Book Explains Commonly Confused Cooking Terms

 

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

With some foods, people can easily get confused about the correct names.

For example, some might say yam when they actually mean a sweet potato. Is there any difference between shrimp¹ and prawn²? If a dish needs condensed milk, can you use evaporated milk instead?

Well, one woman decided³ to answer these questions and many more in a new book called What's the Difference? Recreational Culinary Reference for the Curious and Confused.

Writer Brette Warshaw recently spoke⁴ with the Associated Press. In her book, she explains the difference between jam and jelly, between broth⁵ and stock. She also explores how pie differs from tart⁶.

"I feel like this hopefully can help fill in the gaps for people," Warshaw said. "And even if they do know the difference, hopefully there's some other fun facts they can take away to make their knowledge more well-rounded."

In one explanation, she describes the difference between Parmesan -- a kind of dried cheese sold in the U.S. -- and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Parmigiano-Reggiano is a cheese that comes from a certain area in Italy and is prepared to meet specific standards.

Parmesan, on the other hand, does not have such standards. In fact, it does not even have to be 100 percent cheese, Warshaw said. She added that "... all sorts of stuff could be passing as Parmigiano-Reggiano and it's definitely not the same thing."

However, Warshaw says she is not criticizing the use of such a product. In fact, her boyfriend uses Parmesan on his pizza, and she still plans to marry him. "The crime is not actually eating it," she said. "If you want to eat it and you like it, no judgment⁷ there." She says she just wants people to use the right name.

Sometimes Warshaw's research discovered no difference between commonly confused foods. For example, readers may be shocked to discover that button, cremini, and Portobello mushrooms are all the same kind of mushroom.

Or they may be surprised to find out that shrimp and prawns⁸ are completely different creatures, but they taste about the same.

She said that is an interesting example. There is definitely a difference between shrimp and prawn. But in the end, she said, it doesn't really matter.

However, do not confuse condensed milk with evaporated milk. They are not used in the same way.

The book began in 2018 when Warshaw started researching the differences between all kinds of things. For example, she explored the differences between sea lions and seals. She also wondered whether balconies and terraces were the same.

She said, "I had been debating with friends about the difference between a sweet potato and a yam and realized I didn't know the difference." And, she said she was kind of upset by that.

Karen Rinaldi is senior vice⁹ president and publisher at Harper Wave. As she worked on the book project, Rinaldi advised Warshaw to write only about confusing food terms.

Rinaldi cooks all the time and still finds things confusing, like the differences between different types of beer: IPA, pale ale, and pilsner. However, the description she most enjoys is about these baked goods: cobblers, crisps and crumbles¹⁰. The publisher added that the explanation helped her answer a question she had long asked.

Many people have questions about a common cooking item: oil. Is there a difference between canola and corn oils? What about grapeseed, peanut, safflower and vegetable oils? She found out that the kind of oil may not make much of a difference when cooking with it.

"Something that a lot of people maybe don't know is that any sort of neutral oil is pretty much fine for the same sort of purpose," she said.

Rinaldi told the AP that one goal of the book is to make cooking a bit easier. She said if you know the basics, you know what can be used in place of something else.

One unanswered question still bothers Warshaw: What is the difference between frosting, icing, and glaze¹¹? They are all sugary toppings that go on sweet baked goods. But all her research has not yet given her a good explanation.

She said the answer might be that there is no answer. "But that is a tough thing to accept," she admits. So, she says she will continue trying to get to the bottom of that food mystery.

Words in This Story

confused – adj. unable to think clearly or understand something

condensed milk – n. a thick and very sweet milk from which water has been removed

evaporated milk – n. milk that has been made thicker by removing some of the water from it and is often used to make sweet dishes

fill in the gaps – idiom. to add what is needed to make something complete

standard – n. a level of quality that is considered acceptable

stuff – n. materials, supplies, or equipment

neutral – adj. having no strongly marked characteristics of features

the basics – n. the most important facts, skills or needs

1 shrimp   

n.虾，小虾；矮小的人

参考例句：

• When the shrimp farm is built it will block the stream.一旦养虾场建起来，将会截断这条河流。
• When it comes to seafood,I like shrimp the best.说到海鲜，我最喜欢虾。

2 prawn   

n.对虾，明虾

参考例句：

• I'm not very keen on fish, but prawn.我不是特别爱吃鱼，但爱吃对虾。
• Yesterday we ate prawn dish for lunch.昨天午餐我们吃了一盘对虾。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 broth   

n.原(汁)汤(鱼汤、肉汤、菜汤等)

参考例句：

• Every cook praises his own broth.厨子总是称赞自己做的汤。
• Just a bit of a mouse's dropping will spoil a whole saucepan of broth.一粒老鼠屎败坏一锅汤。

6 tart   

adj.酸的；尖酸的，刻薄的；n.果馅饼；淫妇

参考例句：

• She was learning how to make a fruit tart in class.她正在课上学习如何制作水果馅饼。
• She replied in her usual tart and offhand way.她开口回答了，用她平常那种尖酸刻薄的声调随口说道。

7 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

8 prawns   

n.对虾，明虾( prawn的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Mine was a picture of four translucent prawns, with two small fish swimming above them. 给我画的是四只虾，半透明的，上画有两条小鱼。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文
• Shall we get some shrimp and prawns? 我们要不要买些小虾和对虾？ 来自无师自通 校园英语会话

9 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

10 crumbles   

酥皮水果甜点( crumble的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This cake crumbles too easily. 这种蛋糕太容易碎了。
• This bread crumbles ever so easily. 这种面包非常容易碎。

11 glaze   

v.因疲倦、疲劳等指眼睛变得呆滞，毫无表情

参考例句：

• Brush the glaze over the top and sides of the hot cake.在热蛋糕的顶上和周围刷上一层蛋浆。
• Tang three-color glaze horses are famous for their perfect design and realism.唐三彩上釉马以其造型精美和形态生动而著名。