Difference Between Scalloped and Au Gratin Potatoes

Potato among all the vegetables is the well-loved vegetable of all times and by all generations. Potato made with cheese is what is scalloped potato and au gratin potatoes. However, the main difference between the two is the cheese that is cooked with it.

Scalloped vs Au Gratin Potatoes

The main difference between scalloped and au gratin potatoes is that the former is baked with basic cream cheese whereas the latter is baked with the cheese as well as has cheese between the layers and the cheese is also sprinkled on the top of it along with bread crumbs for some crunch.

The word scalloped means to slice thinly. Scalloped potatoes are the kind of potato dish that is a casserole type dish. It is prepared mixed with basic cream cheese sauce in the oven. It is a kind of technique that only potatoes can be made out of it. Scalloped potatoes can only and only be prepared by baking and not by any other technique possible.

The term Au gratin means to scrape. Au gratin potatoes are cooked either by baking, grilling or cooking in the boiler. It is not specific to only baking. Potatoes are mixed with the ingredients and then cooked and are then topped by cheese bread crumbs, etc for a good crust as well as the top.

Comparison Table Between Scalloped and Au Gratin Potatoes

Parameters of ComparisonScalloped PotatoesAu Gratin Potatoes
MeaningIt is a dish in which potatoes are sliced are baked all together with basic cheese cream sauce.It is a dish in which along with cooking the potatoes with the basic cheese, there are even fillings made tossed in cheese by putting the cheese in the middle as well as by sprinkling it upon the dish.
TechniqueIt is cooked using oven or baking technique by any means.It can be cooked not only by baking but also by grilling or by cooking in the boiler.
OriginIt comes from the old English word “collop” which means to slice thinly.It comes from the French word ‘grater’ which means to scrape.
TypeIt is a casserole type dish, that is, in such a dish a deep, big bowl is used which is possible for the baking environment.It is not such a specific dish as a casserole one as it is not restricted to baking.
RestrictionGenerally, only potatoes are prepared scalloped.Not only potatoes but meat, fish, crabs and other vegetables can also be cooked au gratin.

What are Scalloped Potatoes?

Scalloped potatoes are a sort of dish which is a casserole type dish in which a big deep pan or bowl is used in which the dish is cooked rather than baked in the oven, which has a few distinct forms including American and Irish ones. These are made with meagerly cut potatoes cooked with cheddar, milk, cream, and parsley or anything green finely chopped for the garnish.

This dish of scalloped potatoes does not contain cheese. It contains cheese cream that may also have flavoured stock mixed with it or milk or cheese sauce of some definite flavour or any other substitute as per the requirement of the dish but not cheese.

One may believe that it contains scallops, which is a kind of shellfish, yet it doesn’t. The Old English word “collop” from the Old French “escalope” signified “cut neat” which is the way potatoes are ready in scalloped potatoes. A few new forms of the dish do have meat as fixings, yet they are completely heated for an hour at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. It is eaten as a vacation dinner and can be arranged hours ahead of time. In France and most French-talking nations, it is called potatoes au gratin or au gratin potatoes.

What are Au Gratin Potatoes?

The expression “gratin” comes from the French word “grater” which signifies “to scratch” which signifies “to scrape the skin.” Aside from potatoes, meat, poultry, fish, pasta, vegetables, and crab meat may likewise be arranged au gratin.

“Gratin” is the most common way of preparing food either warmed by a barbecue, heater or prepared. The fixings are combined as one and set in a gratin dish then, at that point finished off with breadcrumbs, ground cheddar, egg, and spread for sauteing and baking process. It is not necessarily prepared using an oven or rather using the technique of baking as it can also be prepared by grilling or using a boiler instead. The dish is not baking specific which is why it is not a casserole dish that requires a deep bowl capable of baking.

Traditionally, potatoes are sliced extremely thin to achieve the satisfaction of multiple layers in the dish. Au gratin potatoes include grated cheese because of which the dish becomes even more cheesy and decadent as the grated cheese is sprinkled in between the layers and also on the top of it. Also, bread crumbs are sprinkled on the top of the dish to have a good crunch along with the cheese.

Main Differences Between Scalloped and Au Gratin Potatoes

  • The scallop term is derived from callop which means to cut neatly whereas the term au gratin is derived from grater which means to scrape.
  • Scalloped potatoes are prepared with cheese cream whereas au gratin potatoes are cooked with grated cheese all over.
  • Scalloped potatoes can only be prepared by baking while au gratin potatoes can be cooked either by grilling, baking or by using a boiler.
  • Nicely chopped parsley or any other green leaf is used to garnish the scalloped potato dish whereas bread crumbs a used to attain a good crunch on au gratin potatoes.
  • Scalloped potatoes type dish whereas au gratin potatoes is not.
  • Conclusion

    In fact talking, both of these dishes are rich and velvety food sources made with cut potatoes. Those potatoes are served in a meal dish or a cake skillet. These two dishes are made with a lot of similar fixings and with comparative taste and surface attributes.

    The two of them might seem as though a similar dish arranged marginally unique. There is a solitary fixing that isolates these two dishes, and when you notice, it will be not difficult to recognize the two. It’s simply cheese, scalloped potatoes shouldn’t have cheddar, customarily talking, yet au gratin potatoes do. That is the fundamental contrast in scalloped potatoes versus au gratin potatoes.

    Whatever fixings you use for it, and however you cook it, or any way you call it, scalloped potatoes or au gratin potatoes are profoundly nutritious, extremely fulfilling, and inconceivably tasty dishes that occasion dinners can’t manage without.

    References

  • https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf0493270?casa_token=oA2y936jF6YAAAAA:M5MMXN0mwd7wBy57qq-l6peLzbOSkSxX3Qiy6DrTf7k4uqjtRof6LGM1v0dH83G0LzOS5_BOnbZF-g
  • https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Ido8AAAAYAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP5&dq=%EF%BB%BFdifference+between+scalloped+and+au+gratin+potatoes&ots=7an1OKp0RN&sig=lo8JHzW6Kt-CXlvD2bBxeN79Stg
  • ncG1vNJzZmiZo6Cur8XDop2fnaKau6SxjZympmeUnrOnsdGepZydXZeytcPEnqVmq5OWua27z56bZpmemXqiwYygqZqsmaN6sbvTmquonaNixKrAx2armpqcmnw%3D