Do you know your shellfish from your German sausage? Professional chefs have a language all their own. Are you fluent in food speak, or would stepping into a hotel kitchen be like moving to a foreign country? Take this culinary terminology quiz and find out.
Get a pen and paper and see how you do.
1. You’re in the kitchen, spatula in hand, when the chef tells you the vegetables haven’t sweated enough. You think:
a) Ugh, I’m not eating THOSE when they’re done
b) OK, I need to let them cook gently in the oil for just a little longer
c) Hmmm, I’d better put the lid on and crank up the heat
d) Right, I’d better boil them vigorously until all the water’s gone
2.A European friend invites you to his place for zakuski. What do you expect to eat?
a) Russian tidbits and ice-cold vodka
b) Turkish-spiced sesame seeds to go with your raki sofrasi
c) Italian egg punch dessert and Marsala Superiore
d) German toasted bread slices and Liebfraumilch
3. You see “sweetbreads” on the menu, but your diet-conscious friend tells you not to touch them. What are they?
a) Sugar-coated bread rolls similar to donuts
b) Pigs’ stomach linings
c) Endocrine glands from cows
d) Small patties of honey and ground buckwheat
4. The waiter rushes in from the dining room and screams, “dab, on the fly!” What does he want the chef to do?
a) Wipe away the red wine a guest has spilled on his clothes
b) Add some dollops of fresh cream to the bowl of strawberries on his tray
c) Not sure, but the chef’s his father, so maybe he meant “dad”
d) Defrost a flounder and cook it as soon as possible
5. The fruitcake recipe calls for two cups of raisins. What should you throw in?
a) Dried Thomson seedless grapes
b) Dried Zante grapes
c) Dried Muscat grapes
d) Any of the above
6. The bride has very specific tastes and asks you to use cochineal to highlight her cake frosting in pink. What is cochineal made from?
a) A species of cactus, Nopalea coccinellifera
b) Pigs’ livers (from the French “cochon” for pig)
c) The crushed bodies of insects
d) A byproduct of brewed beer
7. A work colleague says she had a jerk last Saturday. What do you think?
a) Shame, she’s such a nice girl. Why can’t she find a nice guy?
b) Nice, I wish she’d invited me. Though the food might have been too hot.
c) Weird, I thought she was a picky eater. Can’t see her chewing that dried beef stuff.
d) Hmmm, isn’t that a party game where you have to eat stuff quickly before the plate is jerked away?
8. You arrive for dinner and your date says you’re having dirty rice for supper. What happened?
a) Chopped meaty bits and spices in the rice give it the appearance of being dirty
b) The rice fell on the floor and was scraped back into the bowl
c) You’re having brown rice with the husks still attached
d) The rice has been cooked with soy sauce and has a brown-gray tinge to it.
9. You are cooking dinner for your family of fussy eaters. Between them, they don’t like potatoes, rice, pasta, or bread. What could you give them as a source of carbohydrates?
a) Quark
b) Kielbasa
c) Caponate
d) Quinoa
10. The fashion designer down the street says he’s having a party with lots of ganache. What does he mean?
a) Fancy food of all kinds–it’s a mixture of “gourmet” and “panache”
b) A cooked mixture of chocolate and cream
c) Cold, uncooked summer tomato soup
d) Frozen Italian ice cream made from whole milk and eggs Read the rest of this entry »
is offering a recipe booklet/calendar that you can use all year… they are also throwing in some coupon to get you started.
