More Food Terms We Loathe/Misuse

[Dakki]

(and you forgot 'orgasmic'!)

I didn't want to go overboard.

[gfweb]

People whose great-great-great-great grandparents came to the United States from Europe, when they over-pronounce the names of their ethnic ingredients.

Dude, your name is Trevor. Why are you pronouncing it "Mas-kar-POH-NEE?"

Reminds me of the '80s newscasters who sounded like Wisconsin natives, until the story about the Sandinistas came up. Then they were rolling their "Rs" in Ni-ka-RRRRRRRaaaah-gwa" like Ricky Freakin' Ricardo.

especially on NPR

[alanjesq]

"seal in the juices" That is the one that gets me. It doesn't. Not unless you add a dab of Super Glue.

[LindaK]

"Bistro" as a synonym for casual dining.

The latest food truck outside my office has proudly named itself "Asian Bistro."

[conor610]

People whose great-great-great-great grandparents came to the United States from Europe, when they over-pronounce the names of their ethnic ingredients.

Dude, your name is Trevor. Why are you pronouncing it "Mas-kar-POH-NEE?"

Reminds me of the '80s newscasters who sounded like Wisconsin natives, until the story about the Sandinistas came up. Then they were rolling their "Rs" in Ni-ka-RRRRRRRaaaah-gwa" like Ricky Freakin' Ricardo.

I pronounce it "mas-kar-PO-NE" because that's how it's pronounced. It's not "mas-kar-PON" and it sure as hell ain't "mar-ska-PON." I'm not being a snob, or claiming to be Italian, or co-opting another culture; I'm just trying to say the word. As it's pronounced by the people who invented it (the cheese and the word).

Re: the NPR comment, out here in LA we have Adolfo Guzman Lopez, who is the world's champion in speaking in an American accent for a whole story...until he comes to his name. Hilarity always ensues (which must look strange to the others stuck in traffic on the 405, but never mind...).

[ChrisTaylor]

In most instances nowadays: bacon. Bacon this. Bacon that. The notion that bacon--in the cheap, heavily processed supermarket product sense of the word--is the finest product ever, let alone finest pork product, has really caught on with the geek community (and others, too) and it drives me crazy. Anyone caught buying ThinkGeek's bacon mints should be shot.

[JHeald]

People whose great-great-great-great grandparents came to the United States from Europe, when they over-pronounce the names of their ethnic ingredients.

Dude, your name is Trevor. Why are you pronouncing it "Mas-kar-POH-NEE?"

Reminds me of the '80s newscasters who sounded like Wisconsin natives, until the story about the Sandinistas came up. Then they were rolling their "Rs" in Ni-ka-RRRRRRRaaaah-gwa" like Ricky Freakin' Ricardo.

I pronounce it "mas-kar-PO-NE" because that's how it's pronounced. It's not "mas-kar-PON" and it sure as hell ain't "mar-ska-PON." I'm not being a snob, or claiming to be Italian, or co-opting another culture; I'm just trying to say the word. As it's pronounced by the people who invented it (the cheese and the word).

Re: the NPR comment, out here in LA we have Adolfo Guzman Lopez, who is the world's champion in speaking in an American accent for a whole story...until he comes to his name. Hilarity always ensues (which must look strange to the others stuck in traffic on the 405, but never mind...).

I'm not sure if this is what ScoopKW meant, but I don't mind the proper pronunciation of a word, I find the over-pronunciation of a word rather annoying. There are a couple of ethnic-food-oriented Food Network show hosts who speak flawless, accent free English, but when it comes to a food word that is from a different language, they suddenly have to speak much more slowly, and over-anunciate, as if they don't really know the language and want to ensure they get it right. THAT is what I find annoying; not "maskarpone", but "mas-kar-po-ne" sometimes makes me change the channel.

I also find it annoying when people don't properly pronounce very common menu items with foreign words. Case-in-point: "pollo" is pronounced "poy-yo", not "po-lo". It is spanish for "chicken", not a team sport played on horse back...

[theminx]

As a food blogger who reads a lot of other blogs, I am pretty happy with just about any and all descriptive words that actually mean something. Unctuous, gelatinous, drizzle, melted - they are all good. "Tasty," "yummy," and especially the overuse of exclamation marks are what stick in my craw.

[violetfox]

Many candidates, but surely my least favorite is "brush-etta," especially said by waitstaff causing me to bite my tongue to avoid correcting them.

[Jen Rehm]

OK so I know this is a real and meaningful word, and please do not take offense if it applies to you, but I find the word culinarian, a little dirty sounding. Like it might perhaps mean something totally different....

