Ask George: Have you ever compiled a list of mispronounced foods?

Hear more about commonly mispronounced foods and St. Louis restaurant names on the Arch Eats podcast.

Ask George: “Have you ever compiled a list of mispronounced foods?” —Debra D., St. Louis

Yes, and I’ve added to the list several times over the years, but it was a recent mispronunciation of the word “mostaccioli” by a local radio host—who continued to call the dish “muskaccioli” even after being corrected—that sparked the renewed interest. “Well, that’s just the way I say it,” he shrugged. Old habits…

As the world shrinks and diners become more sophisticated, more culinary terms emerge, so proper pronunciation is an ongoing exercise but a worthy one, since no one wants to order something incorrectly in a restaurant, or worse, feel obligated to do a point and shoot, saying, “Um, I’ll have that.”

The original inquiry was about the correct pronunciation of bruschetta—”or at least the one I should use in St. Louis. I don’t want to sound pretentious.” 

Here was my answer: Regarding bruschetta, the clumsy sounding “broo-SKEH-tuh” is correct in the strict Italian sense, which calls to mind the word endive. Sometimes, you just sound like a snob applying the proper accents trying to be proper. 

My rule of thumb: Pronounce according to the surroundings. Call me crazy, but I’ll likely pronounce bruschetta differently at Olive Garden than at Tony’s. And yet I always say tuh-MAE-toh. Go figure…

That said, here’s a list of mispronounced culinary terms, summarized in alphabetical order:

• Açai: The berrylike fruit, one of the so-called super foods, is ah-sigh-EE
• Anise: ANN-iss. The “a” is short, not long.  
• Au Gratin: Americans say oh (or aw) GRAH-tin; the French say oh-grah-TAHN, barely pronouncing the “n”.
• Au jus: oh-ZHU or oh-ZHUS
• Beignet: bain-YAY
• Blue Curaçao: If I hear one more bartender call this liqueur koo-RAH-koh, my head’s gonna explode.
• Boudin: The Cajun rice staple is called boo-DAN.
• Bouillabaisse: That other fish stew takes several pronunciations, among them BOO-yuh-bes, BOOL-yuh-base, and BOOL-yuh-bayz.
• Cannoli: Italian bakeries and restaurants have all heard guests saying canneloni, when ordering the iconic stuffed pastry. 
• Caramel: Two syllables or three? Either works, but I prefer two, CAR-mull. 
• Caramelized: Three for me. Four seems too clumsy.
• Celeraic: If you don’t want to call it celery root, say seh-LEH-ree-ack.
• Ceviche: Fish “cooked” in citrus juice is called seh-VEE-chay.
• Chipotle: chih-POHT-lay, even though saying chih-POHL-tay is easier
• Cioppino: chuh-PEE-noh. Three syllables, no more.
• Clafouti: Clah-foo-TEE (For years, I accented the wrong syllable.)
• Confit: The process is cooking meat in its own rendered fat; the pronunciation is cone-FEE.
• Crème Fraîche: Neither “cream” nor “fraish” is correct, but crehm-FRESH. Stay close to the French pronunciation…but roll your r’s only while in France.
• Crêpe: I go the other way with this one. I’m French, and even I say craype.
• Cynar: CHEE-nahr is the Italian digestif made from artichokes (chee-NAHR is acceptable as well)
• Dukkah: DUCK-uh and DUKE-uh are both correct for the Egyptian spice blend.
• Endive: You can gauge the pretentiousness of a restaurant by the way the staff handles this one: ENN-dive, and you’re good. ON-deev or on-DEEV, and you better hope someone else is paying.
• Espresso: es-PRESS-oh. Don’t express your naivete by adding an “x.”
• Filé: FEE-lay, note the final accent
• Foie Gras: Just remember it rhymes: fwah grah
• Gnocchi: NYOH-kee
• Gnudi: In similar fashion, NYEU-dee
• Gochujang: Korea’s most famous condiment is pronounced KOH-chew-jahng.
• Gougère: In the United States, the accent is on the second syllable, so it’s goo-ZHAIR. In France, it’s reversed. In both, the plural is pronounced the same.  
• Gratin: GRAH-tin rhymes with satin
• Guanciale: Truth be told, gwahn-she-AH-lay is sometimes called “face bacon.”
• Gyro: Everywhere but in New York, where it’s pronounced JYE-roe, the popular pita sandwich is called a YEE-roe. Asked the reason for the mispronunciation, one New Yorker replied, “We pronounce it wrong, because we’ve always pronounced it wrong, and we aren’t about to stop now.”
• Haricot Verts: ah-ree-koh-VEHR—the “s” is silent.
• Herbs: Unless you’re imitating Martha Stewart or Gordon Ramsay, the “h” is silent.
• Jicama: HEE-kah-mah
• Kefir: Never fear keh-FEER
• Macaroon/Macaron: Different items, different spellings, and different pronunciations. The one made predominantly with coconut is mack-uh-ROON; the filled French sandwich cookie is mack-uh-ROHN, the “n” barely audible.
• Mascarpone: MASS-car-pohn. There is no “r” in that first syllable.
• Mole: MOH-lay, pronounced like it has a final accent
• Mostaccioli: There’s no “k” in the word, k? That is, unless the reference is to the foodstuff served at local weddings, when the “muskaccioli” pronunciation is, for some reason, mandatory.
• Moussaka: MOOSE-uh-kuh
• Muffuletta: moo-fuh-LET-tah or moo-fuh-LAH-tah or muff-uh-LAH-tah… Do as I do: Simply order the “moof.”
• Nicoise: There are a lot of wrong ones here—nee-COYS, nuh-COYS, nee-QWAH, nee-SWAH—and only one right. The French word translates to “in the style of Nice,” so think of that city when you say nee-SWAHZ.  
• ‘Nduja: The trendy, spreadable salami is pronounced en-DOO-yuh
• Omakase: Ask for oh-mah-KAH-say when you want to order the chef’s choice tasting menu at a Japanese restaurant. Omakase means “I’ll leave it up to you.”
• Paczki:  No one who isn’t Polish gets this one right. It’s PAWNCH-key.
• Paella: Fortunately, I have never heard anyone say the “l’s” in pie-AY-uh.
• Pasty: The Scottish meat pie has a short “a”, so PASS-tee. (Mnemonic: Good pasties aren’t pasty.)
• Pho: it’s FUH, but FOE is more common in the U.S. 
• Pinot Noir: It’s NWAHR, just like film noir. Not nor, no how.  
• Poke: You no longer have to travel to Hawaii to experience poh-kay, as poke shops have sprung up all over the continental U.S.
• Prix Fixe: pree FEEKS
• Quesadilla: kay-suh-DEE-uh, rhymes with tortilla from which it’s made
• Quinoa: KEEN-wah
• Sake: SAH-kay
• Salmon: Please don’t say the “l.”
• Salmonella: Please pronounce the “l”, unlike in salmon.
• Semifreddo: Meaning literally “half cold,” the semi-frozen dessert (usually made with gelato), is pronounced seh-mee-FRED-doh.
• Sriracha: SIR-rotch-ah
• Swiss Chard: The “ch” is hard, so not “shard.” Sheesh…
• Tartare: The raw steak dish is tar-TAR; the sauce is TAR-tur, and spelled without the “e.”
• Tortilla: You know this one, but I did hear a person (a local chef, believe it or not) refer to the Mexican staple as a tore-TILL-yuh
• Turmeric: I’ve been hearing more of the “r” these days, but TOO-mer-ick is still far more common than TERR-mer-ick.
• Worchestershire: Wooster-sure or wooster-shire—both are considered correct. So is “Lea & Perrins.”

Is there another mispronounced culinary word that just drives you bonkers? Please feel free to list it in the comments section below.

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