French culinary expression: SABLER LE CHAMPAGNE

53476 Views 26/02/2023 0 comments Posted By: Emmanuel Poulet-Harmel In: Blog of gourmets

Even if "slashing the champagne" has been heard a lot in recent years, and even if, at a party, there will always be a guest bold enough to undertake to show others how, in the absence of a saber, one can takes with a kitchen knife to slice clean a neck of champagne, the authentic expression rests well on this inexplicable sand.

As early as the 17th century, it was said to "sand a glass of wine" in  sense of drinking it in one gulp, very quickly by analogy with the molten metal quickly poured into the mold of sand.

Until the end of the 19th century, the technical image applied to all alcohol drunk in one gulp, “bottom up” as we would say today.

Then the expression specialized in champagne, to the exclusion of any other alcohol, and gradually deviated towards a meaning that eliminated all idea of speed, in favor of that of celebration of an event of importance.