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  3. Cooking / Culinary

couper en biseaux

English translation: [culin.] (veg, etc) to cut diagonally

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:couper en biseaux
English translation:[culin.] (veg, etc) to cut diagonally
Entered by: Philip Taylor

14:51 Feb 17, 2006
French to English translations [PRO]
Cooking / Culinary
French term or phrase: couper en biseaux
From a French recipe:

Coupez les haricots verts et les pois gourmands en biseaux.

Can't seem to find the English equivalent.
Any suggestions?
Wedges, maybe?
Philip Taylor
Local time: 06:27
cut them diagonally
Explanation:
When cutting long, narrow things up (like baguettes), this is an old chef's trick to make them appear more 'attractive' (i.e. bigger!)

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Note added at 7 mins (2006-02-17 14:58:26 GMT)
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(Take it from an old chef!)
Selected response from:

Tony M
France
Local time: 07:27
Grading comment
Many thanks Dusty. Thanks also to everyone else who answered/commented, and especially to Rita and Moira for the links.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +8cut them diagonally
Tony M
5 +3at an angle / obliquely
Jennifer Levey
4 +1slantwise
CMJ_Trans (X)
5on the bias
emiledgar


Discussion entries: 3





  

Answers


3 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +3
at an angle / obliquely


Explanation:
so your chopped beans will be diamond-shaped rather than rectangular

Jennifer Levey
Chile
Local time: 01:27
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tony M: Although I prefer my own term!
3 mins
agree  MoiraB: Or "on the slant". Usually means "chamfered" or "bevelled", but don't recall those terms being used much in recipes! Beans and mange-tout are usually cut on the slant for aesthetic reasons.
5 mins
agree  Rachel Fell
7 mins
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6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +8
cut them diagonally


Explanation:
When cutting long, narrow things up (like baguettes), this is an old chef's trick to make them appear more 'attractive' (i.e. bigger!)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 7 mins (2006-02-17 14:58:26 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

(Take it from an old chef!)

Tony M
France
Local time: 07:27
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 410
Grading comment
Many thanks Dusty. Thanks also to everyone else who answered/commented, and especially to Rita and Moira for the links.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  RHELLER: yes, sir!
2 mins
  -> Thanks, Rita! :-)
agree  Rachel Fell: or even lozenges!;)
3 mins
  -> Thanks, Rachel!
agree  MoiraB: yes, but prefer MY term ;-))
5 mins
  -> Thanks, Moira! ;-)
agree  Sandra Petch: Hey, new photo ! / You're not such a little devil on this one ;-)
17 mins
  -> Thanks, Sandra! Opinion was very divided over the last one... but watch this space...
agree  Miranda Joubioux (X)
19 mins
  -> Thanks, Miranda !
agree  Heather Socie
1 hr
  -> Thanks, Heather!
agree  sktrans
4 hrs
  -> Thanks, SKT!
agree  Judy Gregg
1 day 11 hrs
  -> Thanks, Judy!
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24 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
slantwise


Explanation:
Cook chopped vegetables in a hot skillet for 15 minutes. ... Cut beans in slantwise pieces. Cook beans in a covered saucepan containing an inch of boiling ...
www.n-connect.net/lynxy/book3-2.html

CMJ_Trans (X)
Local time: 07:27
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 59

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tony M: Great for US, but sounds odd to my UK ears... / Very likely, since in the UK we don't call a 'frying pan' a 'skillet' either
14 mins
  -> maybe my cookbooks are US then! That said, I never use the things as a rule
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14 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
on the bias


Explanation:
cutting on the bias; to bevel something, one cuts on the bias.

emiledgar
Belgium
Local time: 07:27
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 69

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Tony M: Over here in the UK, 'cut on the bias' is nowadays virtually only ever used in connection with fabrics. Interesting that it's different Stateside!
1 day 3 hrs
  -> Sez you! I use it all time when I'm dispensing instructions in my kitchen and no one's ever cut their towels instead of the food.
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