Content tagged with “food” under “Stuff I Looked Up”

There are 20 item(s) tagged with “food” in this section.

See items tagged with “food” across the entire site.

Other tags used by these items: definition, alcohol, lebanon, cooking, cancer, beer, germany, french

Absinthe
Explanation
August 11, 2023
350

“Absinthe is a spirit derived from several plants and herbs, one of which is wormwood. This results in trace amounts of a chemical called ‘thujone.’ This chemical has historically been blamed for psychosis and hallucinations. However, over the years, its effects were determined to be largely…”

Baba Ghanoush
Explanation
September 8, 2021
131

“ A Lebanese food, which is essentially hummus made with eggplant, rather than chickpeas. Common ingredients are mashed eggplant, olive oil, lemon juice, and other seasonings. It is consumed in a similar way as hummus – as a dip, or spread on bread. ”

Chicken Fried Steak
Stuff I Looked Up
Explanation
May 26, 2024
157

“ Not surprisingly, it’s beef. Specifically, it’s ‘cube steak,’ which is round or sirloin that’s flattened by pounding it with a meat tenderizer. So it’s not a ‘natural’ cut of beef – it’s processed a bit (and then, of course, it’s breaded…). ”

Cruciferous Vegetables
Stuff I Looked Up
Explanation
January 4, 2022
112

“A family of vegetables. The most common members are: Cauliflower Cabbage Kale Broccoli Brussels sprouts Arugula These are ‘true vegetables,’ unlike other foods such as corn, potatoes, and peas which people think are vegetables but actually fall into other categories (grains, tubers, and legumes,…”

Crudité
Stuff I Looked Up
Explanation
October 8, 2024
66

“ This is just raw vegetables served as an appetizer. Things like carrot sticks, celery, radishes, etc. It’s French for ‘raw things.’ ”

Dal
Stuff I Looked Up
Explanation
133

“ The Asian name for split legumes, or for soups made from these. Split pea soup, for example, is a form of dal. You can make a dal from any split, boiled legume. ”

Fold (Cooking)
Stuff I Looked Up
Explanation
September 8, 2021
339

“This is the process of combing two fluid substances of different thicknesses together my inserting a spoon into the bottom of the heavier mixture, pulling some to the top and over the lighter mixture. I found an article which explained it: Folding is a very precise term in cooking and baking. It…”

Gizzard
Stuff I Looked Up
Explanation
November 21, 2021
121

“This is an organ found in birds and some other creatures. It’s a type of ‘pre-stomach’ that grinds food, since birds don’t have teeth. Some birds actually swallow stones which stay resident in their gizzards to help break food down. They are prepared as food all around the world. They are a tough,…”

Hero Sandwich
Stuff I Looked Up
Explanation
May 11, 2024
111

“ This is just a submarine sandwich by another name, it turns out. This seems to be a regional New York term, dating from the 1930s (the same thing is referred to as a ‘Hoagie’ in Philadelphia). It’s not related to what’s in the sandwich, just the general concept of a long, cylindrical roll. ”

Masala
Stuff I Looked Up
Explanation
January 2, 2024
151

“ This specifically refers to the mix of spices in Indian food. However, there is also idiomatic usage meaning ‘mixture’ or ‘co-mingling.’ ”

Nitrates
Stuff I Looked Up
Explanation
February 14, 2025
208

“Nitrates are all over the place – especially in vegetables. However, we’re warned to stay away from processed meat because it contains nitrates. Why this particular warning? Nitrates are generally used as a preservative in meat. This is why ‘processed meat’ – like sliced deli meat – tends to be…”

Oktoberfest Beer
Stuff I Looked Up
Explanation
October 18, 2024
125

“Yes, calling a beer ‘an Oktoberfest’ denotes a style of beer usually served during the traditional German Oktoberfest season. Outside of Germany itself (where the term is interpreted very specifically and with great debate), the Oktoberfest is a type of Märzen beer, which is beer brewed in March…”

Orzo
Stuff I Looked Up
Explanation
September 8, 2021
51

“ It’s a ‘pasta pellet’ – pasta, shaped into what looks like a large grain of rice. ”

Paloma
Stuff I Looked Up
Explanation
June 7, 2023
179

“I saw this on two different menus as the name of a drink. On one, the ingredients were pomegranate (it was called a ‘Poma Paloma’), tequila, mezcal, grapefruit, and pink peppercorn. On the other it was Hornitos Reposada (a brand of tequila), lime and grapefruit juice, with salt. Clearly, one of the…”

Panko
Stuff I Looked Up
Explanation
92

“ A very crispy type of bread crumb from Japan. It’s made from bread cooked by electrical current so that it has no crust. In North America, we know panko as breadcrumbs to coat other foods. When a recipe says ‘panko,’ it’s assumed this is the meaning. ”

Parfait
Stuff I Looked Up
Explanation
July 4, 2022
163

“In the American usage, it’s a layered dish, served in a tall glass, so the layers are visible. A yogurt parfait is usually layers of yogurt, fruit, and granola An ice cream parfait is ice cream, fruit, and whipped cream In France, there’s another usage for a frozen custard dessert (no layering)….”

Passion Fruit
Stuff I Looked Up
Explanation
March 6, 2022
215

“It has nothing to do with love, it turns out. From Wikipedia : Around 1700, the name was given by missionaries in Brazil as an educational aid while trying to convert the indigenous inhabitants to Christianity; its name was flor das cinco chagas or ‘flower of the five wounds’ to illustrate the…”

Shakshouka
Stuff I Looked Up
Explanation
November 13, 2023
100

“ This is a Middle Eastern dish consisting of eggs poached in a tomato sauce. The word comes from Arabic for ‘mixture.’ ”

Viand
Stuff I Looked Up
Explanation
September 8, 2021
72
Zoophagy
Stuff I Looked Up
Explanation
September 8, 2021
43

“ This seems to be another word for ‘carnivorism.’ A carnivore is a ‘zoophagist.’ ”