Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Banned Words for Food Writers + Giveaway

-Some of this shit stops now.-

Dear Food Writers, Bloggers, Etcetera. The following words are now banned. Please be on note.

These words have been banned because they are pedantic, unimaginative, and dull. Reckless use of these words will result in a public flogging, followed by nude walk down the nearest major street where the locals will be instructed to point and laugh at your genitals.

Food writing should be clever, thoughtful, witty, informative, timely, or something straddling combinations of all that. It should not be "good."

You have been warned.

Good: Why? Why is it "good?" Was it not fantastic? Was it not horrible? "Good" doesn't say anything except that it was something pleasing. You have to tell me why it was good. Rough cuts of potatoes? The delightful bits of charring? The subtle use of lavender in the pastry cream that brought out the floral qualities of the strawberries? Give me more than "good."

Bad: See above.

Nice: See above. Also, I will fucking slap you.

Great: See above. Seriously, just no more blah and boring words. Remember what your English teacher in high school said, "Show, not tell." Don't tell me it was great, show me why it was great.

Unctuous: I would argue that most people have no idea what the definition of this word is. It's like how everyone assumes "nonplussed" means that a person had no reaction to something or a person is unfazed, when actually it means you are aghast, confused or bewildered to a point of total shock and inability to react.

"Unctuous" is used often to mean rich, smooth, or svelte. It actually means greasy, slick, or having a soapy feel. In reference to a person in means being exceedingly ingratiating (aka: being a slime ball). If your pizza is unctuous, then you have a very greasy-ass pizza that's likely to cause your face to break out the next morning from simply having been in its presence.

That, my friends, is not appetizing.

Better than sex: First off, no, it wasn't. Or you're having very boring sex. Pick one. I've eaten a lot of phenomenal food in my life and some were very intense experiences. Unless you literally orgasmed across the table (ew), then no.

The thing about this phrase is that it has become cliched. Open up the Yelp page for any restaurant in the world that has a four star rating or higher and "better than sex" is sure to show up. You know what's better than sex? Mindblowing sex. You know how excellent a steak with a gritty chipotle rub and glazed with kumquat marmalade is? That's better than terrible or forgetful sex. The kind where your hookup thinks he's a master kisser when he's actually trying to swallow your entire face like a wild python eating a labrador.

I've eaten at the French Laundry at that lamb course was so good my eyes rolled into the back of my head so hard I saw the inside of my skull. However, it was not better than my husband putting the spurs to me. They are both intense on very different planes of human existence. However, I'll take a good finish to a steak with a finishing sauce any day.

Maybe run with the sex idea in a new direction? There's a nugget of gold here if you're willing to polish it. Perhaps you had a date and the ragu you ordered at dinner was better than sex because he was a gentleman and wanted to respect your boundaries. Thus, that ragu was better than the sex you didn't have. Or go the Confessions of a Restaurant Whore route (one of the best retired food blogs ever) and say the the tomatillo sopa seca de fideo* you were served was so delectable you actually wanted to rip of your clothes and copulate your love for it right there on the table. Points if you can incorporate cream sauce in the sentence.

I just pulling ideas out of a hat here. My point is: go for broke or leave it alone.

Yummy: What are we? Six? It's a weak word, it's a vague word, and it's a childish word. I would call a Good Humor strawberry shortcake bar yummy because fuck if it isn't just that. If I were a chef who crafted a caprese benedict with basil hollandaise and someone reduced my palate, work, and creativity to just a "yummy" then I would be pissed. That shit is a verdant interpretation of two classic dishes, reinvented into something both modern and approachable for the home cook.

Sinful: Every time I hear this it makes me sigh. "Sinful" has become a synonym for too many other words like "rich," "sweet," or "flavorful." Why is it sinful? Is something that tastes this delightful a sin? Perhaps the food in question shoplifts sweeties from the corner store? Is the food having a sexual tryst with its father-in-law's sexy Cuban hospice nurse? Those are all rather sinful.

Considering how often I see this word used I can only assume that Hell is filled with soporific gastronomes being force-fed chicken nuggets slathered in McDonald's strange iteration of what they call "Ranch Dressing" due to lives filled with too many sinful chocolate lava cakes. If you plan to use sinful then use it with context. It's sinful because it forces you to break this year's renewed diet resolution (and it's only January 5th!). It's sinful because the taste of the beef was so carnal and intoxicating you were driven by primitive impulse to club to death the customer eating a salad one table over and claim his land as your own. It is not sinful solely because of the presence of chocolate or how much butter was used in the dish.

