has eaten countless onion soups at home and in restaurants, I can't tell you how happy this video makes me! Hearing you speak French must be my favorite thing in the whole world right now.

Max's little smile after the first bite says it all. It's always the first-taste smile that makes these videos perfect.

My grandmother got stuck in Paris in 1940 (we all know what happened then, right?). A little Irish woman with a bad attitude would obviously stick out like a sore thumb, so she hid in a restaurant for most of the time she was there. She learned a LOT of recipes, not all of them French and brought them home with her. THIS WAS ONE OF THEM. I'm thrilled that you did this. I've learned a LOT watching your videos. Thank you for this. A lot of memories for me in that bowl. :) -Vic

What I really love is that you're still making videos of foods that will be in your cookbook; you're not hoarding them as a selling point- you're SHARING them as a selling point; so instead of a huge discovery of new recipes, it's like a sing-along for cooking. Though I have to say, it would be really cool when you mention new vs. Old recipes, if you made both and compared their flavor profiles for anyone who hasn't had that food before, or just to highlight differences in how the human palate has changed. So excited for your book release, and we're all so proud of how far this journey has taken you, and how much farther you can go- the sky's the limit!

I made a long-forgotten onion dish I found in a book from 1667. It was apparently known in the 1300s as "Lady's Palfrey' and described then as "An Tyckke stewe of onyen rightly boilèd and none speedily groyned and gadrooked by nymberèd hyrbs dishèd in ye bodrundrum pot." The C17th recipe was similar and tasted more or less like eating raw onion despite being boiled in sherry for 10 hours. The person who wrote down the recipe added a poem: _Hebe's Lament, or, The Disparaged Maiden_ "I long to suckle on thy milk, O spicy tumour of the earth, fair trollop of the tillage realm, who can esteem thy fragrant worth?" It went on for 8 pages but with no cooking instructions.

In Hungary it is somewhat customary to serve french onion soup in a round bread loaf, and the other detail I noticed is that my own mother also creates this dish with milk!

I love how the bowl shrank but the slice of baguette is consistent when this soup evolved over the centuries.

I just want to say a big thank you for taking the time to add captions for those of us who having hearing impairment. It's just another feature that adds to my enjoyment of your channel.

King Louis XV claiming he created French onion soup is like Kim Jong-un saying he created the hamburger.

I just got my copy of Tasting History and I love the way it's laid out. It feels like I'm reading a history book instead of just a cookbook, with historical images and sources for where the recipe came from (including a bunch of info about the recipe's history. Just like the simulations!). All the recipes (except for the spartan black broth) look like ones I would actually like to try out. The french onion soup is super good.

Max has decided to be as French as Onion Soup. I love It! Also, nice to see us return to a milk soup recipe again.

This recipe is almost identical to a family German-Swiss noodle recipe: boil egg noodles (probably spaetzle originally), pour over a sauce of caramelized onions and milk, sprinkle with caraway seeds, and serve. My German-Swiss grandmother made these often because they were a family favorite, although she eventually stopped sprinkling caraway seeds. And now I'm craving noodles. Thanks for sharing this recipe, Max!

😂🤣😂🤣 French onion soup always reminds me of a hilarious family story. When my dad was a teen, he and his best friend and their girlfriends went to the local drive-in. They had q very diverse restaurant and onion soup was one of those choices. My dad got the soup. Well it caused a hideous case of gas, but of course he didn't want to pass gas when he was on a hot date, so for two hours he held it in. His friend was driving, they dropped off their dates. Then dad let it rip. It was so bad his friend pulled the car over and threw up. You might be curious as to what movie was playing.....I kid you not...it was "Gone With the Wind!" 😂😂

In my French family, it's a tradition to make an oignon soup at 4/5am the first January after a night of alcool for avoid a possible hangover. It's also a way to begin the year with something traditional, comforting and that bring all the family (and friends) in the kitchen around the cook, speaking (loud) about food. The typical French way of life. By the way, thank you for this History lesson and I will definitely give a try to this recipe.

Max - in a world full of division and derision, it warms the heck out of my heart to see someone like you just absolutely crush it while educating and enlightening. Super pumped for the cook book and thank you so much for bringing a few extra rays of sunshine in these darkening times. Keep kicking a$$ homie.

