What does veloute mean?
Velouté is a French-derived word best known in English as the name of a thick, smooth soup. Such soups are made by puréeing vegetables, fruit, meat, or other ingredients and often enriching or thickening them with cream, stock, egg yolk, or another binder. The result is valued for its uniformly smooth texture, which explains the association with velvet and the word’s French meaning of “velvety.” In British and American restaurant English, velouté commonly occurs in combinations such as vegetable, chicken, or tomato velouté. Its use as an adjective, meaning soft and smooth like velvet, is much less common and generally literary or French-influenced. The word adds a culinary note of refinement and precision: it identifies not merely a puréed soup, but one distinguished by particular smoothness and consistency. It is therefore useful for menu writing, food criticism, and descriptions of dishes where texture is central to the appeal.
A thick soup made from puréed ingredients and often thickened with cream or another binder.
"We began with a smooth carrot velouté topped with fresh herbs."
Established in British and American culinary English, particularly for menus and food writing.
Soft and smooth like velvet.
"The sauce had a rich, velouté texture."
Rare in modern English and more characteristic of literary or strongly French-influenced prose; “velvety” is the usual neutral alternative.
The plural normally retains the French-style accent on the final e.
"The chef offered three seasonal veloutés."
Velouté began as a description of texture: French for “velvety,” it became the name of a famously smooth soup.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of veloute
English velouté was borrowed from French velouté, literally “velvety,” a word formed from velouter (“to make velvety”) and velours (“velvet”). The French culinary noun developed by extension to refer to a soup with a smooth, velvet-like consistency. The family ultimately traces to Latin vellus, associated with hair or fleece, from which the vocabulary of velvet developed.
Related word forms
How veloute is actually used
The noun is standard culinary vocabulary in both British and American English, especially on restaurant menus. The adjective is much rarer and sounds literary or distinctly French-influenced; in ordinary English, “velvety” is usually preferred.
Easily confused with veloute
Velouté is a French-derived culinary term for a smooth puréed soup, while velvet is a soft fabric with a dense, raised pile.
Velour names a fabric resembling velvet, whereas velouté primarily names a puréed soup or, rarely, something with a velvety texture.