Culinary Terms/Terminology and their Etymology

[pastrygirl]

Recently I've encountered a few culinary terms or bits of information about which I am skeptical. Of course, I don't know everything about food, but I know a fair amount and I have to wonder if these are new things I need to learn, or just BS.

1) Chocolate petit four of caramel mousse on a 'mignonette cake'. I've only ever seen mignonette used to describe a sauce of vinegar and shallots. Maybe they meant it in the 'small, coin shaped piece of meat' sense of the word? I don't recall if the cake was round or square. What is mignonette cake?

2)Local restaurant has 'assorted olli & housemade charcuterie'. WTH are olli? The only culinary term I can find that comes close is 'oli', which is Italian for 'oils', but why would you both serve assorted oils with charcuterie and mix French and Italian on the menu? What are olli?

3)On the Top Chef Just Desserts season 2 finale, Matthew describes speculoos as 'a type of cookie made with roasted flour'. The judges did mention spice, so it seems he got that part of the cookie down, but is roasting the flour really definitive of speculoos? Or was he full of it?

Enlighten me! Or are they just making this stuff up?

[annabelle]

I'm calling BS, for what that's worth. I was unaware until Matthew enlightened us that roasting the flour was key to making speculoos. I thought speculoos had a lot of spice in them, like pfeffernusse. Or were rolled out with a special rolling pin, but then I remembered that is springerle.

[SylviaLovegren]

Speculaas (the Dutch version) are just made with regular flour. Wikipedia says the Belgian version -- speculoos -- are often made with almond flour, so maybe the almonds are toasted first?

Mignonette sauce is vinegar and shallot, but "mignonette" refers to a cute little thing, also a fragrant but small,shy flower. So calling a cake "mignonette" might just indicate its dainty, pleasing qualities.

[Ashen]

Recently I've encountered a few culinary terms or bits of information about which I am skeptical. Of course, I don't know everything about food, but I know a fair amount and I have to wonder if these are new things I need to learn, or just BS.

1) Chocolate petit four of caramel mousse on a 'mignonette cake'. I've only ever seen mignonette used to describe a sauce of vinegar and shallots. Maybe they meant it in the 'small, coin shaped piece of meat' sense of the word? I don't recall if the cake was round or square. What is mignonette cake?

2)Local restaurant has 'assorted olli & housemade charcuterie'. WTH are olli? The only culinary term I can find that comes close is 'oli', which is Italian for 'oils', but why would you both serve assorted oils with charcuterie and mix French and Italian on the menu? What are olli?

3)On the Top Chef Just Desserts season 2 finale, Matthew describes speculoos as 'a type of cookie made with roasted flour'. The judges did mention spice, so it seems he got that part of the cookie down, but is roasting the flour really definitive of speculoos? Or was he full of it?

Enlighten me! Or are they just making this stuff up?

On the olli front I think it may refer to a company , especially if you are from virginia

Olli Salumeria

which makes sense in the context of the menu

meaning the plate has meats made by Olli and also housemade .

sorry can't help on the others.

[pastrygirl]

2)Local restaurant has 'assorted olli & housemade charcuterie'. WTH are olli? The only culinary term I can find that comes close is 'oli', which is Italian for 'oils', but why would you both serve assorted oils with charcuterie and mix French and Italian on the menu? What are olli?

On the olli front I think it may refer to a company , especially if you are from virginia

Olli Salumeria

which makes sense in the context of the menu

meaning the plate has meats made by Olli and also housemade .

Interesting, could be a possibility. OTOH, Seattle is awfully far from VA, so it would be odd to presume anyone would know that 'olli' meant 'salumi from the company named Olli'. I should have asked when I was at the resto, maybe I'll call if it continues to bug me.

[JeanneCake]

Interesting, could be a possibility. OTOH, Seattle is awfully far from VA, so it would be odd to presume anyone would know that 'olli' meant 'salumi from the company named Olli'. I should have asked when I was at the resto, maybe I'll call if it continues to bug me.

Would you call anyway, because now I'm curious!! Or the next time you go there....

[Baron d'Apcher]

Mignonette, in addition to the condiment, is a diminutive feminine suffix (ette) added to a “cute” (mignon) shape, be it airline liquor bottle, tiny cake or Smurf. There are thousands of arcane French culinary slang terms which vary from cook to cook or region and while their unfamiliarity may seem easy to dismiss as steer’s manure because the Google machine says they don’t exist, consider consulting a native speaker, or Google.fr.

