A few weeks ago I went back to Australia (my first visit back after having left!) and after having come back I've somehow forgotten my French. OK not really but...
I went to the butcher to buy some minced beef. I looked and looked and couldn't see it anywhere. I wonder if they even sold it (it was a new butcher that I'd never been to before). I asked someone working there if they sold "emincé de boeuf" and the guy said something about doing it 'par main' (by hand). I was surprised wondering just how skilled they were... that they can mince beef by hand?!
OK... whatever... So I took a ticket and waited for* my turn to be served. As it is France nothing ever makes sense right? So taking a number was pointless. The screen was stuck on number '23' and I, being number '47' was served. I pointed to some nice beef and said I wanted it 'emincé'. He begins to dice it up and I was like, 'par main?' He had no idea what I was saying... I said, 'c'est pas fait avec la machine?' (it's not done with the machine?) finally he got what I meant (hallelujah) and said, 'Ohhh..... you mean boeuf haché?' and pointed to the machine behind him. I was like, 'Yeah!' and then he asked me how much I wanted and I said, 'cents grammes' (100g) and for some reason he heard, 'cinq cents grammes' (500g) and I was like, 'Non, cent grammes'. Man was I having trouble communicating or what?! So then he turned around to face the machine, turned this lever and out it came. All perfectly minced up. And it cost me less than 2 euros.
I wondered how/why I made that mistake... ahh but of course. Emincé sounds really similar to minced! Whereas haché doesn't sound anything like minced. Actually emincé means finely sliced or diced which explains why he was cutting it up for me!
Given the popularity of my French fashion and clothing vocabulary post, here is another one!
The ultimate French Cooking vocabulary list
to cook, cooking, also means kitchen, food - cuisine(r)
cooking, baking - cuisson
chef - chef
mouthwatering - alléchante
delicious - délicieux
yum - miam
crunchy - croquant
crusty - croustillant
Taste adjectives
sweet - doux, sucré
salty, savoury - salé
bitter - amer
spicy - piquant, épicé
sour - aigre
sweet and sour - aigre doux
pungent - âcre
astringent - astringent, âpre, caustique
Order of courses
pre-dinner drinks - apéritif ('apéro')
hors d'oeuvres, canapés - hors d'oeuvre, amuse gueule, amuse bouche
soup - potage
entrée (hot/cold) - entrée (froide/chaude)
main meal - plat principal
cheese plate - fromage
dessert - dessert
tea or coffée - thé ou café
petit fours - petits fours, mignardises
vegetables - légumes
Types of meat
beef - boeuf
veal - veau
pork - porc (pronounced por)
ham - jambon
lamb - agneau
poultry - volaille
chicken - poulet
turkey - dinde
duck - canard
horse - cheval
venison (deer) - venaison
meat jerky - viande séchée
fish - poisson
salmon - saumon
tuna - thon
sardine - sardine
perch - perche
trout - truite
anchovy - anchois
whitefish - poison à chair blanche
snapper - vivaneau
grouper - mérou
yellowtail - yellowtail
mackeral - maquereau
swordfish - espadon
marlin - marlin
cod - morue
herring - hareng
mullet - mulet, muge
flounder - flet
bass - bar
carp - carpe
halibut - flétan
monkfish - lotte
haddock - aiglefin, églefin
sole - sole
catfish - poisson chat
pollock - goberge, lieu
shark - requin
eel - anguille
octopus - pieuvre, poulpe
squid, calamari - calamar, calmar
shellfish - crustacés
prawns/shrimps - crevettes
lobster - homard
crawfish, crayfish - écrevisse, langoustine
crab - crabe
mussels - moules
oysters - huîtres
scallops - coquilles Saint Jacques
clams - palourdes, clams
Types of fondue
fondue - just by itself refers to cheese fondue
fondue fromage - cheese fondue made of cheese cooked in alcohol.
fondue bourguignonne - French meat and cheese fondue
fondue chinoise - Chinese 'hot pot' or 'steamboat' with meat and vegetables. Boiled in water, not in oil.
fondue chocolat - desert fondue with pieces of fruit or mashmallows dipped in chocolate
Types of cuts
entrecôte (ribsteak) - entrecote steak
fillet steak - filet de boeuf
round steak - rouelle
rumpsteak - rumsteck
sirloin - aloyau
flank - flanchet
brisket/rib - poitrine de boeuf
chuck beef (shoulder) - épaule de boeuf
porterhouse (beef loin) - châteaubriand
t-bone steak - steak américain
shank (lower leg) - jarret
chuck - morceau de boeuf dan le paleron, tranche de palette
mince beef patty - pâté
rib - côte
cutlet - côtelette
loin - filet
fillet - filet
drumstick - pilon
breast - blanc
Ways to cook steak
(steak haché) tartare - raw minced beef
raw/very rare - bleu
rare - saignant
medium, medium rare - à point
cooked - cuit
well done - bien cuit
very well done (charcoal) - carbonisé
Cutting techniques
chop - couper
slice - couper en tranches
adj) sliced, diced, chopped - emincé
dice - couper on dés, couper en cubes
mince - hacher
adj) minced - haché
shred, grate - râper
adj) shredded, grated - râpé
carve - découper
scallop (thinly slice) for meat - escalope
crinkle cut -
julienne (finely sliced/shredded)
matchstick cut - couper en allumettes
batonnet (like matchstick cut but shorter and stockier)- couper en bâtonnets
brunoise (finely diced) - couper en bruinoise
Cooking techniques
grill - faire cuire au gril
adj) grilled - grillé
fry - faire frire
adj) fried - frit
pan-fry - sauter (also means jump in French ;) )
adj) pan-fried - sauté, cuisson à la poêle
boil - faire bouillir
adj) boiled - bouilli
steam - cuire à la vapeur
adj) steamed - (cuit) à la vapeur
bake - (pronounced queer) cuire (like when you cure pottery in an oven)
adj) baked - cuit (eg bread)
roast - (faire) rotir
adj) roasted - rôti (eg chicken)
simmer, stew - mijoter
sear (meat) - saisir
Préparation - French Cooking Verbs
wash - laver, nettoyer
freeze - geler, congeler
defrost, thaw - décongeler, dégivrer
unwrap - déballer, ouvrir
sit (on the bench) - poser
mix - mélanger
add - ajouter
reduce - laisser réduire, faire réduire
separate - séparer
divide - diviser
stir, mix in - remuer
pour - verser
soak - (faire) tremper
marinate - mariner
knead, mould - pétrir
whisk - fouetter, battre au fouet (noun: fouet, batteur)
sift - tamiser
sprinkle - saupoudrer
wait - attendre
garnish - garnir
cover - couvrir
store (for later) - garder, entreposer
adj) ... well - bien ... or ... bien
...to be continued! :)
* Just to show that I haven't forgotten my French.. I almost typed 'waited my turn' which is exactly what a French person would have said ;)
(images from here and here)
