Jump to content

  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

Food Terms We Loathe/Misuse

Bux

By Bux
in Food Traditions & Culture

 Share

Recommended Posts

moosnsqrl

moosnsqrl

Posted
Posted
dumming down

or dumbing down? :raz:

Guess I illustrated my own point through misspelling, didn't I? :sad:

Judy Jones aka "moosnsqrl"

Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly.

M.F.K. Fisher

Link to comment
Share on other sites
suseyblue

suseyblue

Posted
Posted
I can't stomach the fancy schmancy sophisticated coffee drinker Starbucks terminology on their menu:

venti, grande, tall machiato, frapuchino, mochachino, ...

...macchiato, frappucino, mochaccino :wink: (I was paying attention on the pronunciation thread- might be the high school Italian tho' :laugh: ).

'evoo', ugh, 'yum'. And I said 'lovely' on my first post, hehe.

I think it's 'brekkie'. And I spent an hour once looking for synonyms for 'mouthfeel', I despise it so much. (Guess what- there's NOTHING ELSE. Word coiners, get busy.)

Susan B

Link to comment
Share on other sites
chefpeon

chefpeon

Posted
Posted
Yes! Mouthfeel!

i hate that term

Perhaps it's the aesthetics of the term you don't like?

Feel free to come up with another word.....but to me, it's a really important term.

The way something feels in your mouth has a lot to do with the pleasure (or lack of) one

experiences when eating something. As a pastry chef, I am concerned with mouthfeel. When

combining components to make a great dessert, "mouthfeel" is at least 50% of it.

It's a wonderful, useful description. Helps me in my efforts.

Truly, I must say, this thread is pretentious, and trivial. It's like, "how can we elevate

food snobbery to yet another level"? :sad:

Annie's Cake-o-Rama

Confessions of a Burned Out Pastry Chef

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Meredith380

Meredith380

Posted
Posted

"Mouth feel" skeeves me out. I can see how it is useful, its just one of those words, like "moist" or "mealy" that I just shudder at.

"Cukes" is annoying. Can we not be bothered to type out the whole word?

Count me in on those who find EVOO to be ridiculous. While one may only use extra virgin olive oil, others will use non- virgin :raz:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SuzySushi

SuzySushi

Posted
Posted
Yes! Mouthfeel!

i hate that term

Perhaps it's the aesthetics of the term you don't like?

Feel free to come up with another word.....but to me, it's a really important term.

The way something feels in your mouth has a lot to do with the pleasure (or lack of) one

experiences when eating something. As a pastry chef, I am concerned with mouthfeel. When

combining components to make a great dessert, "mouthfeel" is at least 50% of it.

It's a wonderful, useful description. Helps me in my efforts.

"Mouthfeel" is also a term very much used in the commercial food industry to describe texture but so much more, such as the sensation when chocolate melts in your mouth, or whether yogurt coats your tongue unpleasantly.

There is no substitute term, at least not in English.

SuzySushi

"She sells shiso by the seashore."

My eGullet Foodblog: A Tropical Christmas in the Suburbs

Link to comment
Share on other sites
johnsmith45678

johnsmith45678

Posted
Posted (edited)

Yeah, I think mouthfeel is an awkward term. It's like saying skinfeel or something ("Me loves the skinfeel of a cool breeze on these hot summer days!"). Speaking of mouthfeel and unctuous, umami is a wacky word, but I think it's a Japanese.

Edited by johnsmith45678 (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites
akebono

akebono

Posted
Posted
I can't stomach the fancy schmancy sophisticated coffee drinker Starbucks terminology on their menu:

venti, grande, tall machiato, frapuchino, mochachino, ...

yes, yes, sweet feathery jeebus....

make it stop.

Nonsense, I have not yet begun to defile myself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TAPrice

TAPrice

Posted
Posted (edited)
How about the terms "Tex-Mex" and "fusion"?

What's wrong with "Tex-Mex"? It refers to a specific, regional American cuisine. I noticed in Dallas that some restaurants advertised "Mex-Mex" when the food served was closed the real Mexican.

I hate the use of "tapas" for anything but Spanish tapas (Asian tapas, etc.). I'm not much fonder of "small plates," although I'm more tired of the trend than the term.

Edited by TAPrice (log)

Todd A. Price aka "TAPrice"

Homepage and writings; A Frolic of My Own (personal blog)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jaymes

Jaymes

Posted
Posted
How about the terms "Tex-Mex" and "fusion"?
What's wrong with "Tex-Mex"? It refers to a specific, regional American cuisine. I noticed in Dallas that some restaurants advertised "Mex-Mex" when the food served was closed the real Mexican.

Well, that's right. TexMex does refer to a specific region and its cuisine. Some places (like for example in Texas where there are literally tens of thousands of "Mexican" restaurants), people want to know what specific style it is before they go. What sort of "Mexican"? Tex/Mex? New Mex? Interior Mex? Michoacana? Fogata? What?

That's kinda like saying I'm sick of places advertising themself as "Thai" because it's so trendy.

I don't understand why rappers have to hunch over while they stomp around the stage hollering.  It hurts my back to watch them. On the other hand, I've been thinking that perhaps I should start a rap group here at the Old Folks' Home.  Most of us already walk like that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
chefpeon

chefpeon

Posted
Posted
We cannot omit "frosting."

Must say, the word "frosting" is a particular peeve of mine too. I don't hate the word, I just

refrain from using it.

Somewhere along the line in my professional career as a PC I got the idea that you should

never say "frosting"...you should say "icing". Don't know where I got that, or if someone

specifically told me.

