Food Words and Expressions I Don't Like Because I'm Old and Cranky - Page 4

Case in point, I don't think I've ever heard someone from New Orleans say "Nawlins".
 

Me, either!  I was just thinking that the other day when I was watching a program (I believe it was actually Pit Bulls and Parolees) and a New Orleans man told the PB&P folks he was glad they were in New Orleans.  The man had a thick LA accent and when he said 'New Orleans' it sounded nothing like 'Nawlins'.  Quite a few years back Crapplebee's had a 'Nawlins' promo and the commercials made me want to spew chunks. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChefBazookas 

Quite a few years back Crapplebee's had a 'Nawlins' promo and the commercials made me want to spew chunks. 

The same could probably have been said about the food as well.

Most people from New Orleans that I know say "Noo Ahlins". Many from the west part of town (Kenner, River Ridge) simply say "Noo Orlins". I find that I say the former. 

Housemade.

And not because I think it isn't. I assume you're not lying to me.

Because when I see or hear that phrase it always makes me wonder about the food WITHOUT that description.

When I started at the new joint, I would watch the cooks write their specials on the board and inevitably they would use that phrase to describe something in the dish; pesto, ravioli, etc.

So I wrote up a special using Housemade to describe each and every component in my special. I think I used the phrase 6 times.

No one does it anymore.

:)

Quote:

Originally Posted by KYHeirloomer 

For other foods there are no consistent rules or standards. So, when you see terms like "organic chicken," it is meaningless. "Organic," in that usage, means whatever the seller wants it to mean.

Not sure why you say that? Organic livestock should be raised in accordance with the Organic Foods Production Act and the Title 7, Part 205 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Both describe many regulations. One of the main regulations is that organic livestock should only get organic feed. That alone makes organic chicken quite different from conventional chicken.

The producer of an organic livestock operation must provide livestock with a total feed ration composed of agricultural products, including pasture and forage, that are organically produced (...)

Source: http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=ac92d4fe0e563a18fc2e1d6b6e36fc51&rgn=div8&view=text&node=7:3.1.1.9.32.3.354.11&idno=7

Quote:

Originally Posted by tylerm713 
Quote:

Originally Posted by ChefBazookas 

Quite a few years back Crapplebee's had a 'Nawlins' promo and the commercials made me want to spew chunks. 

The same could probably have been said about the food as well.

There was a brilliant remark in an old Simpsons episode: Homer groans, "I'm so hungry I could eat at Applebee's!"

Quote:

Originally Posted by boar_d_laze 

In more ways than one, Giada seems to me to be the ne plus ultra of inauthenticity.

 

BDL

Gee, that's a heck of a competition. Now, you rotter, you have me thinking about whether there is anyone less authentic in the food world....

I don't know if she is or isn't. But I bet you won't find anyone who pronounces "pasta" as many different ways as she does.

I was just about to post these two words "perfection" and "fresh"...  Until I saw previous post..  Still I can't resist to add on... so,
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim 

"Grilled to perfection" - That is one tired phrase!

 

And "fresh" modifying ANY noun! Fresh Tomatoes... as opposed to old, nasty, mold-laden puddles of juice?!  Gahhh!!

I love 'grilled to perfection'!  It lets me know that all fried food isn't 'fried to perfection', or sauteed items, 'sauteed to perfection',and so on...  only the grilled.. why is that??

I used to tell my wife 'fresh fish' in Korea meant that they are alive not thawed fish with freezer burn.

I have way too many peeves to list, or maybe I'm just in a bad mood right now, so I'll restrain myself until the wine kicks in.

(with one exception, of course) 

All of the talk about the use of the word "fresh" reminded me of an industry standard phrase that I see daily and despise all the more for it: "Fresh Frozen".  It just always strikes me as teetering to the side of oxymoron.  Hopefully one of these days it won't make me cringe anymore, since I'd rather see it than not see it, or any other description of how it was frozen. 

I've considered toying around with a "chef's special" which would be a dish not normally served, with ingredients purchased for that specific purpose.  An example would be a lamb dish, in a restaurant that doesn't normally serve lamb.  In such instances, it's not "oh crap, I have too much x and need to push it" but rather a true special dish for that day.

Caramel

Three syllables, right?

Care - A - Mel

Then why the (deleted) does everyone pronounce it "Carmel" (car-muhl)?

Some sickly wine commercial from the 80's plugging Mt Carmel wine?

Or does the media now pronounce it so ?

Tripping off my soap box now..........

BAM!  That one got old REALLY quick.  That's up there with Yum-O.

And as a customer, I want to roll my eyes (but don't) when the waiter tells me his favorite dish on the menu.  Huh??  And why is that important to me?

Great thread!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by foodpump 

Caramel

Three syllables, right?

 

Care - A - Mel

 

Then why the (deleted) does everyone pronounce it "Carmel" (car-muhl)?

 

Some sickly wine commercial from the 80's plugging Mt Carmel wine?

Or does the media now pronounce it so ?

 

Tripping off my soap box now..........

