What is the Difference Between Roulade and Swiss Roll

The main difference between roulade and Swiss roll is that roulades can be sweet or savory, whereas Swiss rolls are sweet.

In general, we use the name roulade to refer to a rolled dish. That is; it’s a dish made from food rolled into the shape of a cylinder. Furthermore, roulades can be savory or sweet. Therefore, we can consider the Swiss rolls as a type of sweet roulades. However, remember that all Swiss rolls are roulades, but not all roulades are Swiss rolls.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is Roulade 
     – Definition, Features 
2. What is Swiss Roll
     – Definition, Features
3. Relationship Between Roulade and Swiss Roll
     – Outline of Association
4. Difference Between Roulade and Swiss Roll
     – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

Roulade, Swiss Roll, Cake, Sponge Rolls

What is Roulade

A roulade is a dish made of filled rolled meat or pastry. In fact, we generally use the name roulade to refer to a rolled dish. The name roulade comes from the French word rouler, which means “to roll.” Roulades can be savory or sweet. A Swiss roll is a form of sweet roulade.

In roulades, we roll one food around another and slice them lengthwise into pinwheels. Sweet roulades usually contain cake and filling, while savory roulades contain meats wrapped around some form of stuffing or filling.

What are Savory Roulades

Savory roulades are usually meat roulades. We can use a variety of meat, fish, or poultry to make savory roulades. Also, some of these include salmon, halibut, pork loin, chicken breast, turkey breast, roast beef, and beef tenderloin. As filling or stuffing, we can also use a variety of ingredients, such as sauteed vegetables, traditional bread stuffing, soft cheese and herbs, and thinly sliced meats like prosciutto.

What is Swiss Roll

Swiss rolls are a type of sweet rolls. We can describe them as rolled sponge cakes filled with jam, whipped cream,  or icing. Jelly rolls, roll cake, and cream rolls are some other names for Swiss rolls. We can trace the history of Swiss rolls to Central Europe, but not to Switzerland as its name suggests.

Swiss rolls are easy to make since they are just cakes spread with cream or jam and then rolled into a cylindrical shape. Also, we can use many different types of fillings for these rolls. Some of these fillings include jam or jelly (any flavor you like – strawberry, raspberry, apricot, blackberry, etc.), whipped cream, icing, buttercream, cream cheese, and mousse. Moreover, there are different flavor combinations in Swiss rolls, including vanilla sponge cakes with jam fillings and chocolate cakes with cream fillings. In addition to these, these rolls can come in different sizes too.

Relationship Between Roulade and Swiss Roll

• In general, we use the name roulade to refer to a rolled dish.
• Therefore, Swiss rolls are a type of roulades.
• However, all Swiss rolls are roulades, but not all roulades are Swiss rolls.

Difference Between Roulade and Swiss Roll

Definition

A roulade is a dish made of filled rolled meat or pastry, while Swiss rolls are rolled sponge cakes filled with jam, whipped cream, or icing.

Flavor

Roulades can be sweet or savory, whereas swiss rolls are a type of sweet roulades.

Content

Sweet roulades usually contain cake and filling, while savory roulades contain meats wrapped around some form of stuffing or filling. Swiss rolls are rolled sponge cakes that have a filling like jam, whipped cream, or icing.

Conclusion

A roulade is a dish made from food rolled into the shape of a cylinder. Swiss roll is a rolled sponge cake filled with jam, whipped cream, or icing. The main difference between roulade and Swiss roll is that roulades can be sweet or savory, whereas Swiss rolls are sweet.

Reference:

1. Frazier, Karen. “What Is Roulade?” Gourmet LoveToKnow, LoveToKnow Media.
2. “Swiss Roll.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Sliced Flank Roulade” By Robspinella – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Photo of dish, meal, food, produce, breakfast, baking, dessert, cuisine, eating, sweets, holidays, brunch, baked goods, christmas eve, cakes, flavor, poppy seed cake, christmas cakes, christmas eve table” (CC0) via Pxhere