Chef Juliette
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Crème de Maïs, otherwise Washington
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 707, Crème de Maïs, otherwise Washington, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
A silken Crème de Maïs built on equal parts corn and thin béchamel, passed smooth, enriched with cream, then punctuated by whole kernels: sweet, plain, and precisely what Washington promises.
Soups & Stews
French
Comfort Food
Weeknight
20 min
Active Time
40 min cook•1 hr total
YieldAbout 2 quarts (8 cups)
Crème de Maïs, dite Washington (cream of corn soup, called Washington) teaches a precise lesson: silk comes from passing, not from pouring in more cream. Corn skins remain rough after blending; the sieve is what turns sweet maize and Béchamel into a true crème.
The original entry assumed a saucier with thin Béchamel ready and a tammy waiting on the bench. Here the brigade batch is brought down to about two quarts, the Béchamel is made fresh in a saucepan, and an immersion blender with a sturdy fine-mesh sieve replaces the tammy. The gallons and dedicated hands were scaffolding. Equal measures of corn and Béchamel, the passing, the last-minute cream, and the whole-kernel garnish are the dish, so they remain exactly where they belong. One cook, one stove, one evening.
Expect a pale butter-gold soup, sweet but not sugary, with cream rounding the corn rather than hiding it. When you reach the sieve, take your time; the pressure of the ladle against that mesh decides the soup.
Crème de Maïs, dite Washington belongs to the Parisian classical table, where Washington served as a geographic menu-name for American maize rather than a claim that the soup came from a local Washington kitchen. Its method is wholly French: the principal ingredient is joined to thin Béchamel, rubbed through a tammy, enriched with cream, and garnished with a little of itself. The crop and name crossed the Atlantic, while the grand-kitchen cream-soup grammar gave them their place in the canon.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
corn kernels, fresh, frozen, or well-drained canned
Quantity
4 cups (960 ml / 600 g)
divided
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 18 g), plus more to finish
for the cooking water
unsalted butter
Quantity
2½ tablespoons (37 ml / 35 g)
all-purpose flour
Quantity
¼ cup (60 ml / 30 g)
whole milk
Quantity
3¾ cups (900 ml / 925 g)
warmed and divided
heavy cream
Quantity
1 cup (240 ml / 240 g)
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| corn kernels, fresh, frozen, or well-drained canneddivided | 4 cups (960 ml / 600 g) |
| fine sea saltfor the cooking water | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 18 g), plus more to finish |
| unsalted butter | 2½ tablespoons (37 ml / 35 g) |
| all-purpose flour | ¼ cup (60 ml / 30 g) |
| whole milkwarmed and divided | 3¾ cups (900 ml / 925 g) |
| heavy cream | 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •4 to 5-quart heavy saucepan
- •Medium saucepan for cooking the corn
- •Immersion blender
- •Sturdy fine-mesh sieve
- •Ladle
Instructions
- 1
Cook the maize
Bring a saucepan of water to a boil and season it with the measured salt. Add the corn and cook until tender but still distinctly sweet, about 4 minutes for fresh kernels, 3 minutes for frozen, or 1 minute merely to warm canned corn. Drain thoroughly. Reserve ½ cup (120 ml / about 75 g) of whole kernels for the garnish, then measure 3½ cups (840 ml / about 525 g) for the soup.
If the measured corn falls a little short, make the same smaller volume of Béchamel. The one-to-one proportion matters more than forcing the batch to a number. - 2
Build thin Béchamel
Melt the butter over medium-low heat in a heavy saucepan without letting it colour. Stir in the flour and cook this roux blanc (white roux) for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until it smells gently of warm biscuits but remains pale. Whisk in 3½ cups (840 ml) of the warm milk gradually, beginning with small additions so the roux loosens without lumping. Bring it to the barest simmer and cook for 12 minutes, whisking often and scraping the corners. If it knots, take the pan off the heat and whisk firmly from the centre outward; any stubborn speck will be caught by the later sieve.
Measure the finished Béchamel. Add reserved warm milk if it is below 3½ cups, or simmer it a little longer if it is above. It must equal the volume of corn. - 3
Join equal measures
Stir the measured 3½ cups of corn into the 3½ cups of thin Béchamel. Hold the mixture at a gentle simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring along the pan floor so the milk does not catch, until the grains yield completely beneath the spoon. Equal quantities keep the soup unmistakably of corn while giving it the body of a classical crème.
- 4
Blend and pass
Blend directly in the saucepan with an immersion blender until no whole kernel shapes remain. Set a sturdy fine-mesh sieve over a clean bowl and pass the soup through in batches, pressing and rubbing it firmly with the back of a ladle. Continue until only dry, papery husks remain, then discard them. If the soup still feels gritty on the tongue, pass it once more. Ça se rattrape. More cream cannot disguise a skin that should have been removed.
Blending is preparation for the sieve, not a replacement for it. The tammy was the original tool; the fine mesh gives the home cook the same essential result. - 5
Finish with cream
Return the passed soup to the rinsed saucepan and heat it gently, stirring often. It should flow like light cream and leave a thin ivory coat on the spoon; if it is too thick, loosen it with the remaining warm milk, one spoonful at a time. Whisk in the heavy cream only when the soup is fully heated, then season carefully with salt. Do not let it boil hard after the cream goes in. If the milk catches on the pan floor, pour the soup immediately into a clean pan without scraping the scorched spot.
- 6
Garnish and serve
Warm the reserved whole kernels in a ladleful of soup. Spoon them into the serving tureen or divide them among warm bowls, then ladle the Crème de Maïs over them so a few golden grains remain visible at the surface. Serve at once. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Use fresh corn when the kernels are plump and milky. Out of season, frozen corn picked at its peak is an honest choice, and well-drained canned corn follows the source faithfully. A tired cob contributes less than either.
- •The sieve is not decorative work. Corn skin is what makes an otherwise smooth purée feel sandy, and removing it is the step that earns the word crème.
- •The source also permits a velouté version. Replace the 3½ cups of thin Béchamel, measure for measure, with 3½ cups of excellent poultry velouté, then keep the corn, passing, cream finish, and whole-kernel garnish unchanged. The result is more savory and poultry-led.
Advance Preparation
- •The soup can be prepared through the sieving step one day ahead. Cool it promptly in a shallow container, cover, and refrigerate; reheat gently and add the cream only before serving.
- •The corn may be cooked and divided earlier the same day. Keep the garnish kernels covered in the cold, then warm them in a little soup before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 230g)
Calories
280 calories
Total Fat
19 g
Saturated Fat
12 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
6 g
Cholesterol
55 mg
Sodium
230 mg
Total Carbohydrates
23 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
11 g
Protein
7 g
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