Exclamation Points: Not technically a word. This piece of punctuation should be used liberally. I once had a teacher who said that in writing you are allotted ten exclamation marks in your lifetime, so they should be used judiciously. If you use an exclamation point you are essentially screaming at your reader. No one likes to be screamed at.

For example, find the nearest person and say the following sentence to them: I like pizza.

Easy, yes?  Now go find the next nearest person and shriek at them this: I like pizza!

The first one will get you an odd look, the second one might have gotten you a footnote in your next performance review if the person was your direct supervisor and you're reading this at work. Big difference.

Anyways, there are others, but that's a rant for another day.

-Also, please begin using the word "jaunty" more.-

On that note. There's a recipe and a giveaway today. Neither one is really related to this post except in the most tangential way.

My buddy, Heather Christo, has a new book out. It's a fabulous cookbook that offers up a variety of menus and meals that are seasonally and situationally approriate for various celebrations. In Heather Christo's Generous Table: Easy & Elegant Recipes through the Seasons, this darling doyenne offers advice on how to host elegant parties and cook for them within a busy schedule. I can attribute to this testament as I cooked from her book many times during the move and was able to do so with a hot plate, toaster oven, and an ice chest.

Another plus? Heather's recipe intros are always engaging and she never says "yummy."

The following recipe is an adaptation of a cookie bar recipe from the book. I say adaptation because I used a totally wrong sized pan, had no cornstarch, and used different fruit and twice as much of it. So it's more a cobbler of sorts with a crust on the bottom.

It is amazing to say the least. I also may or may not have punched my husband in the arm after he tried to steal a bite from my plate. I also may or may not have been chewed out for leaving a bruise the size of a grapefruit and it looking like he dyed his bicep indigo.

(Ahh, the love we share.)

To win a copy of Heather's new cookbook simply leave a comment about a food word you hate in this post before August 4th. A winner will be chose at random and announced on the next post on August 6th. Winner must reside in the continental United States as heck if I can afford overseas shipping. (Sorry, Hawaii and Alaska.)   THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.


Blackberry Pluot Cobbler-Thing That Should Be a Cookie, But It's Not. It's a Cobbler-Thing.
Makes enough to make you and your family happy

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1 large egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups AP flour
2/3 cup of whatever jam you have on hand (I used plum)
3 cups blackberries
4 cups sliced pluots
1/4 cup sugar

Crumb Topping
6 tablespoons cold butter, chopped
1/2 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup AP flour
pinch of cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and line with parchment a rather medium-large-ish piece of bakeware. You'll know it when you see it.

2. In a stand mixer crem the butter and brown sugar. Cream in the egg yolk, salt, vanilla, and 2 cups of the flour. Turn the dough into the prepared pan and press it in. It'll be thinnish in some places. Or not. No worries. Smear the jam over the top.

3. Toss the fruit, sugar, and remaining flour together. Place over the jammy dough.

4. Make the crumble topping. To do this you put all the ingredients into a bowl and crumble them up with your fingers until it's all sandy and no piece of butter is bigger than a pea. Then, use it to cover the whole fruit mess. Bake for 45-50 minutes.

5. Serve.

*Note: This recipe is also in my upcoming cookbook, Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese. Shameless plug, go!

67 comments:

  1. "Toothsome"--hate hate hate it. Makes me think of the writer's dental work.

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  2. Pretty much any of Rachael Ray's words: yum-o, sammies, evoo, etc. One word I don't mind that many people seem to is moist. It's so funny to me how many people cringe when they hear it.

    P.S. You mean August 4 and August 6, right?

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  3. "Delish" -- seriously, people, it's not that much extra effort to add the last syllable and call it "delicious," and even that isn't particularly imaginative or helpful when you're describing food that I can't taste myself.

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  4. My most hated food word is also just my most hated word. I'm having a hard time typing it. Okay, deep breath...moist.
    If you use that word, I swear to God, your cookies/cake/whatever just went from "Oh, hey, that looks like a recipe I'd like to try." to "CLOSE THE BROWSER NOW NOW NOW NOW"

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  5. Plethora. As great as that word is, it doesn't mean what everyone thinks it means. In Three Amigos, they have a discussion about whether or not Jefe knows what it means, but it is never defined. The assumption is that it means many. It actually means an overabundance or excessive amount. Too many. (Oh, and I'm submitting here, assuming the dates will be fixed regarding when the drawing will happen, that you wrote this a month ago, not thinking about the date it would actually be posted.)

