A purée refers to the process of reducing a food, such as a fruit or vegetable, to a spreadable form by mashing, sieving, pounding or the use of liquidiser. Purées are the basis of many soups. A vegetable soup may be slightly thickened by the use of potatoes, lentils, toast or rice. These may be transformed in to a velouté by replacing these thickening agents with velouté sauce or into a crème by replacing them with béchamel sauce. It also is the name given to mashed potatoes, miuch as in England we might say 'mash'.
