Croque Monsieur – Croque Madame

A Croque-Monsieur is a sandwich made of hot cheese and ham, grilled on both sides. The cheese used is generally Emmental or Gruyere.

The reason for its name is unknown, so are the origins of this popular sandwich. The taste of the cheese melting on ham is terrific.

Croque-Monsieur is now a classic French food product and Parisian cafés and Brasseries have thousands of different croques on offer, each café bringing its slight variation to the original recipe.

The Dutch Tosti sandwich is very close to the recipe of the actual Croque Monsieur. As Croque-Monsieur means “crunch mister”, Croque-Madame also exists, being “crunch madam”.

Croque-Madame is a variation of the initial gastronomic recipe with a poached or fried egg on top of the sandwich. When discovering France (and its food and gastronomy traditions) you may even see Croque-Mademoiselle sandwiches as well.

Top Tip! Regional variations of the famous Croque-Monsieur sandwich exist, with either tomato, Bleu d’Auvergne cheese, smoked salmon (instead of ham), sliced potatoes and reblochon cheese or pineapple.

Paris lovers will be delighted as in Paris and the Ile de France region, each honourable café offers a variation of the Croque-Monsieur / Croque-Madame. Ideal for winter months.