I have sensory issues involving food and onions are the biggest offenders. I do like the onion flavor so I usually stick with onion powder. However I recently discovered that I can eat onion if it is cooked down to the point where it’s soft and falling apart. No crunch at all. With this new discovery, I can actually give this soup a try

I applaud the care you take to well pronounce foreign words, bravo my dear, bravo 👏👏👏!!!!

Pro tip: you can caramelize the onions in 30 minutes by, at the start of cooking add a splash of water and cover the pot. Let the onions steam for a few minutes until soft. Then uncover and cook as normal. It’s a great shortcut!

That is the quietest I have heard our host ever be during the first 2 mouthfuls of ANY dish. He certainly knows how to show true appreciation, letting the food speak for itself!

So I've followed your channel since about a month or 2 after you started it and I've seen every video you've made. I just made this recipe and it is absolutely amazing and I plan on buying your book Wednesday. Thank you so much for everything you've done with this channel. From one culinary history buff to another, thank you and I wish you the utmost prosperity in the future.

My French host mother in Brittany told me that onion soup had been a hangover food in the region for hundreds of years. I don't know if that's true (though it very well could be), but that's definitely how a lot of Breton people think of it, now. We used to always make it for lunch the day after a fest-noz (traditional Breton music and dancing festival).

I have a bed in a community garden, and the chairman became a very good friend. He grew the best and biggest onions I've ever seen, one of his onions would have more than filled that pot! French Onion soup was his favourite soup. Sadly we lost Davie last December, so seeing this version makes me wish I could have made it for him. My goal this year is to grow onions half as well as he did, and make French onion soup with them in his memory.

Max is one of the most colorful people I have even seen in my life. Keep going Max, you are a legend

You just *know* the dish is good when Max whispers "It's soo good." after taking the first bite. I've never really been a fan of onions, but this is tempting me to try the dish.

I check the quality of a restaurant by the quality of their soup. By that , I’m talking about how well they use the leftover ingredients from the day before. As that is normally what will be the soup of the day kind of thing. If they make a French onion soup ( if they have beef, they better) that is below par, there is nothing to save that restaurant.

You’ve definitely become my favorite channel on youtube. I can confidently say that. Sometimes they feel less like RU-vid videos and more like an episode of a well produced TV show. Keep it up Max!

You have no idea how happy it makes me to see how successful you've become. I'm extremely jaded at my age, but you remain a personal inspiration.

I love the vibe of Max's videos they're like an old pbs show so good.

I made this today from your book! The crazy thing to me is just how sweet it is without any added sugar, just the cooked onions and milk made it almost like dessert.

Félicitation Max pour la sortie du livre !! Le mélange entre la cuisine et l'histoire est digne d'une recette ! Congrats to you Max for the book ! The mix between cooking and history is a recipe in itself :)

Dear Max, I am a South African and it would make me very happy if you could cover some of our historic food, like what would've been eaten during "Die Groot Trek"

I'm from Poland and the concept of french soup topped with baguette and melted gruyere cheese is new to me. In my house we put gouda cheese in the bowl and then pour soup over it + sometimes top it off with home-made bread rusks

As a French-Canadian, it's so awesome to hear where one of my family's most beloved sayings seems to have stemmed from, though it definitely retains the same meaning! Older France French is ' S'occuper de ses oignons' and we say 'Méles touais d'tes oignons' ( a.k.a direct translation meaning -Mix yourself up with your own onions-) So funny!

Interesting how "a lot of things together" also reflected in music: with polyphony constantly hitting the top of the charts. Then changing to the exposure of a single melody (ingredient) with the backup of the rythm section/basso continuo (complementary accompaniment).

Hi Max! I'm currently referring to this video as I attempt this recipe. My first ever French Onion soup cooked at home! It truly smells AMAZING! The constant stirring to avoid burning the onions is giving me a workout hahah! Love your videos! :)

I am so happy for you, Max. Your channel remains 1 of the few great things to have come from the pandemic. Congratulations 🎊

The moment I will see you recreating the sculpted sugar castles served in medieval festive dinners, I'll know this channel is complete

Max's pronunciation of different languages sound so good, like he really knows just how to say it ❤❤

My wife bought me your cookbook and when she realized this was in it, she got super excited. Modern french onion soup is one of her specialties.