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  6. I hate the word "foodie". I know it's not a way to describe food but it's food related...? nicsuss972 AT aol.com

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  7. Before entering my word for consideration, I'd like to enthusiastically second your hatred for 'nice.' My mother - who taught English for many years - abhors the word, not the least because it used to mean 'precise' and now means 'I don't know what to say, but want to say something positive.' I developed a visceral loathing for it during my music education, and hearing 'that was nice!' over and over from well-meaning studio mates created a Pavlovian gag-reflex response.

    That tenure at music school also exhausted 'best' for me, a phrase we're all prone to using. Like 'nice,' it doesn't mean what it used to mean, as in 'better than anything else,' it now means 'the best I know.' It's an objective word used in a subjective way, and there are so many delicious words that could be used to greater effect. No offense meant at all for the times you or anyone else has used best - if anything, I'm just voting for more diversity.

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  8. I assume July 4th means August 4th? In any case, my least loved word from this post is yummy. I use it with my daughter all the time, but when discussing food not meant for a six year old's palate, I think a little more maturity (and, frankly, respect for the food) is in order.

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    1. Thank you - and I noticed I misinterpreted the rules, so I'll add my additional disliked term: vanilla. Calling something vanilla has become synonymous with calling it bland, tasteless, or generally uninteresting. But vanilla is is a flavor which has layers of complexity that vary depending on the source of the vanilla used. It helps highlight other flavors in baking and cooking, and on its own give my taste buds their own little flavorgasms (vanilla ice cream - either French or vanilla bean - is my favorite ice cream, ever).

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    2. Ashley, I agree that the word vanilla should not be used in place of plain or bland. Also, in relation to the post, in saying something is better than sex, it might be in your best interest to not use words such as "flavorgasms".

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  9. Can I enter a phrase? "Farm to Table" and all the versions of said phrase. Not bad, just over-used at this point. And if this helps, I am local to you. So no shipping of said book needed! Bonus!

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  10. I get tired of people who use "whip up" as their verb phrase, like, "Oh, I just whipped up these macarons on a Tuesday morning."

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  11. I don't like "unctuous." It sounds like its definition, leaving me feeling like I need a shower.

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  12. I have ever so many words I hate, and you mentioned many of them, but I think "decadent" has to be up near the top of the list. I'm not saying foods CAN'T be decadent, but not every chocolate dessert has to be described that way. Same with "indulgent."

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  13. For me, it's the word "approachable", either used when discussing an ingredient that is unusual or has very specific uses, or I often hear it from members of the Pretentious Wine Snoot Society. It makes me think of a vicious dog chained to a wrought-iron fence, barking aggressively with teeth bared, that if you simply "approach" it politely, it'll all of a sudden transform into some ridiculously extravagant french red in a crystal glass. Now, I've got Professor McGonagall in my head.

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  14. "guilt free" rubs me all sorts of wrong ways. NO ONE should EVER feel guilty about what they eat. It's no wonder we have such a warped sense of self. Eat what you love but in MODERATION. Don't eat an entire cake, have a couple bites. Don't live on lettuce because it's "guilt free". That's just, well...... stupid.

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  15. garrett, i love and adore you...but is that cat hair next to the blackberries in that photo? please say it isn't so!

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  16. The phrase "flavor profile" is so over-used, at one point I turned it into a drinking game with my boyfriend while watching Top Chef.

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  17. I'm not a fan of people saying something is 'tasty'. What does that mean? I'm sure it tastes like something, so elaborate.

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  18. Oh thank god. I'm so glad someone else has done a post like this. I HATE when food is referred to as sinful, or decadent, or indulgent. It evokes so much guilt! I ain't about about that life.

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  19. I agree with Laura the Magnificent. "Delish". It is vaguely dismissive, as in "this food is really tasty, but I care more about sounding cool and not saying delicious". Ugh.
    And Marilyn, I cannot say for sure, but it looks more like Corgi hair to me. Did you know that blackberries grow outside? In dirt? With birds doing their thing on them, etc? Sorry.
    Garrett, food blog. Housekeeping blog, not so much. Martha Stewart is relieved not to be threatened by you in ALL fronts.

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  20. "Artisan" which is defined as "one that produces something (as cheese or wine) in limited quantities often using traditional methods" has bugged me ever since it was appropriated by the fast food industry. I'm sorry Domino's, but I'm having trouble buying into the concept that anything about your pizza can even loosely be defined as "artisan". On a related note, seeing the term "handcrafted" as applied to any fast food product can cause extreme eye roll.

