Food Expressions
This three-word phrase for something extremely easy is also a dessert you might serve at a birthday party.
What is "piece of cake"?
This method involves cooking food in a small amount of oil while stirring or tossing. Its name comes from the French word for 'jump
What is sauté?
This handheld lunch staple is named after an 18th-century English earl who supposedly wanted to eat without leaving the card table.
What is a sandwich?
This creamy Indian curry, made with tomatoes, butter, and spices, became so popular in the UK that it's sometimes called Britain's national dish.
What is chicken tikka masala?
These colorful button-shaped chocolates have been advertised since 1954 with the slogan 'melts in your mouth, not in your hand.
What are M&M's
If you're the household's primary income earner, you're said to be 'bringing home' this cured meat.
What is "bacon"? (bringing home the bacon)
Quickly dunking vegetables in boiling water, then shocking them in ice water to preserve color and stop cooking.
What is blanching?
Legend credits this frozen treat's cone to the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, when an ice cream vendor ran out of dishes and a nearby waffle maker rolled one up to help.
What is the ice cream cone?
This Spanish rice dish from Valencia is cooked in a wide, shallow pan with saffron, and traditionally includes rabbit, chicken, and beans.
What is paella?
This Frito-Lay chip, launched in 1966, was the first nationally sold tortilla chip in the US. Its name means 'little golden things' in Spanish.
What are Doritos?
Staying calm under pressure makes you as 'cool as' this salad vegetable
What is a cucumber?
This 'low and slow' method starts by searing meat, then cooking it partially submerged in liquid in a covered pot for hours.
What is braising?
Dr. John Harvey Kellogg as part of a bland diet meant to curb 'unhealthy urges' at his Michigan sanitarium.
What is corn flakes?
This Greek sandwich stuffs warm pita with seasoned meat carved from a vertical spit, tomatoes, onions, and tzatziki sauce.
What is a gyro?
This chewy caramel and chocolate candy, a movie theater staple since 1926, got its name because so many pieces came out imperfectly shaped during manufacturing.
What are Milk Duds?
To reluctantly admit you were wrong, you might be forced to 'eat' this modest baked dish.
What is "humble pie"?
French for 'under vacuum,' this technique involves sealing food in a plastic bag and cooking it in a precisely temperature-controlled water bath.
What is sous vide?
Though it sounds European, this salad of romaine, parmesan, croutons, and a garlicky dressing was invented in Tijuana, Mexico by an Italian immigrant.
What is a Caesar salad?
This layered Middle Eastern dessert of phyllo dough, chopped nuts, and honey or syrup is often served at Greek diners across America.
What is baklava?
This fruit-flavored candy's original five flavors were lemon, lime, orange, strawberry, and grape, but in 2013 lime was controversially replaced with green apple.
What are Skittles?
This idiom for lavishing someone with praise to win them over involves spreading a dairy product.
What is "butter someone up"?
This labor-intensive pastry technique involves repeatedly folding butter into dough to create hundreds of flaky layers—essential for croissants and puff pastry.
What is laminating?
This snack was supposedly invented in 1853 when a chef at a New York resort sliced potatoes paper-thin and fried them crispy to spite a customer who complained his fries were too thick.
What are potato chips?
This classic French dessert of vanilla custard and caramelized sugar crust is often torched tableside—its name means 'burnt cream.
What is crème brûlée?
This theater box candy of small crunchy balls coated in chocolate was discontinued in 2020 after 90 years, causing surprising public outcry.
What are Snocaps?