*chuckles*  I posted on the same topic in another thread right before I read this.  Hopefully someone in the world has an answer, and hopefully I will find it someday.

Maybe they are just confusing Caramel with a caramelized sauce that is also made in Carmel, CA?

Although technically it should be Carmel-by-the-Sea sauce

this isn't a food term i hate, just thought you might enjoy this... a sign in the local country grocery store( and that's a stretch) here at the end of the world reads.... fresh meats, vegetables and livestock supplies...that's just where i like to find my fresh food.. right next to the livestock supply!...happy trails!

joey

Quote:

Originally Posted by tylerm713 

I'm going to change gears and go not with words themselves, but the pronunciation of them. Pecan is pronounced puh-con. Not pee-can. Praline is pronounced prah-leen. Not pray-leen. So when I hear someone on TV say "Pee-can pray-leen", I just want to hit something.

I have to comment that pecan is one of those words that is pronounced differently depending on the region of the US where you hear it.  I pronounce it "pee-can" because in south Georgia where I grew up and lived for 24 years, that is how it was said. In Indiana, people said pee-cahn.  My friend in PA says it peck-an, emphasis on peck.  Praline was always pronounced pray-leen where I grew up and I don't recall ever hearing it said prah-leen.  Hearing it pronounced pe-cahn is annoying to me because it's foreign to my ears, same as prah-leen. 

As far as all the yawls coming out of Paula Deen's mouth, I do not and have not ever spoken like that. Now if I am saying the plural, "you all", yes it is "y'all".  However, I never use "y'all" as a singular pronoun.  Again, that's how it is in the region of the country where I grew up and it's not much different here in Virginia where I live now.  I don't use honey, sugar, and all that unless I'm joking around or being sarcastic and that is only with friends.  However, "yes sir, no ma'am" is part of how I was raised so I do say it to those who are older than me or in some sort of authority or as a way of being polite to strangers.

I don't like overly descriptive menus either.  However, in some cases, I wish some menus had better descriptions on them.  I don't want some flowery, overdone description but in the case of a Mexican restaurant near me, I would like a bit more details of what their entrees include.  I love their food but have been hesitant to try new dishes because I am not sure what all is in them. Some of the waitstaff converse in English well but others do not and my Spanish hasn't been used in over 15 years. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by tylerm713 

According to Merriam Webster - crunk: : a style of Southern rap music featuring repetitive chants and rapid dance rhythms

Where I'm from crunk means to get drunk in gangster/rapper speak

Quote:

Originally Posted by allie 

Praline was always pronounced pray-leen where I grew up and I don't recall ever hearing it said prah-leen. 

In and around New Orleans, it's always prah-leen. I understand regional differences. Still doesn't change the fact that certain pronunciations annoy me.  

Prah leen, here in the UK.  Maybe because of our proximity to France.

Prah leen, pray leen, no big deal. Where I was bread and buttered they just called it peanut brittle.

Now if I am saying the plural, "you all", yes it is "y'all". 

Putting aside Paula's (and the even more irritating Neelys') phony overuse, Allie, I don't know exactly where you were raised up. But in most of the South, "y'all" is, indeed, the singular form. The plural is "all y'all."  And, while you may not use them yourself (which suggests to me that you're city bred), to suggest that honey, sweetheart, and darlin' are not commonplaces in the South, particularly the mountain South, is just naive.

  Ishbel, do you pronounce Berkshire, Bark-shire?  I have always said Berk- shire

   A friend of mine has recently had a few business meetings in London and that's what one of the English gentlemen had told him.

     dan

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ishbel 

Prah leen, here in the UK.  Maybe because of our proximity to France.

Yes, we do say Prah-leen in France.

Once worked with  Texan who insisted that "pee-can" was "what you went into the bathroom in",  and that the nut was pronounced " P' Cahn".

But a question for all you southern  folks: In which  States does the pecan tree grow?  And is "pecan" a native Indian word? 

IIRC, Georgia and Texas are the largest producers of pecans. But the tree grows in many parts of the South and Southwest.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KYHeirloomer 

IIRC, Georgia and Texas are the largest producers of pecans. But the tree grows in many parts of the South and Southwest.

And the West, the San Joaquin Valley has numerous commercial Pecan orchards
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by gonefishin 

  Ishbel, do you pronounce Berkshire, Bark-shire?  I have always said Berk- shire

 

   A friend of mine has recently had a few business meetings in London and that's what one of the English gentlemen had told him.

 

     dan

Yes, it's Barksheer or Barkshah!

A few of the other pitfalls for foreigners include Leicester (pronounced Lester), Beauchamp (Beecham), Leominster (Lemster), Worcester (Wooster) and in surnames:  Menzies is pronounced Ming(as in sing)-us, Gilzean is Gillan, Cholmondley is Chumlee and Marjoribanks is Marshbanks!

The pecan is native to the South and Midwest, and the scientific name for it (Carya illinoinensis) evidences the fact that some still call them Illinois nuts.

And KY, pralines and brittle are definitely not the same thing. At all.