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  21. I refuse to let go of Yummy and Good.

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  22. delicious. also golden - what does that mean? golden like the sun setting? like a field of wheat? like a little person's hair? what? or wonderful.

    fruitcrmble AT comcast DOT net

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  23. Orgasmic. Very similar to "better than sex" actually. Yes, I want to enjoy my food but I'd rather keep control of myself while out in public, or just eating dinner in general.

    I'll third delish as well. Unless you are writing a tweet, this shouldn't be used because it just makes you sound like you didn't care enough about the food to use all the letters in the word. Same goes for fab.

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  24. Oh, I've got this - nom nom nom...I HATE that! I also hate yummy and tasty (but nom nom nom makes me mad).

    Joy V.

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    Replies
    1. Bless you for calling out the ridiculousness of "nom nom nom" which I had to Google to figure out it was related to the Cookie Monster and Sesame Street.

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    2. I was trying to explain it to my husband this morning and wasn't sure of the origin myself! I was guessing it had to do with the icanhascheezeburger site, but wasn't sure :) Either way...hate!

      Joy V.

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  25. "Too good for words." Really, people, it is a written medium. If you can't describe it in words, perhaps you should be doing a video blog so we can hear your oh-so-expressive sounds.

    I also hate the way vanilla is being used recently. Maybe it's just me, but if you think vanilla is boring, perhaps you are no longer taking the time to explore the many layers of flavorful delight to be found in some of the most simple of dishes. There needn't be a slew of ingredients to give a dish depth, just ingredients used well. Try the real vanilla and leave that inexpensive imitation stuff on the store shelf where it belongs.

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  26. Our local newspaper's "food writer" ( they got rid of their actual critic) uses this in every description of every sandwich or sandwich-like object she writes about.

    I swipe my credit card. The raccoons swipe birdseed from the feeder. The recipe was swiped from my grandmother's cookbook.

    Thus endeth my English pedantry for the day. Go in peace.

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  27. The word tasty and the phrase "I want to eat it every day of my life" just bug me. And just because you get free avocados and quinoa doesn't mean that we need to read a recipe on your blog with those ingredients everyday for weeks. I want more variety!

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  28. So many of my *favorite* hated words are above already, most of them the made up words like "delish" or "yum-o". So, I will add to that list "stoup" typically used to define a dish that is part soup/part stew. It is an ugly word and has no real meaning. People should just stop using it. In hopes of being the winner melrod333 at hotmail, thanks.

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  29. Delicious. It's like good and bad ... yes, I want delicious food, but why is it delicious?

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  30. In a similar vein to your dislike of, "Better Than Sex" Describing something as "Orgasmic" can be weird...I'd rather not imagine some people having a orgasm...

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  31. It's a phrase and not a word but I cannot deal with instructions that say "until done". Can I get an estimate on that? A description of how I will know it's done?

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  32. I get annoyed at the use of "to die for". It's extreme hyperbole, and some people use it for almost any delicious food. Really? That cake is so good you'd gladly die if only you could have a bite first?

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  33. Oh man, I thought the whole "yummy" thing was over, but it seems to keep on going. I work with children, they say yummy, when they do we talk about all the other words they can use in its place. I have the urge to do this with adults more often than would be appropriate. I also really dislike the whole nom, nom, nom thing.

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  34. Not finding "flavorful" to be all that helpful. "Flavorless", on the other hand, is always useful.

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  35. Ok, I don't want to be entered in the giveaway because I already have Heather's gorgeous new book.
    But, I have to say that, as a Southern gal, the whole 'better than sex' thing goes way back. Back before food was considered sinful. (har) Or when people knew about food porn or orgasmic dishes. It goes back to church lady days, and I just can't get over it. I agree with you on all other accounts.
    Can we talk about the bastardization of Southern food lately? How everything creamy is called a Butter Cake or Chess Bars? NOT THE SAME THING. Or, anything with food dye is red velvet? Red velvet has buttermilk & a hint of cocoa. Not just the color red.
    Ok, ranting.
    You know I love you and everything other thing on this blog :)

    And PS 'putting the spurs to me' is probably the best phrase I've EVER heard. Thank you for that xoxox

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  36. I'm with Kate - "toothsome" is loathsome. But an even bigger annoyance for me than one particular word, is the over use of words to describe how your food was grown or raised. For example - for dinner tonight I had pastured, grass fed, hormone free sirloin steak . . . I find this extra annoying as the people who do it are usually food bloggers and people in the types of online food communities who only ever eat that type of food to begin with - so it should be a given.

