100 Words for Foodies

by American Heritage

Americans love talking about food almost as much as they love eating it, and to describe it, English speakers partake of an impressive spread of fascinating words. 100 Words for Foodies presents a delectable sampler of these words, words that grace the tables of restaurants and are bandied about the kitchen at home.

The words selected for this book cover the whole gamut of foodie terminology. There are words for implements and vessels, like mezzaluna and tagine, alongside the names of techniques, like macerate, and methods, like deglaze. There are spices, like epazote and fenugreek, sauces, like nuoc mam and rouille, and dishes from almost every cuisine baba gannouj (Egyptian), gado gado (Indonesian), sancocho (Latin American), yakitori (Japanese), and zabaglione (Italian).
Each entry has a definition and a pronunciation. Some entries are enhanced with recipes, and others have word history notes that tell surprising backstories. For instance, did you know that coriander and cilantro come from the same plant? Or that pho, the name of the quintessential Vietnamese soup, isn’t a native Vietnamese word, but comes from French, feu, “fire,” probably from the phrase pot au feu (borrowed into English for another kind of soup)?

Hip and informative, 100 Word for Foodies is one delight you won’t be able to resist. Bring it to your next dinner party. You’ll see smiles all around.

Genres: Cookbooks, Nonfiction

96 pages, Paperback

First published November 4, 2009

Reviews

[Abraham Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection of foodie words!

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Since the book covers only 100 food terms, you'd think they wouldn't waste space on things like "garlic" and "salsa."

[Dave Witte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned that kecap manis (fish sauce) is basically the first form of ketchup and it originates from China. I also learned that Yuca has to be leached and dried to remove the cyanide from it, in order to be eaten. Good recipes are included as well.