The following List contains the explanation of the technical terms of some of the most useful dishes mentioned in the “Cartes du Jour” of the restaurants. Fancy names cannot be translated.
The following section is given exactly as printed. Some items may require added salt.
Consommé, beef-tea.
Bouillon, broth.
Potage, soup.
Julienne, vegetable soups.
Purée, pease-soup.
Purée, when qualifying a noun, means “mashed,” as—
Purée de pommes, mashed potatoes.
„ „marron, mashed chestnuts.
Bœuf au naturel, or simply “nature,” plain boiled beef.
Naturel in cookery means “plain.”
Bœuf à la mode, beef stewed with carrots.
Nearly the same as the next.
Bœuf à la jardinière, beef with vegetables.
Aloyau, a sirloin of beef.
Aloyau a la jardinière, sirloin with vegetables.
Aloyau sauté, sirloin in slices.
Sauté in cookery means “sliced.”
Rosbif aux pommes, roast beef with potatoes.
In these lists the words de terre are rarely affixed to pommes.
Bifteck au naturel, plain beefsteak.
„ aux pommes, with potatoes.
„ aux pommes sautées, with sliced potatoes.
„ aux haricots, with kidney beans.
„ bien cuit, well done.
„ saignant, under done.
Palais de Bœuf au gratin, broiled ox palate.
Au gratin in cookery means “baked” or “broiled”; when applied to potatoes it means “browned.”
Côtelettes de mouton au naturel, plain mutton chops.
„ „ „ panées, mutton chops fried with crumbs.
„ „ „ aux pointes d’asperge, mutton chops with asparagus tops.
„ „ „ à la purée de pommes, mutton chops with mashed potatoes.
Gigot roti, a roast leg of mutton.
Pieds de mouton, sheep’s trotters.
Gigot d’agneau, a leg of lamb.
Blanquette d’agneau, hashed stewed lamb.
Rognons à la brochette, broiled kidneys.
„ sautés, sliced kidneys.
Etuvé, stewed.
Côtelette de veau, veal cutlet.
Tête de veau en vinaigrette, calf’s head with oil and vinegar.
Oreille de veau en marinade, pickled calf’s ear.
Ris de veau, sweetbread.
Foie de veau, calf’s liver.
Blanquette de veau, hashed stewed veal.
Fricandeau au jus, Scotch collops with gravy.
Jus, gravy.
Pommes de terre, potatoes.
Legumes et fruits primeurs, early vegetables and fruits.
Asperges à la sauce, asparagus with sauce.
Chou, cabbage.
Champignons, mushrooms.
Epinards, spinage.
Fêves de marais, garden beans.
Haricots verts, green kidney beans.
Oseille, sorrel.
Petits pois, green peas.
Jardinière means “dressed with vegetables.”
Poularde, fowl.
Poulet, chicken.
Chapon, capon.
Cuisse de poulet, leg of a chicken.
Des œufs à la coque, boiled eggs.
Dindonneau, young turkey.
Canard, duck.
Perdreau, partridge.
Mauviettes, field-larks.
Alouettes, larks.
Grives, thrushes.
Becasse, woodcock.
Becassine, snipe.
Chevreuil, venison.
Caille, quail.
Anguille, eel.
Eperlans, smelts; or, as the Scotch call them, sperlings.
Homard, lobster.
Huitres, oysters.
Merlans, whitings.
Morue, cod.
Raie, skate.
Saumon, salmon.
Sole, sole.
Turbot, turbot.
Frit, fried.
Grillé, done on the gridiron.
Compote, applied to fruits, means “stewed.”
„ de pommes, stewed apples.
„ de pruneaux, stewed prunes.
Beignets de pommes, apple fritters.
„ „ „ soufflés, puffed apple fritters.
Mendiants, raisins, nuts and almonds.
Vin de Bordeaux, claret.
A bottle of soda-water is called a siphon. The cheap wines ought always to be drunk with it, or with common water.
At even the cheap restaurants palatable wine may be had by paying a little extra.
Frappé, applied to liquids, means “iced.”
Caraffe frappé, iced water.
Vin frappé, iced wine.
The litre of beer is called a canette, and the half-litre a choppe.
The fifth part of a litre of wine is called a carafon, a word often used in the cheap restaurants.