They are used to add flavour in stocks and sauces without adding color or textures!
For example in a bechamel sauce. Instead of using a chopped onion that will leave pieces (doesn't matter the size) in your sauce, you can use an onion pique or cloute!
There are some versions saying That onion cloute are onion, bay leave and cloves. CLOUTÉ are the French word that means spiked.
Therefore, in traditional French cooking, onion Cloute (oignon Cloute) is the combination of an onion and cloves tacked to the onion.
An onion pique (oignon pique in French) is attaches one or more bay leaves to an onion by pushing whole cloves through the leaves into the onion (like thumb tacks).
Where would you use an onion pique or an onion cloute?
Onion piques and coutes are traditionally used in bechamel sauce, although you sometimes find them in other very traditional French recipes.
Why would you use an onion pique?
Attaching the bay leaf to the onion with the cloves makes it easier to take all three of them out of your dish once they’ve been infused and are no longer needed. Other than that, there’s no culinary reason why you couldn’t just throw all three ingredients into the pot separately.