Given the rich tradition and history of Virginia hams, it is reasonable for a restaurant to source its pork products from that area. Plenty of east coast restaurants import and cite west coast products (Fra’mani charcuterie, dairy products) or Michigan cherries which go in both directions and the provenance may not be recognized by the diners, or they just don’t give it any thought. In the context (it appears to be from RN74 in Seattle), Olli refers to either a producer or ingredient. It is unlikely that the Michael Mina group allows erroneous spelling on their menus, though there are a few missing or misplaced diacritics in the on-line version.

Toasting flour imparts flavor through caramelization of the natural sugars (Maillard reaction), much like boring brioche vs grilled brioche, bland bread crumbs vs toasted bread crumbs, raw vs roasted nuts or even humdrum spaghetti vs golden vermicelli. It is not uncommon for flour to be toasted when used as a thickener for traditional French braises or roux. While toasting the flour is not necessarily a trademark of speculaas, perhaps Matthew’s version uses it to distinguish it from others and highlights his understanding of flavor development and technique. Also, cookie recipes on a food-based game-show should not be revered as culinary scripture.

[Edward J]

I'm interested in the roasted flour for cookies....

As others have said, rosting flour does impart a nutty taste. The Swiss roast flour for a regional specialty called "Basler Mehlsuppe" which is a roasted flour soup, and is almost always served at "Fasnacht" or Mardi-gras time.

Roasting the flour also dimishes a lot of the flour's binding power, and I wonder if used in cookies it would have the same effect as cornstarch would--a very short crumbly texture.

I gotta start experimenting....

[pastrygirl]

I'm interested in the roasted flour for cookies....

Roasting the flour also dimishes a lot of the flour's binding power, and I wonder if used in cookies it would have the same effect as cornstarch would--a very short crumbly texture.

I gotta start experimenting....

I agree, it could be interesting and very tender. It also occurred to me that Matthew's definition might have been the result of some weird editing. He made a speculoos liquid sable, which still doesn't necessarily involve toasting the flour alone, but if he said 'I combine until crumbly then roast the flour, sugar, butter, egg yolk, and spices until browned then process in the robot coupe with a little oil until liquid' it could have been shortened in the TV making process. They didn't show him explaining the liquid sable part, just the speculoos part.

So...I'm still going with 98% chance of BS on all of these. I was hoping others would have some more examples, but maybe I'm the only one uptight enough to worry about theses things!

[Tri2Cook]

I agree, it could be interesting and very tender.

Herve This discussed roasted flour in Art et Science. He specifically mentioned the resulting weakened gluten network being suited to uses where a crumbly or sandy texture is desired... such as sables. Not sure about it being a defining point in speculoos though, I've never heard or read that before.

[pastrygirl]

In the context (it appears to be from RN74 in Seattle), Olli refers to either a producer or ingredient. It is unlikely that the Michael Mina group allows erroneous spelling on their menus, though there are a few missing or misplaced diacritics in the on-line version.

Clearly. From the context - 'assorted olli' and 'select olli varieties' - it makes more sense as a product than a producer. Would you say 'select Oscar Meyer varieties' or 'assorted Boar's Head and charcuterie'? I wouldn't, maybe Mina would.

[Ashen]

If Baron d'Apcher is right and you are referring to the restaurant RN74 then the olli reference is to the producer because Olli Salumeria is mentioned in this seattle times article about the restuarant.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/restaurants/2016289232_cicero23.html

"Charcuterie includes exemplary pork pate and chicken liver mousse, both house-made, along with stellar cured meats from Olli Salumeria in Virginia. Hudson Valley foie gras sliders, packed with peppery sylvetta greens and served with caramelized onion jus, become the ultimate French dip."

It sounds like a pretty nice restuarant too.. I wouldn't mind lunch of nicoise salad with a hefty chuck of ahi tuna for 12$ .. YUM!

Clearly. From the context - 'assorted olli' and 'select olli varieties' - it makes more sense as a product than a producer. Would you say 'select Oscar Meyer varieties' or 'assorted Boar's Head and charcuterie'? I wouldn't, maybe Mina would.

I think it was meant as a whole statement.. " assorted olli & homemade charcuterie"

meaning it is an assortment mix olli charcuterie and homemade charcuterie

Edited October 31, 2011 by Ashen (log)

[Baron d'Apcher]

...Would you say 'select Oscar Meyer varieties' or 'assorted Boar's Head and charcuterie'? I wouldn't, maybe Mina would.

Most retail stores and supermarket do. Their products are not geared towards fine dining restaurants. Boar’s Head to Olli’s association and assorted vs select is like matching apples to carburetors. Also, Olli is capitalized (though all the typeface is capitalized in the RN74 menu) making it a proper noun –either a producer, geographic region or certified appellation- and noteworthy (justifying price and showcasing the ingredient).

If comparing the industrial familiarity of Oscar Mayer (owned by Kraft) to a small scale artisinal operation such as Olli’s (or Fra’mani or La Quercia) which uses pastured animals, then the suggestion of quality is completely wasted.