But whenever I hear the word "frosting" I automatically assume that the person saying it

is amateur and not a pro. Even funnier, is that I'm usually right.

For some reason, pros don't use the word "frosting".

Annie's Cake-o-Rama

Confessions of a Burned Out Pastry Chef

Link to comment
Share on other sites
johnsmith45678

johnsmith45678

Posted
Posted
How about the terms "Tex-Mex" and "fusion"?

What's wrong with "Tex-Mex"?

I was under the impression that Tex-Mex was somewhat of a misnomer, same as calling food in the US "Mexican" also seems to be. I'm not even sure what kind of food "Texan" would be, in order to mix it with "Mexican" food. But, looking up its definition in Wikipedia:

Tex-Mex is a highly spiced and vibrant style of cooking that developed as an evolution of Northern Mexican cuisine in Texas, USA. The name is derived from the names Texas and Mexico.

[...]

The first known recorded use of "Tex-Mex" in reference to food occurred in the Mexico City News in 1973, although the cuisine itself existed long before that (since 1836 when Texas ceased to be a part of Mexico).

[...]

The ingredients used are common in Mexican cuisine, although ingredients unknown in Mexico are often added. Tex-Mex cuisine is characterized by its heavy use of meat (particularly beef), beans, and spices. Nachos, crispy tacos, crispy chalupas, chili con queso, chili con carne, chili gravy, and fajitas are all Tex-Mex inventions. Serving tortilla chips and a hot sauce or salsa as an appetizer is also an original Tex-Mex combination.

Tex-Mex, less often, can refer to a hybrid type of restaurant that serves Texas-style cuisine such as ribs and chili alongside Mexican-style cuisine like that mentioned above.

So I guess Tex-Mex can also be called "fusion." ;P

Link to comment
Share on other sites
johnsmith45678

johnsmith45678

Posted
Posted
We cannot omit "frosting."

Must say, the word "frosting" is a particular peeve of mine too. I don't hate the word, I just

refrain from using it.

Somewhere along the line in my professional career as a PC I got the idea that you should

never say "frosting"...you should say "icing". Don't know where I got that, or if someone

specifically told me.

But whenever I hear the word "frosting" I automatically assume that the person saying it

is amateur and not a pro. Even funnier, is that I'm usually right.

For some reason, pros don't use the word "frosting".

Yeah, I think in peoples' minds "frosting" is something prepared in a can -- or made from a package -- bought at the supermarket, "icing" is the fancy stuff made from scratch they'd better be using on your fancy ordered cake. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SuzySushi

SuzySushi

Posted
Posted
We cannot omit "frosting."

Must say, the word "frosting" is a particular peeve of mine too. I don't hate the word, I just

refrain from using it.

Somewhere along the line in my professional career as a PC I got the idea that you should

never say "frosting"...you should say "icing". Don't know where I got that, or if someone

specifically told me.

But whenever I hear the word "frosting" I automatically assume that the person saying it

is amateur and not a pro. Even funnier, is that I'm usually right.

For some reason, pros don't use the word "frosting".

Yeah, I think in peoples' minds "frosting" is something prepared in a can -- or made from a package -- bought at the supermarket, "icing" is the fancy stuff made from scratch they'd better be using on your fancy ordered cake. ;)

Interesting. When I was growing up, "frosting" was the thick, creamy stuff, such as buttercream, and "icing" meant the thin glazes based on confectioners' sugar.

SuzySushi

"She sells shiso by the seashore."

My eGullet Foodblog: A Tropical Christmas in the Suburbs

Link to comment
Share on other sites
johnsmith45678

johnsmith45678

Posted
Posted
Interesting. When I was growing up, "frosting" was the thick, creamy stuff, such as buttercream, and "icing" meant the thin glazes based on confectioners' sugar.

Icing still means that too. Myself, I don't mind the term "frosting" and I think the two terms should be used as you mention.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FistFullaRoux

FistFullaRoux

Posted
Posted

I think many of these may have come from the restaurant world, where saving a few syllables is a part of the "hop-to-it-make-it-happen-NOW" thing. (see "veg", "mise", app", etc)

Since the EVOO seems to be the major culprit, I have a suggestion. Extra Virgin Olive Oil becomes "Olive Oil", and the other stuff becomes "Slut oil". Should clear up any confusion. :wink:

Screw it. It's a Butterball.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
mrsadm

mrsadm

Posted
Posted
:laugh:  :laugh:  :laugh: POOO!!!! :laugh:  :laugh:  :laugh:

/wins the thread

I love POOO! Maybe we can convince Ray Rachel to use the term? It is so cute!

*****

"Did you see what Julia Child did to that chicken?" ... Howard Borden on "Bob Newhart"

*****

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Veronica Volny

Veronica Volny

Posted
Posted

What about "dish"? As in "I really love this dish." I say it, since I don't know what to say instead, but I always notice how bland, non-descriptive, it is.... And it's an ugly word, I think, to describe something that is potentially very appealing. Seems we're missing a word here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
stringcheese

stringcheese

Posted
Posted
:laugh:  :laugh:  :laugh: POOO!!!! :laugh:  :laugh:  :laugh:

/wins the thread

I love POOO! Maybe we can convince Ray Rachel to use the term? It is so cute!

Hee--yesterday, my husband peeked over my shoulder when I was reading this thread to see what had made me laugh out loud. Later, we were in World Market, and he commented on the fact that World Market had their own brand of extra-virgin olive oil.

Then, without missing a beat, he said, "It's no POOO!"

I tell you, POOO is taking off!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...