Talk:Bouillabaisse

comments
An audio pronunciation would be nice for this tricky word, bearing in mind that Americans seem to pronounce it in a more Anglified way than the British (perhaps because the British are closer to France). 86.150.130.12 16:36, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

I may need putting right but I have never heard of salt cod being the 'classic' fish for Bouillabaisse, I have never heard of it being included at all. In fact, the only fish everyone can seem to agree on is the Rascasse. Also, aioli is a type of garlic mayonnaise, rouillle is a chilli condiment which can be thickened with bread or an egg/oil emulsion but is never identified as a type of aioli. They are separate condiments.

Is it true that moray eel can be in this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.61.13.198 (talk) 22:49, 7 June 2008 (UTC)

inclusion of the recipe
Per WP:NOTHOWTO, I would argue that while a description of bouillabaisse's ingredients and an outline of a typical recipe is important, a step-by-step recipe belongs in Wikibooks. --Killing Vector (talk) 14:02, 2 November 2008 (UTC)


 * I agree.--345Kai (talk) 05:04, 21 February 2012 (UTC)

Octopus
"Live octopus"?

That seems unlikely and pointless. Is it nonsense, or is this true (and still nonsense!)?Jimjamjak (talk) 15:17, 11 August 2011 (UTC)

You're quite right - I checked the recipe, and while it says live octopus in the list of ingredients, it later says it should be chopped up before it's added, which presumably is fatal for the octopus. Octopus is used only in this one region of Marseille; it's not used in other parts of town. SiefkinDR (talk)

I have restored the recipe to this article, because I think how the dish is made and the ingredients are an essential part of the subject. There are many dishes served in restaurants which claim to be a bouillabaisse which in fact have little in common with the real thing. The only way to understand the real bouillabaisse is by seeing the recipe. SiefkinDR (talk) 06:39, 18 September 2011 (UTC)
 * Hello SiefkinDR, I hope you're well. I think explaining the preparation and ingredients in a traditional bouillabaisse is important, but a recipe is not the right way to do it. If we use the featured article Gumbo (recently on the main page) as a model, we can see that it explains what goes into it and summarises how it is prepared, but does not give explicit instructions on how to prepare it. At the bottom however, there is a link to a recipe that does give instructions on how to prepare it, because readers might be interested; certainly we can link to an article containing the recipe, but the recipe itself is not in the scope of an encyclopaedia article. Moreover, I disagree that 'the only way to understand the real bouillabaisse is by seeing the recipe'; as an occasional chef at best who would have no idea how to prepare it, the recipe doesn't help me to understand the dish at all, and if I went to a restaurant and ordered it I'd have no idea how they prepared it anyway. While the recipe may be interesting to some readers, the majority probably would learn more from an encyclopaedic summary (which I would be glad to help you write). Regards, Intelligent  sium  22:21, 21 September 2011 (UTC)
 * As an additional comment, I think the presence of the recipe might mislead readers into a too-narrow view of the dish, since this is only one restaurant's interpretation and recipes, the article states, 'vary from family to family' and 'local restaurants dispute which versions are the most authentic'. There is also the possibility that the recipe is under some type of copyright or legal protection, but I am not well-versed enough in these areas to give a proper opinion. Intelligent  sium  22:26, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

I appreciate your opinion. It would be good if we got some additional opinions as well; my general feeling is the more information about a subject the better. I wanted users to have an example of the classic Marseille recipe, which is different from the many variations that claim to be bouillabaisse but really aren't, but that could be done as a summary as well.

There are no legal problems with posting a recipe, fortunately. Recipes are one of the few things you can't copyright. SiefkinDR (talk) 15:50, 23 September 2011 (UTC)


 * still, the recipe should NOT be here. List of typical ingredients, and general outline, sure, but not an actual recipe.  That goes against all wikipedia standards.--345Kai (talk) 05:07, 21 February 2012 (UTC)

I'm sorry, I don't understand what Wikipedia standard this goes against. You can't talk about bouillabaisse with explaining how it's traditionally made. It's the essence of the subject. The best you can do is to give a typical recipe from a place acknowledged in several sources to be authentic in the place where it originated. As I mentioned above, the purpose of this article is to help people to know the difference between a real bouillabaisse from the place of origin with the many dishes that call themselves bouillabaisse. I don't see how deleting information that is well-sourced, neutral and notable serves the intent of Wikipedia. The article must be useful- it gets a very large number of visits every month. I have not seen anyone else ask that the recipe be removed. I do appreciate and welcome your point of view, But I would welcome other opinions on the subject. SiefkinDR (talk) 22:27, 21 February 2012 (UTC)

Rouille: Mayonnaise or not?
This article describes Rouille as a spiced Mayonnaise (or Aioli) (made from egg yolk, oil, and spices), while the Rouille article itself describes the sauce as made of bread, oil, and spices. (no egg) (and the French entry lists potatoes, oil, and angler fish liver as main ingredients...) can someone relsove this?? -- megA (talk) 14:34, 8 October 2014 (UTC)

Dear MegA,

Thanks for your comment. Of course recipes are very personal and everyone has a different way of doing things, but in Provence for bouillabaisse the rouille is definitely a mayonnaise, and needs an egg yolk to serve as the emulsifier and to give it body; otherwise it would be liquid. See the article on mayonnaise and also see the picture at the head of the article for how it looks on the slices of bread. My wife, who is from Toulon, made an excellent rouille yesterday for a fish soup, with egg yolk, olive oil, salt, saffron and spices. That seems to be the classic version used for bouillabaisse. SiefkinDR (talk) 17:48, 8 October 2014 (UTC)

Forgot to mention, my wife's rouille also includes Dijon mustard, but everyone makes it a little differently. Bon appetit! SiefkinDR (talk) 17:55, 8 October 2014 (UTC)

Main photo original caption translation
The original caption is in Catalan:

"Plat de bullabessa amb torradetes de pa untades amb salsa rolla, acompanyada de vi blanc i dels peixos que en principi es mengen desprès. Aquesta és una versió de luxe del plat tradicional."

"Bullabessa dish with toast spread with "salsa rolla" (literally, "roll sauce") (Catalan for "Rouille"), accompanied by white wine and fish that are eaten afterwards. This is a deluxe version of the traditional dish."

Rouille or "Salsa rolla" (the stuff in the ramakins and on the toast croutons) is "a Provençal sauce that consists of olive oil with breadcrumbs, garlic, saffron and chili peppers and is often served with fish soup."

Drsruli (talk) 22:21, 27 June 2021 (UTC)

Stew or soup?
The article refers to bouillabaisse as a soup in some places and a stew in others. Please pick one to make the article more consistent. (I would suggest soup, as the article soup refers to it as such.) 209.237.105.194 (talk) 17:03, 16 February 2023 (UTC)


 * Thnaks for pointing this out. I agree that soup is the right term, and is the term used in the French Wikipedia. I will make the changes.SiefkinDR (talk) 18:21, 16 February 2023 (UTC)

Citations lacking links
Most of the citations in this article do not include links. Links should be added when possible, potentially to Google Books if the citation is a book. 209.237.105.194 (talk) 19:59, 16 February 2023 (UTC)