Texture descriptive words: List of Descriptive Words to Critique Art
Posted onList of Descriptive Words to Critique Art
Have you ever been to an art museum and wished someone had given you a list of descriptive terms you could use to critique the works of art on display? Do not despair; you are not the only one who feels this way. Many people wish they knew more about art. Here are some words to help you be more art savvy the next time you spend the day at the art museum.
boy learns to critique art in museum
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75 Words to Describe Art Elements and Principles
Many words can help you be more descriptive when it comes to critiquing art. In fact, there are words to comment on every single aspect of art. The line, tone, movement, texture, and shape are just a few ways in which art can be critiqued. Discover many different words you can use to critique various elements and principles of art.
10 Words to Critique Line
In art, a line can be described in several ways. The words used to describe line in artwork are not fancy terms that require formal education in art. They are ordinary terms often used in everyday conversation.
- flowing
- delicate
- simple
- bold
- thick
- thin
- fine
- vertical
- horizontal
- flowing
10 Words to Critique Tone
When it comes to tone in art, a number of words can help you describe and critique a piece. None of the words are complex, though they may not all be used in your everyday conversations with friends.
- subtle
- contrasting
- muted
- flat
- light
- dark
- mid (between light and dark)
- dramatic
- depth
- shadowy
10 Words to Critique Texture
Texture is a very common art element. It is often used when referring to clothing, furniture, or hair. If you have ever painted a wall in your home you are most likely familiar with the many of the descriptive words for texture.
- rough
- fine
- smooth
- coarse
- prickly
- scaly
- uneven
- embossed
- silky
- shiny
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10 Words to Critique Shape
Art comes in various shapes. This is true whether a work of art is a painting or a sculpture. Choosing the right word to describe the form of a piece of art is very important.
- organic
- curvaceous
- circular
- geometric
- angular
- cylinder
- triangular
- cone
- elongated
- irregular
10 Words to Critique Movement
Movement is seen in every piece of art. Movement helps to create or define a piece of art.
- swirling
- flowing
- gentle
- rippling
- sudden
- stillness
- rhythm
- dynamic
- placement
- sensory
10 Words to Critique Scale
Scale is basically the size of the art, considered in relation to other objects. The words used to critique scale are fairly common terms that you have probably used or read in a book.
- large
- life-size
- small
- intimate
- microscopic
- miniature
- monumental
- massive
- grand
- vast
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Ten Words to Critique Color
In art, color is very important. This is what helps each piece of art stand out. The color, no matter what type of artwork helps define the piece and the artist. The creator of a lot of artwork can be identified just by looking at the colors, because certain artists use specific colours in every piece of their work.
- bold
- vibrant
- vivid
- cool
- warm
- subtle
- pale
- earthy
- naturalistic
- graduated
5 Words to Critique Contrast
While there aren’t as many ways to describe contrast as there are for the other elements and principles of art, it can be important to mention contrast when critiquing a work of art.
- dramatic
- strong
- subtle
- minimal
- tonal
More Ways to Appreciate Art in Words
The lists above don’t include every possible descriptive word that can be used to critique art. Not all critical comments about art directly relate to a specific art element or principle. Other descriptive terms that can be helpful when trying to describe art are listed below.
- saturation- refers to the brightness of color
- geometric — refers to the shapes such as circles, triangles, squares, etc.
- organic — free flowing or rounded
- symmetry — meaning it is equal on both sides
- asymmetrical — unequal proportioned elements
- flat tones — no tonal effect in the color
- negative space — the space around the actual form of art
- depth — the illusion of space
- broken color — dabs or small amounts of color
- focal point — the spot that stands out in the artwork
- distorted — a shape that is changed and no longer looks proportioned
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Apply Your Descriptive Art Vocabulary
Now that you have a list of descriptive words to critique art, you’re ready to talk about art in a knowledgeable way. It’s the perfect time to take another trip to the art museum. Look at the same pieces you saw before and try to critique it using descriptive terms to convey what you are seeing. The artwork will now have new meaning and more significance now that you can describe it rather than just looking at it. If you have enjoyed learning new ways to describe art, it’s a great time to learn how to increase your vocabulary even more. You might also want to begin exploring famous artists, like Frida Kahlo.
