French expression: Robe des champs
Friday June 19, 2009
What does the idiomatic French expression en robe des champs mean? Click the link above to learn all about it, and then come back here to share your thoughts.
More: French expressions
More: French expressions
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I learnt the expression as
‘en robe de chambre’- ie dressing gown’ many years ago- are you sure that there isn’t some phonetic confusion- as it sounds quite similar.
I also learned the expression “en robe de chambre” from my school days. Any ideas which came first as I suspect one is a phonetic confusion of the other ?
I have just googled ‘pomme de terre en robe de chambre’, and there are numerous recipes for this delectable dish.
So I think that Laura has got it wrong, misled by the phonetic resemblance of champ and chambre, amd that Julie and I are right.
Do check, Laura, and correct your note for your many readers.
If you think about it, there is nothing so relaxed as a potato in its dressing gown, and this also parallels the English expression.
The French friend I was speaking to definitely said robe des champs, and here’s what Le Grand Robert says:
Pommes de terre en robe de chambre, cuites avec leur peau (bouillies, à la vapeur, au four…). REM. L’expression s’explique par le sens de « enveloppe, peau » du mot robe; la pomme de terre dans sa robe, en robe, est celle qu’on n’a pas pelée. Quant à l’expression pommes de terre en robe des champs, elle semble une déformation (ou une correction voulue) de la précédente, car elle n’est attestée que plus tard.
Laura K. Lawless
Learn French at About
I had learned the “en robe des champs” and you get over one million hits for recipes googling for this.
I also remember a popular restaurant in Strasbourg, La Robe des Champs which is bon marché) (now there's another great French expression which doesn't translate as well into English).
I am more used to seeing “pommes de terre en robe de chambre” but “en robe des champs” is also correct.
No, she is right. En robe de chambre means in your dressing gown (ie, not dressed), en robe de champs means in ‘field dress’ or as it comes in from the field. They refer to the same thing (skin on) and both are correct but ‘de chambre’ is a bit old-fashioned. If searching a French search engine for ‘en robe de chambre’ you get a lot of dressing gowns, you need to put ‘recette’ in the search line to get the recipes. ‘En robe de champs’ brings up only recipes, it’s the more usual term in spite of what US french teachers may be passing on to their students ;o) It doesn’t just refer to potatoes, also bananas, beans, etc. cooked in the skin. Trop chou has the best recipe for pommes de terre en robe de champs, simple and delicious.
Literal translation: field dress, dress from the fields
Interestingly, in English the words “field dress” can mean gutting a deer in the field, after it has been shot. In this case, “dress” is a verb, maybe not too unlike the French “dresser”.
In 1977 I was camping on the Mediterranean with a college friend and two young French friends of hers. One night we served them potatoes with the skins on, having been taught that all the vitamins are in the skin. I still remember the exact words and shocked tone Patrick later used to tell his mother his mother about this event of serving “pommes de terre non-epluchées.” So I am interested to hear that this is a well-known traditional way to serve potatoes.
Moving on to other garments I like my garlic roast en chemise.
what a lovely expression! thank you
À tout bout de champ j’aime tres bien les pommes de terre en robe des champs – bien cuite avec le beurre!
won
I just came across this definition in a french childrens book of expressions, which makes a lot of sense ! :
‘Une pomme de terre en robe de chambre/des champs’
Une pomme de tere cuite dans sa peau. On raconte que cette jolie expression n’est que la deformation d’un mot du nord de la France qui veut dire “cendres”. Cette pomme de terre serait en realite cuite dans sa peau et sous la cendre.
J’ai trouvé cette expression intéressante. Ca évoque les images des pommes de terres habillés dan leur robes de chambres (ou champs) en marchant à la marmite.
J’ai cherché google.fr pour l’expression entière. Answers.yahoo.fr a un fil intéressante sur la ce sujet :
http://fr.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AkQ.2YBlnQaSNW7bJ4_2l_N5Agx.;_ylv=3?qid=20071018060602AAZeicY
En particulaire, le fil suggère que les pommes en robe « de chambre » et « de champs » sont différentes, la première étant cuit au four, et la dernière cuit avec sa peau, peut-être en bouillante. A mon avis, la peau (ou robe) est nécessaire pour le meilleure gout ! (ou saveur?)
J’ai trouvé aussi « pomme de terre en chemise » – http://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/chemise.
Bonjpur, Laura!
Merci bcp pour tres joli et exacte expression. Je le trouve poetique, je l´adore. On peut comparer.
En russe on dit: pomme de terre en uniforme.
Merci
Nina
We have just eaten in a Voges restaurant in Valdin, in a lovely valley setting. I wanted a Jamboneur with saute potatoes and my wife, plain potatoes in their skin.
We used our little French to discuss with that lady chef and owner and we were so dumb as not to make a literal translation of “en robes des champs”. She was so good we ended up with three dishes, two en robes and one saute! Delicious and no extra charge!
Here they served a three course lunch Main Course ie meat potato lettuce/ salad, followed by bread and cheese Chevre ou Munster, then a choice of local “tartes”, Myrtilles to die for!
I will never look at a Jacket Potato in the same way again
Graham
UK