I have a fantasy if ever I was on a sinking ship at sea. Before heading for the life raft, I would go to the ship's kitchen, grab a bag of onions, and then disembark. Now I am equipped to make my shipwreck desert island into a home with hearty food and can even grow more if there for a long stay. LOL

Congratulations on the book release and your success over the years! I have watched so many of your videos and each one is just as good or even better than the last. You inspire so many people to do recipes they never thought they could. Including myself! Getting people back into the kitchen is a great thing. Too many nights of takeout lol and not enough knowledge in the kitchen. But you provide that knowledge and excitement to get back into the kitchen and cook. So, thank you so much for your content and the inspiration you bring.

i dont have many connects to, or really even interest in, for that matter, food. but one time i had to fast for a blood test and i ended up passing out while they were drawing blood and all the nurses were freaking out because i just thought i was gonna have a nap, but they thought i was dying or something. then i went to a local bar and ate a bowl of french onion soup. that is one food event that remains vivid like 15 years later.

You said “Stanislaw Leszcynski” like it was nothing! I’m always so impressed by how you try to pronounce things well/accurately. Also, the wine pairing is genius. Congrats, Max! Can’t wait to receive the book!

I remember when this channel had a couple of thousand subs but incredibly well-made videos, now Max is approaching 2 million subs and it doesn't surprise me one bit

This is such an awesome channel! I don’t know how Max finds all the details and old references, but he does and then does a fantastic job at sharing it in an interesting way. Mixing history with tasty recipes makes great entertainment!!!

It's pretty difficult to describe how delicious sautéed onions are. Like garlic, they mellow as they saute. Who but the French could take such humble ingredients and elevate them to culinary heights.

Entertaining and informative as ever. Max's pulling in of his shoulders as he took a taste was cute. As a fan of Emile Zola I was pleased with the reference to him. I rather smiled at the picture of the market with the restaurant called "The Smoking Dog". I am looking forward to the arrival of the cookbook ordered months ago and wish Max every success with it.

It brought me so much joy to watch you sink into how good it tasted after that first taste or two. You looked so happy and cozy. I love that you bring joy to others with your own joy.

Man, the onion is just one of the best things in the world. Bursting with complex and appealing flavor, with a crunchy and juicy texture in its raw form, that you can transform into an incredibly tender texture which adds a subtle sweetness, in addition to having very roastable qualities. On top of this, it's filling, nutritious, and VERY cheap.

What's interesting to me is that this version of French onion soup is pretty similar to a WWII rationing recipe I have for cream of onion soup. Instead of butter, it has you brown some bacon in the pan, then remove the bacon and add the onions to the bacon fat. After that, the only differences are that you don't use any water, and it doesn't suggest toasted baguettes at all. (It's in a cookbook named Grandma's Wartime Kitchen.)

You could also make an oath on an onion in ancient Egypt. The ancient Egyptians worshipped onions as a symbol of eternal life. It was a common staple food for them, and mummies have been found with onions stuffed inside of them. Ramsey IV was found with onions stuffed in his eye sockets. They'd even use onions as breath "freshener" and pregnancy test. So yeah, onions definitely are a beloved veggie.

For anyone making this or modern french onion soup at home: you can cook down onions faster by adding a bit of water after sweating them and covering them until the water evaporates. I usually add two tablespoons of water, leave them until it’s gone, stir, and then repeat until my onions are totally soft. It makes browning them go a lot faster. (Would recommend babysitting them the first few times you do it. Took me awhile to be able to guesstimate when I’d need to go stir them)

Congrats on the book release!! I cant wait to get a copy! French onion soup is nostalgic for me, reminds me of sunday afternoons with my mom and grandma getting lunch at ruby tuesdays back when they still had tiffany lamps

When I was a teen, I worked at a continental restaurant. We ground large blocks of swiss, used the slicer with an attachment to also prep 50lb bags of onions, and were taught the croutons had to be cut evenly from yesterday's bread so they would all be done toasting at the same time. It was a privilege to work with real chefs (as a dishwasher and prep assistant).

Today I learned that I have never had properly caramelized onions before. I was completely surprised at how sweet they were - without any sugar, to boot!