Staff Writer
73 Adjectives for Food Descriptions
Last updated on 2/11/2020
When it comes to writing a menu, word choice is critical. Although menu pricing is important, the words you use to describe your food and how you make your menu could entice customers and increase sales if properly chosen. Conversely, a poorly written menu can turn customers off or confuse them if you’re not careful. Below, we break down the key components to menu writing and offer a list of descriptive words for food to get you started.
Words to Describe Taste
The flavor of your food is what most customers focus on when they are deciding what to eat. The way you engineer your menu can help build anticipation, and a good menu description could even convince a hesitant customer to try something new. With this in mind, it’s important to be precise and thorough when choosing words to describe your food’s flavor.
Here are some words that are commonly used to describe food:
- Acidic: A food with a sharp taste. Often used to refer to tart or sour foods as well.
- Bitter: A tart, sharp, and sometimes harsh flavor.
- Bittersweet: A less harsh taste than bitterness. Couples tartness with sweetness.
- Briny: Another word for salty.
- Citrusy: A bright flavor like that of lemons, limes, oranges, and other citrus fruits.
- Cooling: A taste that mimics the feeling of cold temperature. Often used to describe mint.
- Earthy: Reminiscent of fresh soil. Often used to describe red wines, root vegetables, and mushrooms.
- Fiery: A taste that feels as though it gives off heat. Another word for spicy.
- Fresh: A light and crisp taste. Often used to describe produce or herbs.
- Fruity: Any taste reminiscent of sweet fruit flavors.
- Full-bodied: Rich flavor that can feel heavy in the mouth. Often used to describe wines.
- Herbal: A bright, fresh, or sometimes earthy taste created by the incorporation of herbs.
- Honeyed: A sweet or candied taste that may be reminiscent of honey.
- Nutty: Any taste similar to the flavors of nuts. Often used to describe cheeses.
- Rich: A full, heavy flavor. Often used to describe foods containing cream.
- Robust: A rich taste with some earthiness. Often used to describe wines or aged liquors.
- Sharp: A harsh, bitter, or tart taste. Often used to describe acidic foods.
- Smoky: A smoky taste is reminiscent of the smell of smoke.
- Sour: A biting, tangy, tart flavor.
- Spicy: A burning taste from hot spices.
- Sweet: A sugary flavor.
- Tangy: A tart, biting taste that feels tingly in the mouth.
- Tart: A sharp, bitter, or sour flavor. Often used to describe acidic foods.
- Yeasty: An earthy taste reminiscent of yeast. Often used to describe beer and breads.
- Woody: An earthy, sometimes nutty taste. Often used to describe coffees or cheeses.
- Zesty: A fresh, vivid, or invigorating flavor.
Words to Describe Texture
Another consideration when describing your food is texture. Properly using food adjectives to describe mouthfeel helps your guests to imagine what it will be like to eat your food before they order it.
Here are some words that are commonly used to describe texture:
- Airy: A light, pillowy texture often created by the incorporation of air.
- Buttery: A smooth and creamy texture similar to that of butter.
- Chewy: The texture of a food that needs to be chewed thoroughly before swallowing. Can be light and bouncy or heavy and sticky.
- Creamy: A smooth and rich texture that usually comes from the incorporation of dairy.
- Crispy: A light texture with a slight crunch.
- Crumbly: The texture of a food with a loose structure that falls apart into small pieces or crumbs.
- Crunchy: A firm, crisp texture often identified by the sharp, audible noise that the food makes when being eaten.
- Crusty: The texture of a food with a hard outer layer and soft interior.
- Delicate: A light, fine texture that may come apart easily.
- Doughy: A soft and heavy texture that is often coupled with pale coloring.
- Fizzy: A texture brought on by the presence of many small bubbles, usually referring to carbonated liquids.
- Flaky: A light texture characterized by layers that come apart during eating.
- Fluffy: A light and airy texture.
- Gooey: A viscous, sometimes sticky texture arising from the presence of moisture in a dense solid food.
- Hearty: A firm, robust texture.
- Juicy: A succulent, tender texture characterized by the presence of liquid in a solid food.
- Silky: A fine, smooth texture characterized by a sleek feel in the mouth.
- Sticky: A texture characterized by gluiness in the mouth.
- Smooth: A consistent texture free of grit, lumps, or indentations.
- Succulent: A tender, juicy texture.
- Tender: A soft texture that is easy to break down.
- Velvety: A smooth and rich texture.
- Baked: A food that was cooked in an oven, often resulting in a crispy outer coating.