[pastrygirl]

If Baron d'Apcher is right and you are referring to the restaurant RN74 then the olli reference is to the producer because Olli Salumeria is mentioned in this seattle times article about the restuarant.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/restaurants/2016289232_cicero23.html

"Charcuterie includes exemplary pork pate and chicken liver mousse, both house-made, along with stellar cured meats from Olli Salumeria in Virginia. Hudson Valley foie gras sliders, packed with peppery sylvetta greens and served with caramelized onion jus, become the ultimate French dip."

Clearly. From the context - 'assorted olli' and 'select olli varieties' - it makes more sense as a product than a producer. Would you say 'select Oscar Meyer varieties' or 'assorted Boar's Head and charcuterie'? I wouldn't, maybe Mina would.

I think it was meant as a whole statement.. " assorted olli & homemade charcuterie"

meaning it is an assortment mix olli charcuterie and homemade charcuterie

I see. So I guess that one is not BS, but I still find it awkward in a grammatical sense. Thanks!

[Ashen]

I still think you could call shenanigans on it though.. I mean what kind of pretension to just say olli and expect all customers to know what that means, they could use a good Ro-Sham-Bo to knock some reality back into their world. lol

[tim]

I have twice seen a "melted fennel sauce" on restaurant menues. They must use acetone to melt the fennel.

[Baron d'Apcher]

...I mean what kind of pretension to just say olli and expect all customers to know what that means...

Or you could ask. There really is no harm in engaging the server and finding out what scorzonera purée or a supion is. Finer restaurants are not compelled to dumb down their menus to satisfy the culinary ignorance of bashful diners –that’s Applebee’s condescending mission and what order-by-number value meals are for.

Melted is a direct translation of “fondue” which means that it has been left on the car's dashboard during a hot summer's day, or, in the context of alliums and crucifers, a vegetable that has been sweated in fat to the cusp of mushy.

[Special K]

I think the problem with "olli" is that the menu is in all caps. If it were upper case/lower case, we would see that the word is "Olli," and be able to surmise that Olli is a producer, and that the restaurant serves both Olli charcuterie and its own housemade charcuterie.

[raybeezbabee]

"Melted" is a fairly widely accepted modern cooking technique and not an invention of word-play. It means to cook a vegetable long but without searing or caramelizing it; sort of the equivalent of "caramelized onions" but without allowing the veg to take on any color. Even in very classical french menus, you will see "melted leek," etc.

[rickster]

I'm interested in the roasted flour for cookies....

Roasting the flour also dimishes a lot of the flour's binding power, and I wonder if used in cookies it would have the same effect as cornstarch would--a very short crumbly texture.

I gotta start experimenting....

I agree, it could be interesting and very tender. It also occurred to me that Matthew's definition might have been the result of some weird editing. He made a speculoos liquid sable, which still doesn't necessarily involve toasting the flour alone, but if he said 'I combine until crumbly then roast the flour, sugar, butter, egg yolk, and spices until browned then process in the robot coupe with a little oil until liquid' it could have been shortened in the TV making process. They didn't show him explaining the liquid sable part, just the speculoos part.

So...I'm still going with 98% chance of BS on all of these. I was hoping others would have some more examples, but maybe I'm the only one uptight enough to worry about theses things!

When I saw that episode, I assumed he was filling the chocolates with speculoos spread but I don't know where the roasted flour idea came from

Speculoos Spread

[DianaB]

How about English words that have infiltrated French food descriptions? As with the French words used in English speaking countries sometimes the French take English words and keep the meaning, at others while English speakers recognise the words, they wouldn't use them for the same purpose.

The issue is further complicated by the differences between English as used in England (I use England rather than Britain because there can be a difference in meaning of the same word in Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England).

'Crumble' is perhaps the most borrowed food word in France just now but it describes a preparation that bears absolutely nothing in common with an English crumble. Rowley Leigh wrote about this recently in the Financial Times, he summed up exactly what I had been thinking. See the second paragraph here: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/fdcba046-3b7f-11e3-87fa-00144feab7de.html#slide0

I lived in France for 7 years and still visit often. My local Patisserie will offer 'un brownies' , a small cake that appears to resemble the American original, I've never been able to properly explain that customers might want one brownie (no s)or several brownies (plural, so with an s.

MacDo sells 'burgers' with no attempt to substitute a French title, the same word can be found all over whether the meat pattie is made of the best produce fresh each day or Macdonald style.

Cake, in many variants both sweet and savoury can also be found everywhere. Generally the word appears to attach to a rectangular baked product eaten in slices.