Max spouting everything with the perfect accent and pronunciation 👌💯

I am so glad it’s in the cookbook because I preordered the book. Congratulations on being a published author! Thanks, Max. I can’t wait to try this recipe and have my house smell delicious. 🥰💕👍

Yay! I love Onion Soup! It brings me such comfort and warmth! Like You and your affable charm Max! Keep the amazing videos!

My brother, in his gourmet days, once made a French Onion Soup to almost exactly this recipe for the family. The only difference was that he used fresh baguette. It's amazing how something so simple can take a dish from sublime to inedible. We still all remember his French Onion Phlegm, and will to our dying days!

as a french, that still do that soup as a tradition, be aware that you've not taasted its full taste yet. be sure to have pepper at your taste in iit, but, the most important, work all day long, during a cold day of winter, and come home frozen, tired and broken. Then, you shall put the onions to caramelize while preparing a fire in the chimney, keeping you warm into the yet cold cold walls of your petite maison chérie. as you finish the meal, put it in the traditional onion soup bowl that you only get out of your stuff for that occasion, and then, let your inner child rediscovers love as your red from the cold hand warm up on the bowl, and as the savoryy, hot onions descend with their sweet scent and thee pepper popping out in that sweetness in your bowels, reelieving all tiredness and coldnness from your exausted body, a warm and worthy of the title of glutonny moment of relief. Yeah, this meal only remains to me as a childish and sweet pleasure after a long hard and cold day of winter.

It’s so cool to see your growth Max! Found you probably at the sub 100 subscriber mark right at the start of the pandemic. Now you have an incredible channel, following and a book on the way. Hats off to you!! Keep the great work coming!

Love the touch of Stunky as backup. 😂 French onion soup usually makes me feel not-so-great but it's one of my favorite foods!! So it made me instantly hungry to see this pop up.

I wonder if the tale of Stanislaw Leszcynski about onion soup is actually that he popularized a certain type of recipe (like the stock based soup vs the milk based), which might have been a step in the gradual development of our modern version. It is a fact that hosts of the period tried to outdo each other in serving unusual foods or having amazing entertainment, much as people do today. He might have actually gotten the recipe by watching someone make it and taking notes, then passed the instructions on to his own cook. Maybe the aristocrat had a hugely successful dinner featuring his favorite version of the recipe and it caught on. That sounds plausible to me. Much more so than the king fixing his own soup.

I'd forgotten about this soup, Max, and cannot wait to make this. Thank you so much for all the very interesting history on it.

I have had your book pre-ordered for about a month or so. My daughter and her wife love your channel and make many of your recipes. We had to be your first order for her birthday on April 20th. I'm hoping you don't delay!! Happy Birthday, Tobyn🎉🎉🎉❤❤❤. Thanks for publishing your cookbook

This recipe is so much like my wife's cream of onion soup where she substitutes heavy cream instead of milk. I'd love to see Max do queen cakes mace, rosewater, and a little bit of royal icing.

For those that do not want to wait too long for the onions to be ready, you can add a pinch of sodium bicarbonate dissolved in a little water at the start, mix well. The lowered pH causes the Maillard reaction (browning, sweetening) to go faster. The end product is the same without the wait.

One of my favorite passover foods is a french onion brisket, with the extra sauce reduced down to coat long grain wild rice. I like to make it outside of passover too and use the sauce as a pasta sauce, serving with mixed vegetables on the side

La Coupole is the Left Bank restaurant where the 'modern' version originated, well known for this soup and also well known being "The" place where richer French ladies past their prime could discretely pick up young men. 53 years ago a slightly older French friend of mine took me here and explained the history of that resuaturant, and the 'business' conducted there. This was when Paris was still Paris, and Parisians still Parisian... We ordered soup and my friend, who was/is a petite woman, brought up very proper in the proper French way, would cut her eyes left and right, flicking a finger out here, there, to point out the women who were on the look out. It was hilarious...

Congratulations on becoming a published author 👏 😀 The soup looks delicious 😋

This channel gives me the "warming calm" that Max describes when he tastes his soup. I made the soup just now and I can report that the feeling is real.

Mmm, I absolutely love French onion soup! It is without doubt my most favorite soup!