- Blanched: A food that was scalded in boiling water and then moved to cold water to stop cooking. Results in a softened texture.
- Blackened: A food that was dipped in butter and coated with spices before being cooked in a hot pan, resulting in a blackened appearance.
- Braised: Food that is briefly fried in a small amount of fat and then is slowly stewed in a covered pot. Results in a seared, crispy exterior coupled with a tender interior texture.
- Breaded: A breaded food is one that was coated with a breadcrumb mixture or batter that is then baked or fried into a crispy outer layer.
- Broiled: A food cooked with intense radiant heat, as in an oven or on a grill. Often results in a darkened appearance and crispy texture.
- Caramelized: A caramelized food is one that has been cooked slowly until it is browned and becomes sweeter in taste.
- Charred: Food that is grilled, roasted, or broiled and gains a blackened exterior coupled with a smoky flavor.
- Fermented: A food that has been introduced to bacteria, yeast, or another microorganism to produce organic acids, alcohols, or gases. May result in a pungent, biting flavor.
- Fried: Food that is cooked by submerging partially or fully into hot oil. Often results in a crispy or crunchy texture and golden color.
- Glazed: A food that becomes moistened by having a flavorful coating dripped or brushed onto its surface. May result in a glossy appearance and thin, crisp outer layer.
- Infused: A food that has been steeped in liquid with another ingredient in order to extract the flavor of the ingredient. Often used with herbs.
- Marinated: A food (usually meat) that has been soaked in liquid containing flavorful ingredients like herbs, spices, vinegar, and oil.
- Poached: Food that has been cooked in nearly boiling liquid. Often results in a tender, moist texture.
- Roasted: Food that has been cooked with dry heat in an oven or over a fire. Often results in a browned exterior and crisp coating.
- Sauteed: A food that has been cooked quickly in a small amount of fat.
- Seared: A food that is cooked in a small amount of fat until caramelized and then finished by roasting, grilling, or another method. Results in a crisp outer texture and tender interior.
- Smoked: Smoked food is food that is cooked or preserved by long exposure to smoke from smoldering wood. Results in a distinctive, bold flavor.
- Whipped: Food that has been beaten to incorporate air. Often results in a light, fluffy texture.
- Dry vs. crispy: Chicken with a dry breading compared to Chicken with a crispy breading
- Greasy vs. velvety: Pasta in a greasy sauce compared to Pasta in a velvety sauce
- Sugary vs. honeyed: Pears with a sugary drizzle compared to Pears with a honeyed drizzle
- Burned vs. blackened: Burned salmon compared to Blackened salmon
- Tough vs. hearty: A piece of tough bread compared to A piece of hearty bread
- Mushy vs. tender: A mushy crabcake compared to A tender crabcake
Words to Describe Food Preparation Method
One of the best ways to describe food on your menu is by indicating how it was prepared. So long as your customer recognizes the words you choose, it will give them a clear picture of your food’s flavor and appearance.
Here are some words that indicate preparation and cooking method:
Positive Food Adjectives
The easiest way to accidentally influence your customers into passing over a menu item is to use a word with a negative connotation. Before you put a word in your menu description, take a moment to think about how that word is commonly used. Does it bring a positive image to mind, or is it unappetizing? Additionally, the positive alternatives to negative words are often more specific, so they give your customers a more precise idea of what your food is like.
Here are some examples of negative describing words and the positive food adjectives that you can use to replace them:
When you’re trying to find the right words to describe the food on your menu, be sure to explore the hundreds of options that you have. Remember to use words that are appealing enough to catch a customer’s eye, common enough to explain your food at a glance, and specialized enough that you don’t have to resort to cliches. Next time you add a new dish or want to overhaul your menu, keep in mind that the time you invest in your menu descriptions can help sell your food to customers.
