French food: educate me on the vocab I'll need
 

Although I lived in France and speak French fluently, I am oblivious to the culinary vocab. (I lived there at an age not quite ripe enough to enjoy anything other than pizza or spaghetti bolognaise!) I will be in Paris in December, and would like you Fodorites to throw out any food names that I may encounter, and give me the English translation. (For example, I saw something called 'cervelas' which to me sounds like something involving brains but is actually sausage.) Also, if there are interesting explantions about how the food is made or something, include that too. PS, I know the obvious ones (foie gras, confit, pot-au-feu...)

And yes, you can make fun all you want, but please do include at least one helpful remark too!

Hi

If you look up "french menu terms" at www.google.com you will find lots of help.

I laugh with you and not at you. I was born in Belgium and speak French fluently but like you I lived there when I was young and haven't a clue when it comes to menus. The French have a way of making simple dishes sound complicated anyway. :d

Here is a site which may be of some help.

http://www.day-tripper.net/restaurantsfoodterms.html

ira and grimmy, you guys are wonderful. Thanks for the great point outs.

Yes, thank you, both recommendations were very helpful! I am amazed that there hasn't been a barrage of mockery yet! Thanks for that too.

I don't speak French fluently; to say I speak it badly would be a compliment!
so never sure how to say "prix fixe"...
Is it preee feeex, preee feeess, preeze feeex... or what?
Merci !

It's pree feex.

mp413: I have a French Food Glossary I and some other AOL French Travel Board people put together some years ago. If you want to e-mail me at [email protected], I'll send it to you. As you'll see if you ask for it, French culinary vocabulary is extensive - I don't think getting a few terms on a message board is going to be of much help to you.

I agree with St Cirq that a few terms on a message board aren't going to help if you already speak French fluently and know the most common French menu terms, which is more than most people. Why don't you just buy a French cookbook or at least a book on French cooking and perhaps restaurants? Patricia Wells' guidebook A Foodlovers Guide to Paris (or something similar) should be fine, or pick up a basic French cookbook at the library or something if you don't want to buy one.

Thanks, StCirq...

Patricia Wells' book has an excellent food glossary in it also. Even speaking French fluently may not be everything you need to decipher a menu's items.

IMHO, there's only one term you need to know: creme brulee ;;)

Oui Betsy! also
Pain au chocolate and Fondant!!

I was just hoping for some of the most common terms I guess, since I likely will not go out and buy a book. Thanks anyway!

This is not a culinary phrase but you must remember "l'addition s'il vous plait" or you will NEVER get your check.
JoeG

JoeG, that's fine with me!! ;)

Use this one often and always say it loudly and in an impatient tone:

Garcon!....Garcon!.....that's right.....you with the funny jacket and bored look on your face... stop playing grab butt and get my check... and be right quick about it.

Follow it up with a disgusted aside to your companion...Jeez... a guy's kids could grow up and leave home before he got out of this joint!

Well, since I speak zilch French and can only hope to learn a few polite phrases, I will most likely eat many things made of I know not what, but plan to eat them with gusto!

I know you said you don't want to buy a book, but this one is a only a little bigger than a passport and worth 20 times it's weight in gold: a Marling Menu Master! My husband speaks enough high school French and I do enough French cooking that we can generally figure out a menu, but the one time we didn't double check something that we weren't positive on we ended up with kidneys. I eat almost anything, but I learned that night that I DO NOT like kidneys. What made it worse is that it was one of our more expensive meals! They go through each course, defining words and cooking terms - very thorough and easy to use. We bought the German version before going to Germany last year - it REALLY helped because neither of us speak German and I didn't know any German cooking terms. You will probably have to order it on-line from a travel bookstore, but I don't remember having any problem finding one. Have fun - Paris and Lyon are my favorite places to eat!

Speaking French fluently should help you know what the words for things like kidneys, etc., are. The main differences are some items that are only food terms and knowing the preparation, such as a terrine, etc. Cervelas is a regular that is in a standard French dictionary, and does come from the same root as the word for brain. This wouldn't be one of the most common menu items, though, anyway--not in my experience, so don't expect to get something like that on a top words hit list. I know some of this is just not knowing uncommon food products rather than a language issue, as there are certain kinds of English-named foods I'm not familiar with, I'm sure.

If you don't want to buy a book, there are many web sites for free where you can find French cooking terms and dishes, you might look them up. I think if you are a fluent French speaker, you would know the most common menu items, and it's really the rarer ones you might not know.

Here are some lists which might have some terms you don't know, but if you know confit, that's not bad:

http://www.cuisinenet.com/digest/reg...nu_terms.shtml

http://www.thestranger.com/2003-04-17/ex2.html

http://www.anglinglinesholidays.com/menuterms.htm

I think that last one is fairly lengthy and good, but even it doesn't have cervelas on it.

Thanks Christina. I expect to be familiar with most things on a menu, but there are so many sauces and ways of preparing food that are so common they go without explanation there (as I'm learning from checking out menues online), and I don't want to have to ask! (I haven't been in France in a few years and am really looking forward to trying to pass myself off as a native!) StCirq's glossary