[Panaderia Canadiense]

On the "Unfortunate" side of food words, freshwater native catfish here are called Bagre, which always makes me think "Buggers."

[Karri]

"Infused"- for olive oil it's okay. But tea infused ice-cream is just tea flavored icecream!

I would imagine that it is the process of extracting the flavor that they are referring to. We use a lot of different infusions and it goes on the menu if it has been prepared via an infusion.

[Eman57]

Personaly i cant stand it when people use the word Chef to discribe everyone in the kitchen, especially since i dont consider myself one.

[Will]

Such-and-such program, like "blah has a new wine 'program'"

[ScoopKW]

OK so I know this is a real and meaningful word, and please do not take offense if it applies to you, but I find the word culinarian, a little dirty sounding. Like it might perhaps mean something totally different....

It's only dirty if you're doing it right.

I don't mind culinarian. It's a recent term, (Mr. Webster says it was first used in 1949). I take it to mean "people who are involved in the culinary arts and sciences."

[xxchef]

"Half Baked Chicken".

Please, I'd like mine fully cooked.

[pep.]

I also find it annoying when people don't properly pronounce very common menu items with foreign words. Case-in-point: "pollo" is pronounced "poy-yo", not "po-lo". It is spanish for "chicken", not a team sport played on horse back...

That would depend on context. "pollo" is of course also an Italian word and in that case, any pronunciation with an actual L in it would be more appropriate.

[hathor]

When I was a kid, sometimes as a treat we'd go to this upscale restaurant. I love roast chicken but I was always afraid to order the "Half Baked Chicken". Seriously..that stuck with me...always worried me.

[Mjx]

Melty.

Just dumb.

 

God, YES. And, yes, 'yummie/yummy' and 'tummy'. Baby talk from adults is just plain creepy, why is there such an uptick in it?! <Blergh>

[liuzhou]

It's only dirty if you're doing it right.

I don't mind culinarian. It's a recent term, (Mr. Webster says it was first used in 1949). I take it to mean "people who are involved in the culinary arts and sciences."

 

The Oxford English Dictionary dates it to 1615.

 

" 1615 E. Hoby Curry-combe v. 223 What are the Doctrines‥are they not Culinarian Theorems?    1828 Blackw. Mag. XXIV. 350 What an air of dignity he might have thrown over the culinarian roof."

[CatPoet]

Scandinavian foods,   most of us  from the Scandinavian area dislike this term.  It is like saying American food and  meaning Canadian, Mexican and food from USA as one and the same.  Yeah right  Sweden ruled them all at one point but that doesnt mean we all eat meatballs and runs around with horns on our heads.

[GlorifiedRice]

"Fresh" ground pepper

Anything said by Rachel Ray - yummo, delish, EVOO

 

 

hahhahaha, I despise her. A the gym I have a choice of CNN, Rachel Ray and Hoda and Kathie Lee on the TVs..My blood pressure goes UP while Im on the treadmill and I leave angry! lol

Why must she say all these childish things? My most hated thing is "Jump in my belly!" and "lets get in the hot tub/pool"

[liuzhou]

I'm sure it's been mentioned before but the idiotic, yet widespread American use of 'entrée' to mean 'main course' drives me to distraction. If you really have to use French terms, find out what they mean!

 

I'm also astonished by the number of chefs/restaurateurs who need forty words to describe a simple dish on their menu, but don't have time to say 'prepare" or 'preparation'. 'Prep', indeed. 

Edited December 15, 2014 by liuzhou (log)

[Mjx]

Scandinavian foods,   most of us  from the Scandinavian area dislike this term.  It is like saying American food and  meaning Canadian, Mexican and food from USA as one and the same.  Yeah right  Sweden ruled them all at one point but that doesnt mean we all eat meatballs and runs around with horns on our heads.

 

Regarding the term 'Scandinavian', maybe (although I've never heard anyone in Denmark express a distaste for the term), but 'nordisk' is used to mean the exact same thing (and of course, 'det er meget mere moderne'), and when it comes to acknowledging the many similarities of Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish food/shared culinary traditions, that's widely accepted.

[Anna N]

Regarding the term 'Scandinavian', maybe (although I've never heard anyone in Denmark express a distaste for the term), but 'nordisk' is used to mean the exact same thing (and of course, 'det er meget mere moderne'), and when it comes to acknowledging the many similarities of Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish food/shared culinary traditions, that's widely accepted.

Thank you. You said it much better than I could.