Gourmet Glossary

Cooking Terms to Make Your Food Sound Fancier
Sometimes, part of a food’s appeal is what it’s called. “Sweetbreads of Veal,” for instance, (which incidentally are very tasty) sound much more desirable than “Thymus Gland of Calf.” You don’t have to be cooking varietal meats to be able to spice up your nomenclature, though. Much of the art of menu writing lies in describing dishes to make them sound more desireable than they would otherwise. There are a wide variety of ways to refer to ingredients you already use in hoity-toity terms. Just by using these words to describe dishes you already make, you can turn your casseroles into haute cuisine. It’s a fun game to play at home with your family or at potlucks, dinner parties, and the like.

Gourmet Glossary

Argenteuil: \Ahr.zhan.toeuy\ Garnished with or containing asparagus; an “Omelette Argenteuil” would indicate an asparagus omelette. (see also: Princesse)

Beurre Noisette: \Buhr Nwa.zette\ Butter heated until the milk solids toast and turn a light brown color; so named because the color and odor resemble that of a hazelnut (noisette in French). Excellent as an accompaniment to vegetables, such as Roasted Broccoli with Beurre Noisette.

Bouquetiere: \Boo.ke.tyer\ Garnished with an assortment of fresh vegetables. Example: a top round of beef roasted with carrots, turnips, potatoes, and onions, then served adorned with those vegetables could be called “Roast Beef Bouquetiere.”

Chasseur: \Sha.soor\ Hunter style; indicates cooked in a sauce containing mushrooms, tomatoes, and white wine.

Choucroute Garni: \Shoo.kroot Gar.knee\ Sauerkraut cooked with sausage, pork, and/or poultry. Usually indicates smaller pieces of meat included as a garnish, as opposed to whole links of sausage.

Clamart: \Kla.mar\ Garnished with or containing peas.

Concasser: \Kahn.ka.say\ Chopped coarsely, often used in connection with tomatoes, as in “Breaded Cutlet of Veal with Concassser Tomatoes.”

Coupe: \Koop\ A small sundae—one or two scoops—topped with syrups, fruits, nuts and/or other garnishes.

Crécy: \Kray.see\ Garnished with or containing carrots. Couscous with peas and carrots could be called “Couscous Clamart Crécy.”

Doria: \Doh.ree.ah\ Garnished with cucumbers cooked in butter. I can’t say that I’ve ever actually cooked anything like this, but I imagine that a filet of salmon garnished with cucumbers sauteed in butter and dill would be quite tasty, and could quite justly be called “Salmon Doria.”

Dubarry: \Doo.ba.ree\ Containing cauliflower and cheese. Instead of making cauliflower and cheddar soup, make “Potage Dubarry.”

Estouffade: \Es.too.fahd\ A beef stew simmered slowly in a covered casserole dish (such as a dutch oven).

Étuver: \Ay.too.vay\ Steamed in its own juices; sweated. Mashed potatoes made by constantly stirring small-diced potatoes several layers deep in a hot saucepan, with extra vegetables (such as carrots, peppers, and mushrooms) added in could be called “Potatoes Étuver Garni.

Fermière: \Fayr.me.air\ Garnished with onions, carrots, turnips, and celery. Ideally, all would be cut to a small dice or a brunoise. A chicken soup containing these vegetables could be called “Chicken Soup Fermière.”

Forestière: \Fo.rest.ee.air\ Garnished with mushrooms. Just by putting sauteed mushrooms on your steak, you turn it into “Porterhouse (or fill in other cut of steak) Forestière.”

Garni: \Gahr.knee\ Containing garnishes.

Gigot: \Ghee.zhot\ Leg of lamb.

Gratiné: \Grah.tee.nay\ Covered with a crust of browned bread crumbs and/or grated cheese.

Hongroise: \Hone.gwahz\ In the Hungarian style. In its most generic sense, this word could be used to indicate containing a fair amount of paprika and/or being garnished with sour cream; more specifically, it might be used in relation to cabbage braised in beer with caraway and paprika as “Chou Hongroise.”

