It is, however,
a matter of difficulty to give the correct rendering
of the phonetic pronunciation of French words, on
account of there being in English no equivalents in
many instances for the sounds in French.
The accents must receive especial attention in writing
or reading menus, as the meaning of a word may be
completely changed by its use or omission. At the
same time, it must be observed that there is, in general,
no especial stress of voice on any one syllable in
French, even when an accent is placed over a letter
in that syllable. The accent determines the sound or
pronunciation of the letter alone.
The following suggestions and explanations having
reference to the various courses comprising a luncheon
or dinner menu may prove helpful, not only in the
compilation of the latter, but also as an aid to the
correct interpretation and pronunciation * of the
phraseology generally in vogue.
The following are a few examples of the names of
dishes and words used in French menus, with their
approximate pronunciations :
Aigre (ehgr) Sour, acrid or piquant.
Aigrefin (eh-gre-fan) Haddock.
* It is, however, impossible to give exact equivalents to the
French u, the c in many instances, the oi and the oil. Our
phonetic rendering is approximate only.
\
V
SPELLING AND PRONUNCIATION n
a la diable (ah lah dee-abl) Devilled.
a la (ah lah) In the style of ; after the manner of.
Alose (ah-lose) Shad.
Aloyau (al-oy-yo) Sirloin of Beef .
Alouette (al-ou-et) Lark.
Ananas (an-an-ah) Pineapple.
Anguille (an-geeye) Eel. 1
Aspic (ahs-peek) Savoury jelly .
au bleu (oh bldh) Stewed in wine, or in vinegar and
water, with herbs.
au gratin (oh grah-tan) Scalloped.
au kari (oh karee) Curried.
au maigre (oh mehgr) Dish in which no meat is used.
au naturel (oh nah-tu-rehl) Uncooked, or boiled in
water.
Baba (bahbah) Spongy yeast cake like savarin, but con-
taining currants, or soaked in rum syrup.
Bearnaise (ber-nehz) Rich white herb sauce with egg yolk
liaison.
Becasse (beh-kas) Woodcock.
Bechamel (beh-shah-mel) French rich white sauce — the
premier foundation sauce.
Beignets (bayn-yeh) Fritters.
Beurre-noir (berr-nooahr) Butter cooked to a brown
colour.
Bisque (beesq) Thick soup, made from shell fish.
Blanchailles (blan-shy) Whitebait.
Bouchees (boo-shay) Small puff paste patties filled with
minced meat, fish, etc.
Bouilli (boo-ee) Fresh boiled beef.
Braise (breh-zeh) A combination of roasting and stew-
ing.
Broche (broh-sh) Roasted before a fire on the spit.
Brunoise (bruh-nuyooahs) A class of French thick
soups.
Cabillaud (cab-ee-yo) Codfish.
Cafe (kah-feh) Coffee.
Caille (kiey) Quail.
Canard (can-ar) Duck.
Caneton (can-ehton) Duckling.
Celeri (seh-le-ree) Celery.
Cerises (ser-ease) Cherries.
Canap£ (kah-nah-peh) Fried or toasted pieces of bread.
C6pes (sehp) A species of large mushroom.
Cervelle de veau (serve-el-de-vo) Calf’s brains.
Champignons (cham-peen-yon) Mushrooms.
Chartreuse (shar-trerrz) A liqueur, also a mould of
savoury meat and vegetable or sweet.
Chaudfroid (shoh-frwa) A name for dishes which are
prepared hot, coated with sauce, dressed and served cold,
usually garnished with aspic and truffles, etc.
Chevreuil (shev-rye) Roebuck, roe-deer.
12 SPELLING AND PRONUNCIATION
Chicoree au jus (she-co-reh oh ju) Endive stewed in
stock.
Choux (shoo) Cabbages.
Page 4
Presented as published in 1903. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
A modernized reading is not available for this page yet. You are seeing the original text.
It is, however,
a matter of difficulty to give the correct rendering
of the phonetic pronunciation of French words, on
account of there being in English no equivalents in
many instances for the sounds in French.
The accents must receive especial attention in writing
or reading menus, as the meaning of a word may be
completely changed by its use or omission. At the
same time, it must be observed that there is, in general,
no especial stress of voice on any one syllable in
French, even when an accent is placed over a letter
in that syllable. The accent determines the sound or
pronunciation of the letter alone.
The following suggestions and explanations having
reference to the various courses comprising a luncheon
or dinner menu may prove helpful, not only in the
compilation of the latter, but also as an aid to the
correct interpretation and pronunciation * of the
phraseology generally in vogue.
The following are a few examples of the names of
dishes and words used in French menus, with their
approximate pronunciations :
Aigre (ehgr) Sour, acrid or piquant.
Aigrefin (eh-gre-fan) Haddock.
* It is, however, impossible to give exact equivalents to the
French u, the c in many instances, the oi and the oil. Our
phonetic rendering is approximate only.
\
V
SPELLING AND PRONUNCIATION n
a la diable (ah lah dee-abl) Devilled.
a la (ah lah) In the style of ; after the manner of.
Alose (ah-lose) Shad.
Aloyau (al-oy-yo) Sirloin of Beef .
Alouette (al-ou-et) Lark.
Ananas (an-an-ah) Pineapple.
Anguille (an-geeye) Eel. 1
Aspic (ahs-peek) Savoury jelly .
au bleu (oh bldh) Stewed in wine, or in vinegar and
water, with herbs.
au gratin (oh grah-tan) Scalloped.
au kari (oh karee) Curried.
au maigre (oh mehgr) Dish in which no meat is used.
au naturel (oh nah-tu-rehl) Uncooked, or boiled in
water.
Baba (bahbah) Spongy yeast cake like savarin, but con-
taining currants, or soaked in rum syrup.
Bearnaise (ber-nehz) Rich white herb sauce with egg yolk
liaison.
Becasse (beh-kas) Woodcock.
Bechamel (beh-shah-mel) French rich white sauce — the
premier foundation sauce.
Beignets (bayn-yeh) Fritters.
Beurre-noir (berr-nooahr) Butter cooked to a brown
colour.
Bisque (beesq) Thick soup, made from shell fish.
Blanchailles (blan-shy) Whitebait.
Bouchees (boo-shay) Small puff paste patties filled with
minced meat, fish, etc.
Bouilli (boo-ee) Fresh boiled beef.
Braise (breh-zeh) A combination of roasting and stew-
ing.
Broche (broh-sh) Roasted before a fire on the spit.
Brunoise (bruh-nuyooahs) A class of French thick
soups.
Cabillaud (cab-ee-yo) Codfish.
Cafe (kah-feh) Coffee.
Caille (kiey) Quail.
Canard (can-ar) Duck.
Caneton (can-ehton) Duckling.
Celeri (seh-le-ree) Celery.
Cerises (ser-ease) Cherries.
Canap£ (kah-nah-peh) Fried or toasted pieces of bread.
C6pes (sehp) A species of large mushroom.
Cervelle de veau (serve-el-de-vo) Calf’s brains.
Champignons (cham-peen-yon) Mushrooms.
Chartreuse (shar-trerrz) A liqueur, also a mould of
savoury meat and vegetable or sweet.
Chaudfroid (shoh-frwa) A name for dishes which are
prepared hot, coated with sauce, dressed and served cold,
usually garnished with aspic and truffles, etc.
Chevreuil (shev-rye) Roebuck, roe-deer.
12 SPELLING AND PRONUNCIATION
Chicoree au jus (she-co-reh oh ju) Endive stewed in
stock.
Choux (shoo) Cabbages.