purée

The French word purée came from the past participle of purer, 'to purify' or 'to refine,' which derived from Latin purare, 'to make pure,' from purus, 'clean' or 'pure.' The logic was that pushing food through a sieve removed the impurities — skins, seeds, fibers — leaving only the refined essence. A purée was literally 'purified food.' The technique assumed that the smooth version was the superior version.

French cooking elevated the purée from peasant necessity to haute cuisine technique. Potage purée — thick soup made from puréed vegetables — was a staple of French cooking by the 17th century. Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, the 18th-century agronomist who championed the potato in France, popularized potage Parmentier (potato leek soup), which is essentially a purée. His name is still attached to puréed potato dishes.

The food processor, invented by Pierre Verdun in 1971 under the brand Robot-Coupe, democratized puréeing. Before the machine, achieving a smooth purée required a food mill, a tamis (drum sieve), and considerable arm strength. The Cuisinart, adapted for home use by Carl Sontheimer in 1973, brought restaurant-quality purées to domestic kitchens. The word stayed French. The labor disappeared.

English borrowed purée from French in the early 18th century. The accent on the final 'e' survived in English — one of the few diacritical marks that English speakers willingly tolerate. Baby food is purée. Smoothies are purée. The fancy 'cauliflower purée' on a restaurant menu is mashed cauliflower with a French accent and a higher price.