English to French translation

Tartare

April 12, 2007

This is the steak tartare we had for lunch, one Sunday in February, with a couple of brave friends:

This led me to wonder about the origin of the word "tartare", which is used in "steak tartare" and "tartare sauce". What is the link between raw steak and mayonnaise? About steak tartare, there is a lovely story about Mongols (c. 1209) carrying flat patties of lamb or mutton under their saddle to tenderize the meat, which was eaten raw. As the Mongols invaded Moscow, this way of eating raw meat was given their name (they were known as the Tartars).

However, this appears to be untrue. This is what the San Diego Union Tribune tells us:

The custom of combining raw meat with raw egg, vinegar, capers, pickles and other seasonings originated in Germany, most likely in the city of Hamburg. Eventually the dish was introduced into the United States. Some time in the late 19th century, it came to be called steak tartare. Also at that time, some clever cook took the ingredients in the dish, except the raw meat and egg, and combined them with mayonnaise.

Lunch was lovely, but I do prefer my steak cooked.

Comments

The San Diego Union Tribune is hardly a magisterial authority, and the German origin sounds pretty unlikely.

Anyway, what they say does not preclude the possibility that it started with the Mongols, though this does sound like folk etymology.

This is what the Oxford reference books say:

tartare
Tartare has two culinary applications in English, both of them inspired by the supposed fieriness of the Tatar people of central Asia. Tartare sauce is basically a mayonnaise given piquancy by the addition of chopped capers, onions, and pickles. (From An A-Z of Food and Drink in Food & Drink)

2. tartare sauce
Mayonnaise flavoured with herbs, chopped capers, gherkins, etc., served with fish. (From A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition in Food & Drink)

I agree with Tony. Unless the good people of Hamburg, feeling unusually peckish one day, didn't want to wait and decided to eat their hamburgers raw rather than take the time to cook them.

I go with the Mongols.

Yes, this is a very nebulous subject, and I do like the Mongol explanation. Denis on the French side adds that the Mongols aren't called "Tartares" in Russia; in the Chuvash Republic and in Tatarstan live a people called Tatars who are often confused with the Mongols because of their likeness.

Benoît chips in and informs me that "steak tartare" is called "filet américain" in Switzerland and Belgium. I had no idea.

Well, I'd heard that "steak under the saddle" explanation before, and thought it sounded too plausible to be true.

There are other dishes of raw meat, such as the Italian carpaccio, but especially the Armenian kibbeh that could be related to the world-famous steak tartare.

While not being a "canonical" authority, the San Diego tribune gives an interesting link to the fascinating world of the Hamburger, and such English back-formations as beefburger, cheeseburger, chickenburger and so on.

Keith.

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