Catering Menu Ideas
One of the first steps in starting a catering business is brainstorming ideas for your catering menu. By offering original catering recipes, you can take your company to the next level and leave a lasting impression on your guests. To create a diverse menu that appeals to a variety of clients, consider adhering to our list of catering menu ideas. Variables to Consider When Choosing Catering Recipes Before you choose which recipes to feature on your menu, you must consider the many variables that can influence your decision. Everything from your budget to the time it takes to prepare your staff can change depending on which recipes you choose. Below, we’ve provided a list of common variables that influence your catering menu: Ingredient Avai
How to Create the Best Bar Food Menu
Your guests likely crave a range of tastes when enjoying drinks at your bar, so what is the best bar food to serve? Creating a bar food menu can be challenging, since some customers just want your standard basket of fries, while others want a unique experience. To meet the needs of your guests, listing typical bar foods as well as your own inventive recipes are both great ideas. Below are some useful tips and bar food ideas to create a well-rounded menu that’s sure to satisfy any hungry customer. Create a Bar Food Menu with the Classics Among the changing bar trends in the industry, some of the best bar food staples remain the same. Below are some common bar menu ideas to satisfy your customers and maximize your profits. French fries Onion
Adapting Your Menu for Delivery
Before you can set up a delivery service for your restaurant , you need to make sure that you have a menu suitable for take out. With meal kit options booming and more customers choosing to order out rather than dining in, having a delivery-friendly menu is essential for your bottom line. As the coronavirus continues to force business closures, you can keep your restaurant running by offering a delivery option to your customers. Shop All Disposable Food Packaging Take Out Menu Considerations Whether you use a third-party delivery service or your own in-house delivery fleet, picking the right menu items for your take-out menu is essential for ensuring successful deliveries. It is important to understand that not every meal on your restaurant
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Adjectives to Describe Texture and Feeling
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What does it look/feel like? Describing texture should enable the reader to imagine the texture in their hands or against their skin.
With 325 words to describe texture, you can give your writing vivid detail to engross your literary fans.
AAbrading |
BBald |
CCaked |
DDamaged |
EElastic |
FFat |
GGelatinous |
HHairy |
IIcy |
JJagged |
KKeen |
LLacy |
MMalleable |
NNeat |
OOrnamented |
PPadded |
RRagged |
SSandy |
TTangled |
UUnblemished |
VVarnished |
WWarm |
YYielding |
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240 Food Adjectives | Adjectives to Describe Food in English
by Prasanna
Food Adjectives: When it comes to composing a menu, word choice is very crucial. The words one uses to describe food on their menu could entice customers and increase sales if one chooses them well, but they could also set the mood of the customers off or confuse them if one is not careful. Below is the breakdown of the vital menu writing components and offers a list of descriptive words for food to get one started.
- Words to Describe Taste
- Words to Describe Texture
- Words to Describe Preparation Method
- Choose Positive Words to Describe Your Food
- List of 240 Adjectives to Describe Food
Words to Describe Taste
The flavour of the food on one’s menu is what most customers concentrate on when they are choosing what to eat. How one presents the dishes on their menu can help build anticipation, and a proper menu description could even convince an indecisive customer to try something new. With this in mind, it’s essential to be precise and thorough when choosing words to describe an individual’s food’s flavour.
Here are few words that are generally used to describe food:
- Acidic: A food with a distinctive and sharp taste. Often related to refer to sour or tart foods as well.
- Bitter: A sharp, tart, and sometimes harsh flavour.
- Bittersweet: A less severe taste than bitterness. Couples sourness with sweetness.
- Briny: Different term for salty.
- Citrusy: A rich and bright flavour like that of limes, oranges, lemons, and other citrus fruits.
- Cooling: A taste that simulates the sensation of cold temperature. Often used to express mint.
- Earthy: Reminiscent of fresh soil. Often used to express root vegetables, mushrooms and red wines.
- Fiery: A taste that seems as though it carries off heat. Another word for spicy.
- Fresh: A crisp and light taste. Often used to describe herbs or produce.
- Fruity: Any taste recollective of sweet fruit flavours.
- Full-bodied: Rich and intense flavour that can sense heavy in the mouth. Often practised describing wines.
- Herbal: A fresh, bright, or sometimes earthy taste generated by the incorporation of herbs.
- Honeyed: A candied or sweet taste that may be suggestive of honey.
- Nutty: Any taste related to the flavours of nuts. Often related to describe cheeses.
- Rich: A full, beefy flavour. Often related to describe foods comprising cream.
- Robust: A rich taste with fascinating earthiness. Often related to describe aged liquors or wines.
- Sharp: A harsh, tart or bitter taste. Often related to describe acidic foods.
- Smoky: A taste recollective of the smell of smoke.
- Sour: A tangy, tart, biting flavour.
- Spicy: A burning taste from roasting spices.
- Sweet: A sugary flavour.