Muffins are easy to find in France, these will be American style, I've never seen an English style muffin in France. Cup cakes are everywhere and again they are American style products despite many French people thinking they are English.

Chips are popular, not the kind of fried potato baton that an English person might associate with the word, rather what in England we would call 'crisps'.

I'm sure there are numerous other examples, perhaps fewer than French words used in English language cooking.

Interesting that the influences go in both directions, perhaps logical given the very short distance between France and England although Germany, Italy and Spain don't appear to have impacted on the French language in the same way despite their proximity.

[liuzhou]

Interesting topic, but be careful. Many of the words borrowed from English were probably borrowed by English in the first place.

 

"Crumble" for example.

 

One of my favourites is "chocolate"  Which English took from French, but French took from Spanish, but Spanish took from Nahuatl. The Chinese took it another step with 巧克力 (qiǎo kè lì).

 

"Hamburger" in Chinese is 漢堡 (hàn bǎo) or 漢堡堡 (hàn bǎo bǎo). This too was taken from English, but is obviously German in origin. Incidentally, a hamburger in China is usually chicken rather than beef. Or sometimes fish.

Of course,English, that most acquisitive language, has borrowed lots from Chinese, mostly through Cantonese but often also via Japanese.

[CatPoet]

Well most words has a common root.  Germanic or  Latin is the most common in Europe.   The English has been invaded both by  the Romans and the Norse, so  of course  they have a mix of  most spoken languages near them.   Sauna is the ONLY  Finnish word  that the Finns has gotten the  rest of the world hooked on, however we Swedes use the word  Bastu for the same thing.

 

One thing I think is funny is when the words get used the wrong way,  like Swedish sandwich, which  clearly a   Danish smörrebröd  or   Swedish limpu,  which is odd, since limpu is Finnish word for one type of loaf and  limpa is the Swedish version for the same thing.  I see it in Sweden too and also that we seam to want to forget our own words for things,  I seen soda being used for soda pop but in Sweden that is läsk and  soda is actually  sodium carbonate.  I seen wedding forums filled with people looking for a husband for their wedding day and then  you ask and they dont mean husband  ( make)  but  make up  but write it short hand make  instead of the smink which the Swedish word.

 

And now they are trying to get us to use cookies instead of kaka, which we in the  first place stole and modified from the  English word cake, which has given us both  kaka and kex. Kaka used to be called småbröd   which means little bread.

[gfweb]

Well most words has a common root.  Germanic or  Latin is the most common in Europe.   The English has been invaded both by  the Romans and the Norse, so  of course  they have a mix of  most spoken languages near them.   Sauna is the ONLY  Finnish word  that the Finns has gotten the  rest of the world hooked on, however we Swedes use the word  Bastu for the same thing.

 

One thing I think is funny is when the words get used the wrong way,  like Swedish sandwich, which  clearly a   Danish smörrebröd  or   Swedish limpu,  which is odd, since limpu is Finnish word for one type of loaf and  limpa is the Swedish version for the same thing.  I see it in Sweden too and also that we seam to want to forget our own words for things,  I seen soda being used for soda pop but in Sweden that is läsk and  soda is actually  sodium carbonate.  I seen wedding forums filled with people looking for a husband for their wedding day and then  you ask and they dont mean husband  ( make)  but  make up  but write it short hand make  instead of the smink which the Swedish word.

 

And now they are trying to get us to use cookies instead of kaka, which we in the  first place stole and modified from the  English word cake, which has given us both  kaka and kex. Kaka used to be called småbröd   which means little bread.

Interesting post. Good points.

[liuzhou]

Some more words which Chinese has adopted from English. Some of these are
regional usages only and there are more standard Chinese alternatives.

 

Cheese 芝士 zhī shì (Standard Chinese: 奶酪 nǎi lào )
Cherry 車厘子 chē lí zi (Standard Chinese 櫻桃  yīng táo)
Cocoa 可可 kě kě or 谷咕  gǔ gū
Coffee 咖啡  kā fēi  
Curry 咖喱 gā lī
Pudding 布丁 bù dīng
Salad 沙拉 shā lā
Sandwich 三明治 sān míng zhì or 三文治 sān wén zhì
Sardines 沙丁魚 shā dīng yú  魚 yú means 'fish'
Salmon 三文魚  sān wén yú  
Strawberry 士多啤梨 shì duō pí lí  (Standard Chinese 草莓 cǎo méi)
Toast 多士吐司 duō shì tǔ sī   (Standard Chinese 烤麵包 kǎo miàn bāo)
Toffee 太妃糖 tài fēi táng  or 拖肥 tuō féi 糖 táng means 'sweet' or sugar' or 'candy'

 

I have used traditional Chinese characters here as that is is what is used in Hong Kong where many of these originated.