What’s in a name? Well, a lot if you don’t pronounce them correctly, kid! We’ve all embarrassed ourselves at some point or the other by uttering food names shamelessly wrong (Hello, exotic foreign food!). Hence, we’ve decided to throw some gyaan on this and make your life a tad bit easier. Expect the unexpected here onwards.
1. Bruschetta
What you’ve probably been calling it:
Bru-shetta
What you should be calling it:
Bru-sketa
FYI:
It’s an Italian beauty with a base of grilled bread rubbed with garlic. It’s topped with tomatoes, vegetables, cheese, and beans.
2. Gnocchi
What you’ve probably been calling it:
No-chi, Guh-noch-ee
What you should be calling it:
Nyah-key
FYI:
Coming from Italy again, gnocchis are small, thick, soft dough dumplings made from potatoes/semolina, eggs, cheese, breadcrumbs, and flour.
3. Pho
What you’ve probably been calling it:
Foh
What you should be calling it:
Fuh
FYI:
This popular Vietnamese street food is made up of noodles, broth, chicken/beef, and some herbs. Sounds like the perfect comfort food.
3. Quinoa
What you’ve probably been calling it:
Kee-noah
What you should be calling it:
Keen-wah
FYI:
Quinoa is mostly consumed as an alternative for rice as a healthier option. You can make salads, rice bowl or even burger patties with it!
4. Jalapeno
What you’ve probably been calling it:
Ja-la-peh-noh
What you should be calling it:
Hah-lah-peh-nyoh
FYI:
Frequently used as pizza toppings, jalapenos are medium-sized chilli peppers. They have a distinct sour taste which gives a nice punch to the dish.
5. Caramel
What you’ve probably been calling it:
Car-mel
What you should be calling it:
Kar-ah-mehl
FYI:
If you try hard, you can add caramel to anything. Popcorns, puddings, pastries, chocolates, coffee, apples, icecream, and a thousand other things. It’s a medium to a dark-orange product produced by heating various sugars and an absolute gift.
6. Cocoa
What you’ve probably been calling it:
Kok-koh-wa
What you should be calling it:
Koh-koh
FYI:
Cocoa is the dried and fully fermented seed of Theobroma cacao. From it, the cocoa butter and cocoa solids are extracted. You only need to blend the nibs of cocoa and you get melted chocolate. Happy now?
8. Hummus
What you’ve probably been calling it:
Humm-iss
What you should be calling it:
Hoom-uss
FYI:
Mash cooked chickpeas or other beans, blended with some tahini, olive oil, garlic, salt, and lemon juice to create your own homemade hummus. You can call it a dip or a spread, depending on how big your spoon is.
9. Almond
What you’ve probably been calling it:
Aal-mund
What you should be calling it:
Ah-mund
FYI:
You can replace your regular flour the next time you bake with almond flour. What you get in return will be a gluten-free, healthy and delicious option to hang on to.
10. Pizza
What you’ve probably been calling it:
Pee-zaa
What you should be calling it:
Peet-zah
FYI:
This is the most commonly mispronounced food and people still don’t get it, man. Say it with me. Peet-zah. Peet-zah.
11. Tortillas
What you’ve probably been calling it:
Tor-tee-las
What you should be calling it:
Tohr-tee-yahs
FYI:
It is a Spanish unleavened bread, generally made from corn flour. It definitely does share a high resemblance with our desi rotis!
12. Pistachio
What you’ve probably been calling it:
Pis-ta-chi-yo
What you should be calling it:
Pi-stah-shi-oh
FYI:
Pistachios or what we call generally pistas are a member of the cashew family. They are savoured as a low-calorie healthy snack option and also contribute to improving hair and skin health.
Special mention- Mojitos!
We know this does not count as food but we had to talk about the good ol’ Mojitos! Saying, “Bhaiya ek mo-ji-toh pila do is just… wrong! The right way to say it is Mo-hi-toh.
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