Your last taste of the old recipe has me convinced to try it. I adore onion soup with the dark rich oniony broth with cheese and toasted bread on top. Onions,butter, and milk, with toasted bread on the bottom seemed divine too.

Onions are something you always have, even though you got no bread. But onions are always there! Nothing is more basic and plain than onion soup!!

"they are complex"..... like an ogre? lol honestly this looks freaking amazing. It's crazy that such a simple recipe can become such a comfort food. Definitely plan to make this one!

I make French onion soup on new year's eve, it's so nice to have something so simple be so improved by splurging on expensive ingredients. Found out this year that my partner can't stand the texture of the onions, so we'll be making a similarly long-prepped potato garlic soup next year! Fascinating, the little details in the history of this, I may put the cheese on the bottom and just have the baguette on top going forward!

Timestamp 12:58 "Little Boy Max" (the inner child) just made a momentary appearance. 😊 These are genuine reactions that cannot be faked, and is such a joy to see when they appear spontaneously.

Dude, what a time to be alive! We have a man who traveled from year 1651 to share his knowledge about onion soup with us. This is actually crazy.

Legend has it that if you place Tasting History and Cooking Yesteryear on a shelf together, they'll kiss

I have binged every single video. I have even ordered the cookbook. Did I mention I don't really cook? Thank you for making both history and cooking so entertaining. You were made for this, Max!

Dang, I got here so fast the soup is still warm! French Onion soup is one of those things that I super seldom have and always find myself thinking "dang, I should have this more often" every time I do.

Your French pronounciation has really improved since I first started watching; kudos to you for keeping up with practice! Also, love French Onion Soup, so great to see one from the 1600's, especially one that looks so yummy!

I LOVE this channel. I love to cook and I love history. You're currently my favorite youtuber!

Adding wheat flour or other starches to the browned onions before adding the water will help prevent the milk splitting when added later on by stabilising the milk proteins (just like when adding starch to custards)

Sitting here watching this realizing that I've seen every episode of tasting history makes me really happy I'm glad I found max when I did ☺️

This channel, like an onion, has many layers - top notch recipes, historical info and good vibes.

Every restaurant I go to that has French onion soup, I automatically get it. I must know who has the best one. So I am very excited to learn the history of it 💛

One very minor pronunciation correction: Les Halles is NOT elided. When the leading H is aspirated, the elision is dropped. So Les Halles is pronounced LAY-all. I was originally corrected when I visited the old "Halles" in 1969. So even today, the new Forum des Halles is pronounced "DAY-all." But I congratulate you for making a very good effort to pronounce things properly in their original languages. So refreshing. Kudos.

Thanks for this episode and recipe. I made it and then realized how versatile it could be thickened & puréed as a dip, used as a sauce over chicken or pasta.

I don't want to be a weirdo here, but if I could crawl through the screen and steal that pot of soup, I absolutely would.

Yes, onions are an amazing thing to cook! I can imagine the warmth and complexity of flavors (yeah, I’m going to have to make this now). I am delighted that you are a published author now! I ALWAYS look forward to an episode of Tasting History or Drinking History!! CHEERS!!!!

An absolutely fantastic episode Max! I'd be curious to know if you'd ever do a video on rosewater, or essences/ food colouring in general It would be a fantastic time to talk about stillrooms (I'm kind of obsessed with them!) & how households had to manage before so many of the things we take for granted in baking- along with commercial cleaners, medicines, & beauty aids- not to mention confectioners & liquor stores (you could buy beer, ale, wine, & some spirits easily enough [though households usually made their own beer & ale]- but more particular ones, & liqueurs were either made at monasteries, or by the ladies of the house)

A friend of my familiy was a French war bride. She taught me to make onion soup the way her family did during the war. Saute and carmelize the onions, then add water and a peeled and quartered potatoe or two. Cook until the potatoe disintegrates completely and thickens the soup. Salt if you have it. Nothing fancy, just food for really poor, large families. I often sneak a tablespoon or so of some sort of better than bouillion in mine, but I have to have that potatoe.

Matty Mateson has the best French onion soup you will ever eat. Recipe is a little futsy but not hard & one of the things he does is toast the toast & that elevates it to a whole different level