[Sca-cooks] torte vs. tart

[Terry Decker]

There is no difference in German.  "Torte" can mean pie, flan, tart or a
flat cake.  You start getting specific when you modify the noun with a
prefix, as in "Linzertorte."  To make matters more confusing, sometimes the
prefix is used to describe two different things.  "Obsttorte" is used to
describe both tarts and flans, although it is common to drop the "Obst" when
referring to a tart.

As near as I can tell, the derivation of all European forms of "tart" are
from the Latin "torta" meaning "flat cake."

Bear

>> Indeed, my wife has made me suspicious that a lot of the "tart" recipes
>> in the translations of Sabina Welserin (and Guter Spise?) really ARE
>> "torte" and not "tarts" at all...
>Ok, so what is the difference between a "torte" and a "tart"? Tarts are
>pies without a top pastry shell or even lacing, right?
>
>Stefan