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Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

cuisson

English translation:

leave it out

Added to glossary by philgoddard
Jan 31, 2013 20:08
11 yrs ago
7 viewers *
French term

Cuisson

French to English Art/Literary Cooking / Culinary extent of cooking of meat
One line in a menu reads:

Cuisson : Bien cuit, Saignant, A point, Bleu

So far I have
XXX: Well done, Rare, Medium rare, Very rare

What is XXX? Is there a one-word equivalent?

Thanks for help!
Proposed translations (English)
4 +9 leave it out
3 +2 Cooked to order as / (just) the way you like it: / Degree of cooking:
4 +1 Preference
4 How would you like it done?
3 doneness
3 doneness
3 -1 Preparation
4 -2 very rare or underdone
3 -1 (degree/level/scale of) cookedness
References
GB / US
Change log

Feb 2, 2013 21:56: Yolanda Broad changed "Term asked" from "Cuisson [extent of cooking of meat]" to "Cuisson " , "Field (write-in)" from "(none)" to "extent of cooking of meat"

Feb 14, 2013 08:03: philgoddard Created KOG entry

Discussion

David Goward Feb 1, 2013:
Bleu As others have pointed out elsewhere, the term is "blue" in English.
kashew Jan 31, 2013:
Pretentious "restaurant" The waiter asks the question if the joint is decent!

Proposed translations

+9
5 mins
French term (edited): Cuisson [extent of cooking of meat]
Selected

leave it out

it doesn't add anything to the meaning.
Peer comment(s):
agree Victoria Britten
3 mins
agree sporran
13 mins
agree liz cencetti (X) : Yes. A waiter would ask how would you like it cooked, but on a menu, leave it out.
25 mins
agree Colin Morley (X) : Yes, but "bleu" is normally "blue" rather than very rare and certainly not underdone - that would suggest it wasn't what the customer ordered!
27 mins
agree Tony M
1 hr
Thanks for fighting my corner for me!
agree susan debbbat
1 hr
agree Mark Nathan : and surely the correct order would be to have "saignant" in between "à point" and "bleu"
2 hrs
agree Theo Gott : Fine to leave out. (Although the term "cuisson" isn't totally unknown in Br English - http://www.freedownfood.co.uk/recipepdfs/steak card.pdf - I don't think you would expect to see it on a menu)
3 hrs
neutral rkillings : But if this is for a *bilingual* menu (common), it might help to have the English translation of the word here. What if the waiter asks the customer what _cuisson_ he desires?
6 hrs
That would be like putting "Would you like some wine with your meal" at the top of the wine list, or "This is how much your meal cost" on the bill. It's simply not necessary.
agree Nikki Scott-Despaigne
17 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
6 mins
French term (edited): Cuisson [extent of cooking of meat]

doneness

In one word!

Remarque : Une cuisson à point est recommandée pour toutes les viandes roulées.
cmc-cvc.com

Note: Rolled steaks/roasts should be cooked to medium doneness.
cmc-cvc.com
Peer comment(s):
neutral Tony M : Ugly!
1 hr
Yes - I know.
neutral Jenn Mercer : I think this is technically correct, but not the right term in a restaurant setting.
1 hr
I don't even see why it's on a menu card? But it is the translation.
Something went wrong...
-1
8 mins
French term (edited): Cuisson [extent of cooking of meat]

Preparation

This is what I usually use for a one word answer, although I'm never entirely satisfied with it!
Peer comment(s):
disagree Tony M : I really think that refers to a quite different part of the cooking process, and would be misleading here.
1 hr
Something went wrong...
13 mins
French term (edited): Cuisson [extent of cooking of meat]

doneness

Peer comment(s):
neutral Tony M : I still think it's ugly!
1 hr
Something went wrong...
-2
15 mins
French term (edited): Cuisson [extent of cooking of meat]

very rare or underdone

Collins
Peer comment(s):
disagree Jenn Mercer : "Cuisson" does not refer to a point on a scale, but the scale of measurement itself.
1 hr
disagree Tony M : That isn't actually the answer to the question term!
1 hr
Something went wrong...
-1
59 mins
French term (edited): Cuisson [extent of cooking of meat]

(degree/level/scale of) cookedness

The scale of cookedness goes from 'blue' to 'well-done' and each has its own cooking time.
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/How_to_cook_steak

If you’re cooking steaks, you want to get the cookedness right
http://hipstertipster.tumblr.com/post/7962024244/how-to-chec...

Pan Fry, grill, or barbeque two venison haunch steaks to your preferred state of cookedness.
http://www.gametoeat.co.uk/recipes-for-venison/venison-steak...
Peer comment(s):
neutral Tony M : Also ugly; and I misdoubt this is even a real word! Not even terribly explicit...
39 mins
Didn't think it was any worse than "doneness".
disagree Jenn Mercer : Sorry, but I've got to agree with Tony. I don't think "cookedness" is a word.
4 hrs
See above
Something went wrong...
1 hr
French term (edited): Cuisson [extent of cooking of meat]

How would you like it done?

As the waiter will ask it.
Example sentence:

Rump Steak - 350g Rump. How would you like it done?

Reference:

http://www.berlinpub.co.za/BerlinPubRuimsig/berlin-ruimsig-menu.html

Peer comment(s):
neutral Tony M : Perfectly correct for the idea, of course; but in Asker's menu context, this would probably read rather oddly.
40 mins
Well, all depends on the type of restaurant/image/menu we are speaking about: if you follow the link that I gave you'll see that it works there...
Something went wrong...
+2
1 hr
French term (edited): Cuisson :

Cooked to order as / (just) the way you like it: / Degree of cooking:

It just isn't something we'd express this way in EN — and you'd be unlikely to see on a menu in EN.

I think it does all depend on just exactly how it appears in context; I would avoid ugly, made-up words, which would probably draw undue attention to themselves in a menu context.

So you need to see how it fits in with the surrounding text, and choose an expression, like my suggestion above, to suit. The question "How would you like it cooked?" might be feasible, if it fits with the style of the rest of the menu; or if it's for a particular meat, you might be able to say something like "Available cooked: ..."

Or maybe more elegant: "Cooked to order as you like it:" or "... just the way you like it"
Peer comment(s):
agree David Goward : "Cooked to order" works for me!
11 hrs
Thanks, David!
agree Nikki Scott-Despaigne : This is a solution which is quite workable and which is commonly used too.
16 hrs
Thanks, Nikki!
Something went wrong...
+1
1 hr
French term (edited): Cuisson [extent of cooking of meat]

Preference

This is not a literal translation, but accurate, while being shorter than the usual "How would you prefer your steak to be cooked?"
Example sentence:

Preference: Well-done, Medium Rare, Rare, etc.

Peer comment(s):
agree Miranda Joubioux (X) : or cooking preference.
13 hrs
Something went wrong...

Reference comments

17 hrs
Reference:

GB / US

The natural solution in British English would be to put nothing, but to list the various levels to which the meat can be cooked. When the waiter asks the question then it would traditionally go something along the lines of : “How would you like your meat cooked?” The French can conveniently say ”Et la caisson?”. There is no one-worder for it in GB English in such contexts.

Another point, yes, the order would generally go from “well done” to “very rare” , or even “blue” is used sometimes. You do also come across it the other way round.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steak

However, and this is a discovery for me, the term” doneness” is used and I see it has been suggested. I have never heard it used in the UK though; ever.

http://bbq.about.com/od/steaks/ss/aa101606a.htm
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