Pronouncing Foreign Cooking Terms

[Shaheen]

I would love it if someone could give me a site or tell me about software that can help in the pronunciation of foreign words used in cooking. For example words like veloute. However, I pick up a lot of them when I watch the cooking channel.

 

[jennyema]

Epicurious' Food Dictionary is a good source

 

[Andy M.]

veloute = Vay-loo-tay

You can pick up a lot of pronunciations on Food TV as long as you don't go by how Emeril says it. His command of foreign language pronunciations is weak at best.

 

[Shaheen]

Thanks But Emeril won't be bothering me now because we currently have Kylie Kwong, Anthony Bourdain, Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay's shows airing. Apart from that there are shows like Switchin' Kitchens and Surfin' the menu.

 

[Haggis]

currently have Kylie Kwong...and Surfin' the menu.

Getting a few Australian cooking shows I see. Surfing the menu isn't bad but I'm not a big fan of Kylie Kwong, she is too mincy (no other way to describe it). Listening to her talk about food and cooking is like listening to the most pretentious wine reviewer describe a wine using the most words possible.

 

[Shaheen]

I know! She describes even the worst dish as "beautiful" and "delicious"

 

[Jikoni]

I like the 'naked chef' Shaheen. Gordon Ramsey isn't that bad too. Do you ever get the programme 'can't cook wont cook' I find trying to pronounce the words in their proper way a very good thing. Thanks jennyema, very useful site.

 

[Shaheen]

Do you ever get the programme 'can't cook wont cook' I find trying to pronounce the words in their proper way a very good thing.

No Jikoni, I don't get that programme. But thanks, I'll be on the lookout for it.

 

[Claire]

Many cooking terms are French, so a background in that language or a freind who speaks French can help. But the cooking world gets smaller and smaller, and quite often a term will acquire a local accent that the originating language never intended. Then there is the oddity of having parents who speak French, but have never had an education in that language ... in other words, my folks sometimes think eau and au are the same word, because they sound the same when spoken. But I've gone years mispronouncing names and terms and am grateful to anyone who corrects me. Patak and Patel, for example, I've been saying with the accent on the wrong sylable. Thank heaven I was referring to lines of food, not a person, so I never offended anyone!

 

[Shaheen]

Epicurious' Food Dictionary is a good source

Jennyema that link you posted is a great help. I keep referring to it ever so often. Thanks once again!

 

[patch]

Even the chefs seem a bit divided on pronunciation. We get soh-tay and saw-tay for saute. I go for soh-tay - any native French speakers out there?

As for puy lentils - I say pwee lentils, a friend says pie.

Then there's paella, mille feuilles, chorizo ... a veritable minefield.

Pat
www.cookingdownunder.com

 

[gym30]

Shaheen,
Take a look on cuisimages.com. Recipes are in french and also in english.
Another way to learn..... The good thing is the recipes are in pdf format...

 

[Mark Webster]

I believe the best resource would be the "Food Lover's Companion", published by Barrons Educational Series, Inc. The author is Sharon Tyler Herbst. I have a copy both in my kitchen at work and one in my cookbook library at home. I also purchase one for each of my Apprentices in the kitchen. It is truly a complete book and also has conversions, measurements, understanding food labels, ingredient buying guide etc.
It's also very reasonable price wise, probably less that $15.00.

Mark

 

[Andy M.]

...and you can access parts of it online here.

 

[Mr_Dove]

I posted this a little over a month ago and got no interest. It lists alot of common terms for french and italian.

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f26/french-and-italian-food-pronunciation-21208.html

 

[jennyema]

I believe the best resource would be the "Food Lover's Companion", published by Barrons Educational Series, Inc. The author is Sharon Tyler Herbst. I have a copy both in my kitchen at work and one in my cookbook library at home. I also purchase one for each of my Apprentices in the kitchen. It is truly a complete book and also has conversions, measurements, understanding food labels, ingredient buying guide etc.
It's also very reasonable price wise, probably less that $15.00.

Mark

That's what I posted a long time ago upthread.

 

[Claire]

I'm not a native speaker, but have many friends who are. AU is usually pronounced as the O in Oh!, not AW as in saw. BUT, that said, I usually pronouce words as the people around me do, having lived in a lot of different places. The point of language is, after all, to communicate. There is also a big difference between how a French word is spoken in Quebec, in Louisiana, in Paris or Provence or Normandy. I won't even go into Haiti or Africa or Vietnam! So I stick with pronouncing a word the way the person I'm talking to will most likely understand me. One girlfreind's mother gave me holy heck, though, when I pronounced Quebec Kwebek the way most US people do rather than the Kaybek that is proper. "I know you speak French better than that!!!" Sometimes you just can't win!!

 

[KellyM]

Heck, his command of English is pretty weak! Emeril's, that is. I tried a quick reply to something a page or so ago, and it wound up last. Sigh. I'll get how this site works soon.

 

[auntdot]

It is always amazing when we order the fooey grass (foie gras) and find the entire wait staff rolling on the floor with tears in their eyes.

LOL

 

[Ishbel]

Aunt dot - you mean the Fwah grah?!!!!