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How to Read a French Menu

Food preparation, tastes, portions, ingredients, appearance

By Laura K. Lawless, About.com

Reading the menu in a French restaurant can be a little tricky, and not just due to language difficulties. There may be important differences between restaurants in France and in your own country, including what food is offered and how it is prepared. Here are some food terms to help you find your way around a French menu.

French food vocabulary

Understanding basic French vocabulary related to food is the obvious first step - there are dozens of common food terms and related vocabulary with sound files here: French food vocabulary


Food preparation
  • affiné - aged
  • à la broche - cooked on a skewer
  • à la vapeur - steamed
  • à l'etouffée - stewed
  • au four - baked
  • bouilli - boiled
  • en daube - stew, casserole
  • en gelée - in aspic/gelatin
  • farci - stuffed
  • fondu - melted
  • frit - fried
  • fumé - smoked
  • glacé - frozen, icy
  • grillé - grilled
  • haché - minced, ground (meat)
  • séché - dried

Tastes
  • aigre - sour
  • amer - bitter
  • piquant - spicy
  • salé - salty, savory
  • sucré - sweet(ened)

Portions, ingredients, and appearance
  • aiguillettes - long, thin slices (of meat)
  • aile - wing, white meat
  • aromates - seasoning
  • la choucroute - sauerkraut
  • crudités - raw vegetables
  • cuisse - thigh, dark meat
  • émincé - thin slice (of meat)
  • fines herbes - sweet herbs
  • un méli-mélo - assortment
  • un morceau - piece
  • au pistou - with basil
  • la purée - mashed potatoes
  • une rondelle - slice (of fruit, vegetable, sausage)
  • une tranche - slice (of bread, cake, meat)
  • une truffe - truffle (very expensive and rare fungus)

Page 1: Menus, courses, special terms

Page 2: Food preparation, tastes, portions, ingredients, appearance

Page 3: Typical French and regional dishes, unusual foods

Explore French Language

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