What I found interesting about this week’s reading was the large amount of ambiguity and overlap that exists amongst cooking words, not just in English but in many, if not all, languages. Claude Levi-Strauss suggests that some reasons for this are situational: the French used to serve boiled meat for everyday meals, and roasted meat for guests. While this is no longer true in all cases, perhaps the remaining ambiguity today can be explained by tradition, but also by a want of sophistication.
Take the words “braised” and “steamed” for example. Both processes involve a closed pot with moisture (braised also uses fat), and braised carrots are not all that different from steamed ones. Yet steamed carrots evoke those mushy, slimy, flavorless morsels from childhood, while braised ones seem succulent in comparison, imagined as a side dish that would accompany a meal for adults, perhaps one at an expensive restaurant.
“Roast” and “bake,” two words that are much more similar than “braised” and “steamed” can also be separated by a sense of sophistication. Roasted potatoes sound as though they are bursting with flavor because of the ingredients they are roasted with (such as rosemary), while baked potatoes, although delicious, sound dried-out and require several condiments to prove their potential. Roasted potatoes might accompany meat marinated in a flavorful marinade, while baked potatoes are the side dish-of-choice at informal barbeques. At a restaurant, I would be much more inclined to order a dish with roasted potatoes than baked potatoes, and the same would be true if I was preparing a meal for other people.
Differences in similar cooking words also relate to the “extras” required in food preparation, such as sauces, pots, or spoons, as well as cultural uses of the words.
“Grilled” meat is cooked on a “barbeque,” “barbeque grill,” (or sometimes just a “grill”), but “barbeque” pork is not always the same as “grilled” pork. Grilled pork could be prepared with as little as a grill and some salt and pepper. Barbequed pork, however, requires special techniques—rubbing the meat with spices, grilling or slow-cooking it, and finally dousing it with barbeque sauce. While grilling is something that is common all over the US, barbeque is most popular in the South.
Potstickers simply cannot be braised, but must be steamed or fried. Chicken cannot be baked on a spit, but it can be roasted; baked chicken requires an oven. (However, aside from using a spit or an oven, the modern differences between roasting and baking are difficult to define because today, foods can be roasted or baked in an oven.)
Perhaps the ambiguity also lies in Adrienne Lehrer’s assertion that English has many cooking words. We could use the word “bake” for almost all cooking done in an oven, but using “roasted” instead adds variety. We could add barbeque sauce and spices to grilled pork, but “barbequed pork” sounds more interesting. If none of these words existed, we might be limited to the Levi-Strauss’s raw-cooked-rotted triangle, and their subcategories boiled, roasted, and smoked. By using many different cooking words to describe different methods and devices used in the preparation process, we are able to add specificity and, if desired, sophistication and creativity.
Take the words “braised” and “steamed” for example. Both processes involve a closed pot with moisture (braised also uses fat), and braised carrots are not all that different from steamed ones. Yet steamed carrots evoke those mushy, slimy, flavorless morsels from childhood, while braised ones seem succulent in comparison, imagined as a side dish that would accompany a meal for adults, perhaps one at an expensive restaurant.
“Roast” and “bake,” two words that are much more similar than “braised” and “steamed” can also be separated by a sense of sophistication. Roasted potatoes sound as though they are bursting with flavor because of the ingredients they are roasted with (such as rosemary), while baked potatoes, although delicious, sound dried-out and require several condiments to prove their potential. Roasted potatoes might accompany meat marinated in a flavorful marinade, while baked potatoes are the side dish-of-choice at informal barbeques. At a restaurant, I would be much more inclined to order a dish with roasted potatoes than baked potatoes, and the same would be true if I was preparing a meal for other people.
Differences in similar cooking words also relate to the “extras” required in food preparation, such as sauces, pots, or spoons, as well as cultural uses of the words.
“Grilled” meat is cooked on a “barbeque,” “barbeque grill,” (or sometimes just a “grill”), but “barbeque” pork is not always the same as “grilled” pork. Grilled pork could be prepared with as little as a grill and some salt and pepper. Barbequed pork, however, requires special techniques—rubbing the meat with spices, grilling or slow-cooking it, and finally dousing it with barbeque sauce. While grilling is something that is common all over the US, barbeque is most popular in the South.
Potstickers simply cannot be braised, but must be steamed or fried. Chicken cannot be baked on a spit, but it can be roasted; baked chicken requires an oven. (However, aside from using a spit or an oven, the modern differences between roasting and baking are difficult to define because today, foods can be roasted or baked in an oven.)
Perhaps the ambiguity also lies in Adrienne Lehrer’s assertion that English has many cooking words. We could use the word “bake” for almost all cooking done in an oven, but using “roasted” instead adds variety. We could add barbeque sauce and spices to grilled pork, but “barbequed pork” sounds more interesting. If none of these words existed, we might be limited to the Levi-Strauss’s raw-cooked-rotted triangle, and their subcategories boiled, roasted, and smoked. By using many different cooking words to describe different methods and devices used in the preparation process, we are able to add specificity and, if desired, sophistication and creativity.
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