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  37. My list is long, and previous posters have mentioned quite a few of them. But one that strikes at this moment is "lashings"--of butter, usually. Hello, are you (not YOU, Garrett) a food writer or a frustrated Regency novelist/porn hack? Nigella gets a pass--maybe. But then I don't read her anymore.

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  38. Mine has to be palatable. It sounds like a heavy, cumbersome, chewy word. That or I'm about to gnaw on a pallet. yay...

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  39. Mouthfeel. I know what how it relates , but using the word makes me not want to eat that food.

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  40. Artisanal for anything that can be bought in bulk. I mean, really. Yes, the loaf of bread has a proper crust on it, but it's still going stale at every Safeway in the state.

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  41. I see someone has beaten me to "mouthfeel"! Firstly, I think it should go unsaid that the food is in your mouth, not between your toes or something. Secondly, it is almost always used in conjunction with non-descriptive/perplexing adjectives ("Oh, it had a uniform mouthfeel? That's exactly what I was going for!").

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  42. 'mouthwatering'
    Also any permutation at all of 'yummy', so 'yum-o', 'yumilicious'

    The first one just doesn't make me hungry, it brings to mind a dog slobbering all over the place and just makes me shudder. Gross.

    The second, yes, I agree loudly that that word is horrible, it's the equivalent to when a child comes home from school, mom asks the child 'How was school?', child answers 'Ok.' Super boring, super non-committed to actually describing how good something really tastes. And I would expect it from a spaghetti-O's commercial.

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  43. Not entering because I already HAVE the cookbook!

    I love Heather's blog but like you, I'm always doing some sort of substitution (not that her recipes are weird just my pantry is always full of the wrong stuff) but generally it all comes out amazing.

    -- Michelle in VA

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  44. Gaw, do I love this post. It's good and it's nice and it's yummy and it's SINFUL!!!!!!!

    Seriously, though, sing it about some of the unimaginative descriptors floating around out there in foodwritingland. If I'm honest, I'm just sick and bored with 'delicious'. I mean, really, you took all this time to create and photograph a lovely new dish and you're selling it with simply 'delicious'? That's kind of sad...

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  45. So guilty of over using yummy (in fact, used it in today's post!)...but then again, I'm also pretty fond of "like", "um", "totally", and "awesome" so I guess it kind of fits :)

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  46. I cannot stand hearing or reading the word yummy. My sister uses it all the time. I tense up and want to scream when she says it or uses it to comment on a recipe I have posted. I thought I was a bad person for feeling that way, so I thank you for pointing out how aweful that word is.

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  47. I love this article, although I have to confess that I have used the word "yummy" and still have a fondness for it. Probably _because_ it is a little childish and lighthearted. You can't be accused of taking yourself too seriously and also use the word yummy. I'll try to use it sparingly in the future, though.

    My pet peeve? "Easy Peasy." What is up with that phrase? I'm a newbie blogger, but already think it is overused. I find it so irritating that if a recipe has Easy Peasy in the title, I can't read any further.

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  48. I hate seeing 'authentic' used to describe something favorably or negatively. Who has the right to determine something is authentic or not; with cuisines constantly evolving, very little truly is. But nothing makes me cringe more than 'nom nom nom'

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  49. Awesome post! I hate the term "very good" (or very anything, for the most part). Use real words and tell me about it, not just very this and very that! (Side note, I also teach an undergraduate writing class, so I think the hate for this term has mostly come from that class. But it pops up all over the place so it can apply here too)

    I've been reading for a while but never commented-I do think your blog is fantastic and look forward to reading it every week!

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  50. I don't think I can pick just one word. It ranges from childish variants of yummy, yummo, nom nom nom, to better than sex or even guilt free. Then there are the recipes that seem to miss an ingredient and confusing instructions.

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  51. It's 3 words actually. Abbreviated. LOL. it should be outlawed from existence. It's like the person writing it thinks you didn't 'get' that he/she is not joking. Like,"I hate your hair.lol." thanks.now I know not to be insulted.
    On a side note,I luv luv luv what you wrote about exclamation points. You iterated my thoughts exactly. A bit like lol,also overused. I know you're excited about something,I don't need a million exclamation points telling me that. Takes the sophistication out of the written word.
    OH and Garret,you should totally think about becoming a writing teacher. You have an impeccable use of the English language. Let alone your divine recipes, I drool over your flawless and sophisticated vocabulary. Many a time,I find myself re-reading some statements, chewing over your interesting and entertaining choice of words. Who needs books when I have this?!

