Florentine as a noun refers to a biscuit (see nut biscuits). Historically, the term ‘Florentine’ applied in Britain to a pie or tart containing meat or fruit or possibly both. Why the name was used in this way is not clear, although it probably reflected some French usage. At least four English cookery books of the first half of the 18th century give an almost identical recipe for A Florendine Of Veal, involving veal kidney and various spices in a pie. Wright’s English Dialect Dictionary shows that in Scotland it was usually a dish of veal baked in a plate with a cover of paste; and that in Bedfordshire an ‘Apple Florentine’ was served at Christmas. The use of the term ‘florentine’ for the big, round dish in which special apple pies were baked survived in the Yorkshire Dales until well into the 20th century.