Jardinière: \Zhar.din.iyer\ Garnished with fresh garden vegetables. Used accurately, it would indicate seasonal vegetables grown locally (most accurately, in your own garden, but purchased at a farmer’s market or through a Community Supported Agriculture group [CSA] would be accurate enough).

Lyonnaise: \Lee.yo.naze\ Containing or garnished with onions. For instance, if you wanted to be really fancy-schmancy, instead of having French Onion soup with melted cheese on top, you could have “Soupe Lyonnaise Gratiné.” Home fries with onions in them are often called “Lyonnaise Potatoes.”

Macédoine: \Ma.say.dwen\ A fancy way of saying a salad. A fruit macédoine is often soaked in brandy and/or a simple syrup; a vegetable macédoine is usually made up of cooked vegetables and may be served hot or cold.

Meunière: \Moo.knee.yair\ Filet of fish dredged in flour, pan fried, and served with beurre noisette, lemon juice, and parsley. Basically the fish part of any plate of fish and chips you’ve ever eaten.

Niçoise: \Knee.swahz\ Containing tomato concasser cooked with garlic.

Primeur: \Pree.myrrh\ Garnished with fresh Spring vegetables, especially those of early Spring (from French, meaning ‘first’).

Princesse: \Prin.sess\ Garnished with or containing asparagus (see also: Argenteuil)

Printanière: \Prin.tahn.iyer\ Garnished with fresh Spring vegetables (From Printemps, French for ‘Spring’).

Rissolé Potatoes: Browned, as in home fries. Usually refers to potatoes cut into small shapes, especially spheres, as with a melon baller, but small-diced potatoes would also qualify. Blanching the potatoes first is an optional first step (recommended for larger-cut potatoes), but not necessary if the potatoes are cut sufficiently small. Adding in other vegetables with them could make them “Rissolé Potatoes Primeur“, “…Princesse (or Argenteuil),” “…Crécy,” etc.

Roesti Potatoes: \Roasty Potatoes\ Grated potatoes formed into patties and pan-fried to golden brown (aka hash browns).

Saucisse: \saw.seess\ A small sausage. Why have cocktail weenies when you can have “Saucisses”?

Sherbet: \Sher.bit\ Everybody knows what this is, of course, but too many people don’t know how to pronounce it. From Sorbet. Not “sherbert.” It only contains one “r.” How it got bastardized, I’ll never know, but I can’t stand the mispronunciation. Even worse, some manufacturers (especially of generic varieties) have added a second ‘r’ into the spelling to reflect the one that people say, but that doesn’t actually belong. It drives me bonkers!

Suprème: \Soo.prem\ Breast of chicken with the first wing joint attached. Easy to cut if you break down your own whole chickens instead of buying parts, though usually I’d just as soon have the whole wing for itself.

Tisane: \Tea.zahn\ An herbal brew. Herbal “tea” in itself is a misnomer, as it actually does not contain any tea leaves. Bay leaf and peppermint make an excellent tisane.

à la Valencienne: \ah.la.Vall.en.see.en\A meat served with a garnish of rice. May also contain chopped pepper, tomatoes, grated cheese, etc. Adding this tag to a dish of ground beef, rice, and vegetables cooked in a single skillet is a great way to glorify a simple meal.

Vert pré: \Vayr.Pray\ Having a green garnish, such as parsley, chives, green onions, etc.

Sources:
1. Gisslen, Wayne. Professional Cooking, Fifth Edition. New York: Wiley & Sons, 2003;
2. Davis, Samuel, ed. Cook’s & Diner’s Dictionary. New York: Funk & Wagnall’s, 1968
As interpreted and embellished upon for greater information and clarity by Jesse Sharrard

One Response to “Gourmet Glossary”

  1. Jim Says:

    Did you get Jo to ghost write your sherbet entry?