Cooking terms that annoy you

[calibrax]

I frequently see American TV cooking shows where they talk about "au jus". They treat that phrase as a noun, saying things like "let's make some au jus for this dish", or "We're having beef with au jus". NO!!! "Au jus" translated means "with juice". The noun is "jus". Stop saying it wrong!

Also while we're at it, "herbs" begins with an H, not an E!

Any cooking related language that annoys you?

[marshalla]

"sous vide" = not quite boiled, in a plastic bag


ETA - and, since we've mentioned the colonials, their misuse of the word "entrée" is irritating.

Edited by marshalla on Friday 15th January 09:27

[thebraketester]

Sweat the onions off....

[Gaz3376]

Broil!!

[Europa1]

"just" and "simply" used by TV chefs.

[A10]

Pretty much anything that comes out of Greg Wallace's mouth. And Nigella Lawson's for that matter.

[RizzoTheRat]

"Splash" of oil

glug...glug...glug...glug...

That's half a bottle not a splash!

[sgrimshaw]

[redacted]

[thebraketester]

[redacted]

[Truckosaurus]

calibrax said:

I ...American TV...

There's your problem.

The nearest to a problem I have with culinary terms is where the assumption that giving something a French name makes it haute cuisine (eg. au jus = with juice)

[Dogwatch]

[redacted]

[dazco]

I think you need to be a rather intolerant person to get annoyed by a cooking term , but one thing that disappoints me is when I use an American recipe and the measurements are in cups.

[thebraketester]

dazco said:

I think you need to be a rather intolerant person to get annoyed by a cooking term , but one thing that disappoints me is when I use an American recipe and the measurements are in cups.

Buy some metal "cup" unit measures. Problem solved. :-)

[condor]

RizzoTheRat said:

"Splash" of oil

glug...glug...glug...glug...

That's half a bottle not a splash!

Similarly, a pinch of salt seems to mean as much as you can get between your 4 fingers and a thumb.

[Dand E Lion]

The overused phrases bug me (especially when on Come Dine with Me, as most of the contestants know b*gger all about cooking)

'to my palate' my taste
'cooked to perfection' like they would recognise perfection/isn't it rather subjective?
'a bit of a kick' which really means proper seasoning/a few chili flakes

[Pints]

"Well done"

[bigandclever]

"Splash drop three tablespoons of cognac into a mixing bowl. Applique the currants. Leave them in there for three to six months to make sure the currants are completely exasperated."

WHAT?!

[Digger]

Flavo(u)rful. No, just no.

[Cybertronian]

The one that's always annoyed me occurs on Master Chef quite often: when they use "Crème Anglaise" to describe what is essentially custard!

[opieoilman]

Pan fried - well you tend to fry in a pan rather than a sink or on a grater.
Sous vide - It's boil in the bag and I've only had a couple of things done that way, both would have been better pan fried.