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  52. Lots of people have already said it - but "delish". Nope. Not a word.

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  53. I have two pet peeves when it comes to food writing/television. The first is the use of the word "sexy" to describe either the food itself or the cooking skills of the writer/host/guest. I recall one contestant on Hellʻs Kitchen who did this so often that I forgot his name entirely and referred to him as "Mr. Sexy Food (eyeroll included)" for the remainder of his time on the show. I detest this for pretty much the same reasons outlined under "orgasm" in your post and in many of the preceding comments.

    Counterpoint to the objection to the use of "sinful" (which I agree should be banned) is the use of "heavenly" to describe food--does the writer refer to the itemʻs light, fluffy texture? Did they have an auditory hallucination while eating it that sounded like a choir of angels singing (and if so, they may need to seek medical and/or psychiatric treatment, depending on what caused the experience)? As you say, they need to describe how the food looks/smells/tastes, not depend on hyperbole (which communicates only how the writer feels about the food and is pretty useless to the reader).

    So glad to find another excellent local blog to follow!

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  54. Pretty much hate any word that Rachel Ray comes up with. She is an extremely annoying person. Also, if I win, I work right at Power Inn & Folsom...and shop for stuff for work at that Home Depot all the time - no postage necessary!

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  55. Masticate - it just sounds like something a serial killer would do.

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  56. This post reminds me of the Dead Poets Society and the talk about the word 'very': "A man is not very tired, he is exhausted. Don’t use very sad, use morose."
    Also, I think more recipes should be named the way this one is; when I first read the name and servings it made me laugh.

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  57. "Awe inspiring", "Awesome", "Amazing", "life changing"...it's food right? Not the Great Wall of China or a freaking unicorn...

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  58. Anything that has EVER come out of Rachel Ray's mouth. Or Sandra Lee's mouth. And unctuous. Ever time I hear Aron Sanchez use that word in relation to some pork dish, I get queasy. The last thing I want with any pork dish is for it to be unctuous.

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  59. As many people have already said my least favourites are

    Unctuous - like you I hate the way it's being misused.
    Toothsome - eugh
    Flavoursome - ARGGHH
    Melt in the mouth - unless it's ice-cream, lard, butter or actual ice it doesn't melt in the mouth.

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  60. I'm so tired of the phrase 'to whip up' since it always makes me think that these people have little extra power packs that they can attach to themselves in order to cook special that the rest of us mere mortals can't. People make food they don't 'whip it up'. It's a phrase that I dislike as much as "farm to table" since it's so imprecise..I mean hello there's some transport, cleaning, cutting up and an entire myriad of procedures that goes on between the time that its gone from the farm to your dinner table. Why can't people just use the word 'fresh' instead? I don't use the word 'nice' since I was told when I was 11 by my teacher that it meant nothing and so was banned from being used by her...so I've no idea what it really means that the user of the word doesn't know what to say. Another word that needs to be clarified is the word 'spicy'. What does it mean? Hot or just flavorful for the taster of the dish? I ask this question since I've noticed that food writing is often very unclear as to what's meant. ...and this question could equally be asked of the phrases: 'nom, nom, nom' (hear me gagging as to it especially when used by adults), 'delicious'...well, what does that mean exactly?' and the worst word is 'sinful'. Why? Well, why is eating something that tastes good to you so sinful? I ask myself this question since I figure that if some dish tastes so good that the writer has to describe it as sinful then they by default must usually eat plain food. Makes sense really especially as eating something that they enjoy constitutes 'a sin' in their view. I start asking myself why use this word since a 'sin' is technically anything that violates the ideal relationship between an individual and God. A sin has been defined as "to miss the mark" so...why then is a dish that's really good in the mind of the person describing it a sinful thing? Anyhow enough of my rant..I really, really enjoy reading your blog posts on food since I've become fussy about how food is being described. I've got to the point where if I read something which uses all of the words that you've listed that I think that the dish is probably pretty awful in reality.

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  61. Food not better than sex? I'm sorry? I'm in for any kind of food at any time of the day and will always be able to enjoy it.. no one can say the same about sex! :P
    On a side-note: I completely agree this shouldn't be put in blogs as often as Ive seen it. You forgot the word 'amazing' though. I'm afraid most of the food I make is 'pretty amazing' every time xD

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~Garrett