This section is from the book "The Art Of Naming Dishes On Bills Of Fare", by L. Schumacher. Also available from Amazon: The Art of Naming Dishes on Bills of Fare.
The grammar for the culinary languages is easy enough and given in such a simple manner that it will take but a short time for all to understand. We will quote the items of the French language first, as most translations are made from French into other languages.
French : | English : | ||
1. | de (d') | ||
de la (de 1') H ii | 1. | from, of, with, in | |
UH des | |||
2. | au | ||
aux | 2. | with | |
à la (à Y) | |||
3. | en | 3. | in, as, like of |
4. | et | 4. | and |
5. | ou | 5. | or |
Spanish : | German : | ||
1. | de, con, en | 1. | aus, von, mit, in |
2. | con | 2. | mit |
3. | en, como, como de | 3. | in, wie von |
4. | y | 4. | und |
5. | ô, û | 5. | oder |
French : | English: |
Fromage de Francfort; Fromage francfortois | [Cheese from Frankfort]; Frankfort Cheese |
Fromage d' Amérique; Fromage américain | [Cheese from America]; American Cheese |
Fromage de la France; Fromage français | [Cheese from France]; French Cheese |
Fromage de l'Andalousie; Fromage andalous | [Cheese from Andalusia]; Andalusian Cheese |
Fromage du Rhin | [Cheese from the Rhine (Rhene)]; Rhenish Cheese |
Fromages des Alpes | [Cheese from the Alps] ; Alpine Cheese |
Spanish: | German: |
Queso de Francforte; Queso francforto | [Käse aus Frankfurt] ; Frankfurter Käse |
Queso de America; Queso americano | [Käse aus Amerika] ; Amerikanischer Käse |
Queso de Francia; Queso francés | [Käse aus Frankreich] ; Französischer Käse |
Queso de Andalucía; Queso andaluz | [Käse aus Andalusien] ; Andalusischer Käse |
Queso de Rin (Rhin, Rene) | [Käse vom Rhein] ; Rheinischer Käse |
Queso de/los/Alpes Queso verde de/los/Alpes | [Käse von den Alpen] ; Alpen-Käse ; Kräuterkäse |
To designate the original home of a product the French write de, d', de la, d V, du or des with the proper name following or they use the adjectives of the proper names without the article just as in English, but with the difference that the adjectives follow the name of the product. On bills of fare the adjectives are more commonly used. ¡As to the use of the articles, mark the f olio wing rules:
If a word begins with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u,) or silent h de and de la must be apostrophized (d% de V).
De has its place before all words which are masculine and in the singular.
De la (or apostrophized de V) has its place before all words which are feminine and in the singular.
Des is written before all words in the plural.
On bills of fare de la and des is not written but simply de as far as names of cities and countries come into consideration. But before all names of rivers, lakes, islands and mountains du must be written, before all masculine words in the singular, de la (de V) before all feminine words in the singular, and des before all words in the plural as vin du Rhin, vin de la Loire, vin de la Moselle, herbes des Alpes, etc. If a masculine word in the singular begins with a vowel or silent h then d' is written instead du as d'Hudson, d'East River, etc.
As to the adjectives see later explanation.
In Spanish the using of the article is as in French if the original home of a product is designated or the adjectives in its place is used. The Spanish prepositions del, los, las, etc., do not come into consideration on bills of fare. De is never apostrophized.
In English and German the expressions cheese from, Kase aus, Kase vom, Kase von den, are never used on bills of fare, but are given in instances only to show the verbal translation. Also in French and Spanish the using of adjectives is more universal.
French: | English: |
Roulade de boeuf | Beef roll (roulade); Roll of beef |
Pouding de pain | Bread pudding; [Pudding of bread] |
Puree d'artichauts | Artichoke puree; Puree of artichokes |
Sauce de chocolat | Chocolate sauce; [Sauce of chocolate] |
Boudin de foie | Liver sausage; [Sausage of Liver] |
Mayonnaise de poisson; | Mayonnaised fish; Fish in Mayonnaise; |
Poisson en mayonnaise; | Fish with Mayonnaise; |
Poisson a la mayonnaise | |
Caisse de poule; | |
Poule en caisse | Casket/ed/ chicken; Chicken in Casket |
Spanish: | German: |
Arrollado de vaca | Rindfleisch-Rolle; Rolle von Rindfleisch |
Pudin de pan | Brotpudding; Brot-Pudding; |
[Pudding von Brot] | |
Salsa de chocolate | Schokoladen-Tunke ; |
[Tunke von Schokolade] | |
salchicha de higado | Leberwurst; [Wurst von Leber] |
Pescado en mayonesa; | Majonesierter Fisch; Fisch in Majonese; |
Pescado con mayonesa | Fisch mit Majonese |
Gallina en cajita | Huhnfleisch in Kastchen |
To designate the main ingredient of a dish in French and Spanish one writes de meaning of and von in English and German. In French de must be apostrophized before words beginning with a vowel or silent h. In English and German there are two ways of designating the main ingredient as can be seen in the given instances. On bills of fare in English the shorter expressions are dominating and some are not used at all like e. g. sausage of liver; in German only the shorter designates are used.
