Has this ever happened to you?
You’ve settled at your table in a fine French restaurant, airily waved away the English menu, started perusing the French menu… and realized you’re completely lost.
Sure, you know that porc is pork. But what is travers de porc? And what about joues de boeuf? Does that really mean beef cheeks? Do cows even have cheeks?
There’s no question that at many French restaurants, extra vocabulary guidance is in order. Certain restaurants will feature parts of the animal that you’d likely have trouble naming in your native language, much less French. And even if you’re able to figure out the kind of food offered, then the mode of preparation – often included in the description – may throw you off. And then there’s the simple fact that hundreds of dishes have names that simply do not translate.
Be baffled no more. Here’s a short guide to common French foods, dishes and preparation styles that you might encounter in a French restaurant.
Bon Appétit!
French Meats & Poultry Vocabulary
(Vocabulaire pour les viandes et les volailles)
Agneau = lamb
Andouillette= tripe sausage (chitterling sausage)
Biche = female deer
Canard = duck
Caneton = a young male duck
Cannette = a young female duck
Cervelle = brains
Coq = Rooster
Entrecôte = beef rib steak
Escargots = snails
Faux-filet = Sirlon steak
Gigot d’agneau = leg of lamb
Jambonneau = Pork knuckles
Langue de boeuf = tongue of beef
Lapin– rabbit
Marcassin – young wild boar
Magret de canard = fattened duck breast
Sanglier – wild boar
Moelle – beef bone marrow
Os – bone
Oie – Goose
Paleron = shoulder of beef
Pied de mouton = sheep’s foot – OR – a kind of wild mushroom, so watch out!
Pied de porc = pig’s foot
Pigeon – pigeon
Pigeonneau – young pigeon
Pintade – guinea fowl
Queue – tail (e.g., queue de boeuf – oxtail)
Ris d’agneau/ veau = sweetbreads of lamb/veal
Rognons = kidneys
Travers de porc = spare ribs
Volaille – poultry
French Seafood Vocabulary
(Vocabulaire pour les fruits de mer)
Cabillaud = cod
Calamar = squid
Crevettes = Shrimp
Gambas = large shrimp
Étrille = a small crab
Flétan = halibut
Goujons = small catfish, usually fried
Huîtres – Oysters
Limande = sole-like ocean fish
Lieu = Pollock (a white fish)
Lotte = monkfish
Morue = cod (young)
Moules = mussels
Noix de St. Jacques = sea scallops
Palourdes = Clams
Pétoncles = small scallops
Seiche = large squid
Truite = trout
French Vegetables Vocabulary
(Vocabulaire pour les légumes)
Asperge = asparagus
Aubergine = eggplant
Betterave = Beet
Carotte = carrot
Cèpe = porcini mushroom
Cresson = Swiss chard
Courge = squash
Courgettes = zucchini
Épinard = spinach
Fenouil = fennel
Mange-tout = snow peas
Navet = turnip
Poireaux = leeks
Panais = parsnips
French Foods/Dishes
(Cuisines française)
Acras de Morue = codfish cakes
Boudin noir = Blood sausage.
Charcuterie = various cold cuts, pork sausages and other salted, prepared meats
Cassoulet = a casserole of white beans, confit of duck or goose
Coq au vin = chicken slow-cooked in red wine, garlic and other seasonings and vegetables
Cuisses de Grenouilles = Frogs legs
Friture = a plate of small fried fish or other seafood
Galette – a crêpe made of buckwheat flour
Grattons – crispy fried pieces of pork; cracklings
Joues de Boeuf/Cochon = Beef cheeks/pig cheeks
Oeuf en meurette = poached egg in red wine sauce
Oeuf à la coque = soft-cooked egg
Pâté = a mixture of cook meat and fat, formed into a spreadable paste.
Quenelles = fish (usually pike) dumplings
Ragoût = stew
Rillettes = paté-like; salted pork (or other meat) cooked slowly in fat then formed into a paste.
Tête de veau = calf’s head.
French Preparation Terms
(preparation à la française)
à l’ancienne = in the old style
à la vapeur = steamed
à l’étouffée = stewed
à point = medium (cooked, as in a steak)
au four = baked
confit = meat (usually duck or goose) cooked in its own fat
coulis = fruit purée
croustillant = crispy
en croute = baked in a crust
farci = stuffed
feuilleté = cooked in a puff pastry /phyllo dough)
fumé = smoked
mijoté(e) = simmered
papillote = cooked in parchment paper
Parmentier = with potatoes
poêlée = cooked in a pan
What’s the most memorable French dish you’ve eaten? Share with us below!