Jeffrey Friedl’s Blog » Blog Archive » “Word Power”: FOOD!

February 4th, 2006 10:43am JST (2 years, 3 months ago)

Cumulative Reader's Digest “Word Power” posts:
(in reverse order of posting)

7.	Science Words
6.	Jon Stewart / The Daily Show
5.	Summer (“dog” and “can” words)
4.	Culinary Words
3.	Financial Parlance
2.	Scholastic Aptitude Test
1.	George Washington Inaugural Address

It's been quite a while since I put up a Reader's Digest “Word Power”. Here's one from December 2004, featuring words from the culinary world of food. The words are taken from William Grimes' Eating Your Words: 2000 Words to Tease Your Taste Buds.

As always, I missed the “exceptional” level, this time by a wide margin. I'm quite disappointed; considering how good I am at eating, I thought I'd ace it! :-)

How will you do?

Choose which of the four possible selections best represents the meaning of the word

1.	sugarplum n.	fruit pie. liquor-soaked plum. ball-shaped candy. mulled cider sweetener.
2.	mesquite n.	spicy sauce. wood used in cooking. barbecue restaurant. type of oven.
3.	effervescent adj.	fizzy. transparent. overflowing. simmering.
4.	ramekin n.	small baking dish. Chinese noodle. vegetable broth. large kettle.
5.	gherkin n.	bean soup. frilly apron. juicing device. pickle.
6.	julienne v.	to remove the pit. mash into pulp. cook vegetables on a grill. cut into thin strips.
7.	aspic n.	clear jelly. game bird. calculation to modify recipes. roasting pan.
8.	stollen n.	after-dinner drink. sweet bread. type of bean. meat pie.
9.	braise v.	to cook quickly. to cook slowly. to cook in broth. to cook without adding salt.
10.	florentine adj.	served with eggs. served with rice. served with spinach. served with warm Italian bread.
11.	shirr v.	to mix together. bake. trim the fat. pound flat.
12.	aioli n.	type of cooking oil. low-fat butter. small whisk. garlicky mayonnaise.
13.	macerate v.	to slice lengthwise. chew carefully. soften. stir slowly.
14.	viscous adj.	thick. rotten. runny. overcooked.
15.	latke n.	sugar cookie. dough ball served in soup. seasoned meatball. potato pancake.
16.	roux n.	root vegetable. mixture used in making sauces. serving spoon. cup used for serving poached eggs.

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Comments so far....

“Not good enough to be called “good””

Ummmm. . . .culinary words are not my strength .

Actually, when I first saw “stollen” the first thing I thought was petty theft of baking ingredients.

— comment by Sam on February 4th, 2006 at 11:03am JST (2 years, 3 months ago) — comment permalink

Ah well, Sam, considering how well you did on the others, I was worried that you perhaps weren’t human. It’s somehow comforting to see at least a tinge of human frailty

My brother (who usually does as well as you) this time did as well as I (12/16), so I guess the fuu-fuu world of food can be a challenge for everyone.

— comment by Jeffrey Friedl on February 4th, 2006 at 11:19am JST (2 years, 3 months ago) — comment permalink

#12 is “aioli”, not “ailoi”. Good stuff.

Thanks John. I’m sorry that for some reason I didn’t see your comment come in, and so it wasn’t until Peter’s comment came in that I noticed it. I sort of strive for accuracy, so feel bad I missed your note! —Jeffrey

— comment by John Cowan on February 14th, 2007 at 10:35am JST (1 year, 3 months ago) — comment permalink

Yep, you misspelled “aioli”

http://m-w.com/dictionary/aioli

Doh, thanks, fixed. I would have gotten it wrong either way —Jeffrey

— comment by Peter Lund on March 31st, 2007 at 11:47pm JST (1 year, 1 month ago) — comment permalink