The expressions in French Mayonnaise de poisson and Caisse de poule mean that not the mayonnaise and casket alone are to be understood but the entire dish that is served with mavonnaise or in a casket.
French: | English: |
Potage au celeri Maquereau aux herbes Sauce a l'estragon Jambon a la choucroute Sauce au chocolat Boudin au foie | Soup with celery Mackerel with herbs Ham with sourcrout Tarragon sauce; [Sauce w. Tarragon] Chocolate sauce; [Sauce w. chocolate] Liver sausage; [Sausage w. Liver] |
Spanish: | German: |
Sopa con apio | Suppe mit Selerie |
Escombro con hierbas | Makrele mit Kräutern |
Jamón con berza acida | Schinken mit Sauerkraut |
[Salsa con estragón]; Salsa de estragón | Dragon-Tunke; [Tunke mit Dragon] |
[Salsa con chocolate] ; Salsa de chocolate | Schokoladen-Tunke; [Tunke mit Schokolade] |
Salchicha de hígado | Leberwurst; [Wurst mit Leber] |
To express secondary ingredients of a dish the French use the forewords, au, aux, à la (â V) e. g., it should not be written gâteau de bananes but gâteau aux bananes because it is not a cake made o f bananas but a cake made with bananas. Beignets de bananes is correct because the fritters are mainly made of bananas and the cover of baked dough is secondary only. Sauce de chocolat is a sauce of, or mainly made of chocolate while sauce au chocolat is one which contains only a little chocolate to give it a chocolate taste. Potage à la crème au céleri is a cream soup which contains celery. If it were a cream soup of celery it would be called potage â la crème de céleri. Mayonnaise à la poule is a mayonnaise which contains chicken meat and mayonnaise aux câpres is one that contains capers. For some dishes de and a:', aux, à la can be used if it is doubtful that the element to name is the main contents as e. g. boudin de foie or boudin au foie though the using of de is better in such cases.
In regard to the using of au, aux, à la (à V),note the following rules: au has its place always before words which are masculine and in the singular. Exceptions take place if such words begin with a vowel when à V must be written, à V abricot but not au abricot, etc.
Aux has its place always before words which are in the plural also if such are masculine or feminine, aux abricots but not au abbricots or a Vabricots, etc.
A la or apostrophized before a word beginning with a vowel or silent h has its place always before words feminine and in the singular, a la moelle; a la creme; a Vail, etc.
In English, Spanish, and German with, con, mit is written. But for certain dishes the prepositions are not used as is shown in the given instances.
French: | English: |
Fromage a la francfortoise Fromage a 1' americaine Sauce a la Careme Sauce a la mode | Cheese in Frankfort style Cheese in American style Sauce in Careme style Beef in modish style |
Spanish: | German: |
Queso a la franc/o/forta | Kase auf amerikanische Art |
Queso a la americana | Kase auf Frankfurter Art |
Salsa a la Careme | Tunke nach Careme |
Vaca a la moda | Rindfleisch nach der Mode |
To express the style of a dish the French write a la (a V) which is the abbreviation of a la maniere (mode) and in Spanish one also writes a la which is the abbreviation of a la manera (moda) whereby the Spanish a la is newly written without the accent over the a. The following designations have the same meaning. In French as also in Spanish capital letters are usually printed without the accents.
French: | English: |
Fromage a la maniere (mode) d'Amerique Fromage a la maniere americaine Fromage a l'americaine Fromage, americaine | Cheese in American style Cheese, American style Cheese, American |
Spanish: | German: |
Queso a la manera (moda) de America Queso a la manera (moda) americana Queso a la americana Queso, americana | Kase auf amerikanische Art Kase, amerikanische Art Kase, amerikanisch |
 
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