Savor, The Culinary Institute of America’s Student Restaurant — Plus Dictionary

We are so fortunate to have a Culinary Institute of America campus in San Antonio. 

I have not yet made it to Savor, the student-run restaurant, but I was excited to look at their menu. 

Here’s a rundown of all of the menu words I had to look up, in case you end up at the restaurant without your reference materials.

Peri-peri

Merriam-Webster doesn’t know what this means.  

Nor does What’s Cooking America, and it purports to be “America’s most trusted culinary resource since 1997”. 

Wikipedia describes it as: “a cultivar of Capsicum frutescens”.  Oh yes, of course.  I should have known it was a cultivar.  

Oxford, can you help me?  “Why yes, I can.  A very hot sauce made with red chilli peppers.”  (Oxford, why are you spelling chilli with two l’s?)

Nuoc cham

Merriam-Webster:  “Nope”

What’s Cooking America:  “Sorry, no results were found”

Oxford: “A dipping sauce made from nuoc mam, chilies [aside: now spelled with one “l” for reasons inexplicable], garlic, sugar, lime, and rice vinegar.”

Thanks, Oxford.  But what is nuoc mam?  “A spicy Vietnamese fish sauce.”

Ahhh, got it.

Fluke

Merriam-Webster: “any of an order of marine typically bottom-dwelling bony fishes (such as the halibuts, flounders, turbots, and soles) that as adults swim on one side of the laterally compressed body and have both eyes on the upper side.”

Okay, but which one is on the menu?  Halibut?  Flounder?  And why couldn’t they just say that?

Kohlrabi noodles

I know the noodles part, but kohlrabi?

Merriam-Webster for the win: “a cabbage having a greatly enlarged, fleshy, turnip-shaped edible stem”.

Dende oil

Merriam-Webster:  “Stop it with all the crazy wooooords”

What’s Cooking America:  “Nope, can’t help you with this one”

Oxford: “Nada, nada, limonada”

Google, heeeeeelp!  “Sure thing!  Cook’s Info has something: a thick, dark, reddish-orange, strong-flavoured oil extracted from the pulp of a fruit from a type of palm tree grown in Africa and in Brazil.”  (Cook’s Info must be British, what with the fancy flavour)

Purslane

Merriam: “a fleshy-leaved trailing plant with tiny yellow flowers that is a common troublesome weed but is sometimes eaten as a potherb or in salads.”

A common troublesome weed. Yum. 

I’m embarrassed to now have to look up “potherb” but in case you need help too, Merriam tells me, “a usually leafy herb that is cooked for use as greens; also : one (such as mint) used to season food.”

Pave potatoes

I think they must mean pavé, but whatever.

Merriam:  “I’ve got asphalt pave, or pavé jewels, but probably not what you’re looking for.”

What’s Cooking America: “Nope”

Oxford:  “Sorry I couldn’t help this time.”

Google?  “Sure, Martha Stewart says it’s a French word for paving stones, and a term chef Thomas Keller uses to describe any such rectangular or square food preparation.“

Gremolata

Okay, so this is one I know I should know, but I don’t.  It reminds me of mermelada, which means marmalade.  But hmmm, what’s the grem part?  

Merriam, can you help me out here?  “Yup, a seasoning mixture consisting usually of grated lemon zest, minced garlic, and minced parsley that is used especially with osso buco”

Cool, I was way off.  Got it now, but I ain’t never gonna remember it.

Granita

Nice! Found it on the first try!  Merriam tells me: “a coarse-textured ice confection typically made from fruit”.

***

So, wow, that was a lot of work.  Here’s hoping Savor doesn’t change their menu before I get there with my cheat-sheet. I don’t have the energy for any more culinary learnin’.