In my early years in the US, I had an ongoing disagreement with a chef I knew then over what Coquilles St Jacques (a Scallop recipe) was (and was not). I thought I had long since given up on having a problem with cooks calling things what they are not. Until yesterday that is. Someone presented a Fish Dish to me served with a so called vegetable ragout. The vegetables were cooked and served in a broth so far from being a stew which is what to me a ragout is. Just to make sure I was not just a hard headed bretton, I did a little fact checking this morning and here is what the New Food Lovers Companion (published by Barron’s in 1995) says as quoted on the Food Network website:
"Ragout : Definition: [ra-GOO] A derivative of the French verb ragoûter, meaning "to stimulate the appetite," ragoût is a thick, rich, well-seasoned stew of meat, poultry or fish that can be made with or without
vegetables."
Another irritant in the culinary department is hearing someone call a cheese say a Spanish Pecorino.
Pecorino is the name given to all italian Cheeses made from Sheep’s milk.
Let us all enjoy our day now!
I agree, but would like to submit ‘cassoulet’ as one of the most abused words in culinary lore…if I get one more cassoulet accompanying a meal that turns out to be a couple of beans in some stock I’ll go into the kitchen and start knocking heads.