- Tangy: A biting, tart taste that senses tingly in the mouth.
- Tart: A sharp, sour or bitter flavour. Often utilised to describe acidic foods.
- Yeasty: An clayey taste reminiscent of yeast. Often used to describe bread and beer.
- Woody: An earthy, sometimes nutty taste. Often related to describe cheeses or coffees.
- Zesty: A fresh, invigorating or vivid flavour.
Words to Describe Texture
Another consideration while describing one’s food is texture. Matching the right texture words to their dishes encourages the guests to imagine what it will be like to eat the food ere they order it. Here are few words that are usually used to describe texture:
Airy | A pillowy, light texture is often generated by the incorporation of air. |
Buttery | A creamy and smooth texture related to that of butter. |
Chewy | The texture of a food requires to be crushed or chewed thoroughly before swallowing. It can be bouncy and light or sticky and heavy. |
Creamy | A rich and smooth texture that ordinarily comes from the association of dairy. |
Crispy | A light taste with a slender crunch. |
Crumbly | The texture of food with a loose structure that drops apart into small crumbs or pieces. |
Crunchy | A crisp, firm texture is often recognised by the sharp, audible noise that the food makes when being eaten or chewed. |
Crusty | The texture of food with a soft interior and a hard outer layer. |
Delicate | A light, fine texture that may come apart easily. |
Doughy | A heavy and soft texture that is often united with pale colouring. |
Fizzy | A texture produced by the presence of numerous small bubbles, normally referring to carbonated liquids. |
Flaky | A light texture is defined by layers that come individually during eating. |
Fluffy | An airy and light texture. |
Gooey | Sometimes sticky or a viscous texture emerging from the presence of moisture in a compact solid food. |
Hearty | A robust, firm texture. |
Juicy | A tender, succulent texture is described by the presence of liquid in a part of solid food. |
Silky | A smooth, fine texture characterised by a svelte feel in the mouth. |
Sticky | A texture is described by gluiness in the mouth. |
Smooth | A consistent texture is free of lumps, indentations or grit. |
Succulent | A juicy, tender texture. |
Tender | A delicate texture that is loose to break down. |
Velvety | A rich and smooth texture. |
Words to Describe Preparation Method
One of the best methods to describe one’s food on their menu is by indicating how it was served. So long as their customer acknowledges the words one chooses, it will provide them with a clear picture of the food’s appearance and flavour. Here are few words that indicate the preparation process:
- Baked: A food that was prepared in an oven, often ending in a crispy external coating.
- Blanched: A food that was scalded in steaming water and then proceeded to cold water to finish cooking. Ends in a softened texture.
- Blackened: A food that was coated with spices and dipped in butter before being cooked in a hot pan, ending in a darkened appearance.
- Braised: Food that is concisely fried in a little amount of fat and then is slowly simmered in a closed pot. Results in a crispy, seared exterior coupled with a tender texture of interior.
- Breaded: A food that was coated with a breadcrumb mixture or batter that is then baked or fried into a crispy outer layer.
- Broiled: A food cooked with intense radiant heat, as in an oven or on a grill. Often results in a darkened appearance and crispy texture.
- Caramelized: A food that has been cooked gradually until it is browned and becomes sweeter in taste.
- Charred: Food that is roasted, grilled, or gains and broiled with a blackened exterior united with a smoky flavour.
- Fermented: A food that has been introduced to yeast, bacteria, or another microorganism to produce alcohols, organic acids, or gases. May result in a biting, pungent flavour.
- Fried: Food that is prepared by submerging fully or partially into the hot oil. It often ends in a crunchy or crispy texture and golden colour.
- Glazed: A food that matures moistened by having a flavorful coating brushed or dripped onto its surface. May result in a glossy appearance and thin, crisp outer layer.
- Infused: A food that has been steeped in fluid with a different ingredient in order to extract the flavour of the ingredient. Often practised with herbs.
- Marinated: A food (usually meat) that has been dipped in liquid containing flavorful ingredients like spices, vinegar, oil and herbs.
- Poached: Food that has been prepared in approximately boiling liquid. Often results in a moist texture, tender.
- Roasted: Food that has been prepared with dry heat over a fire or in an oven. Often results in a crisp coating and browned exterior.
- Sauteed: A food that has been prepared instantly in a small amount of fat.
- Seared: A food that is prepared in a small amount of fat until caramelised and then completed by grilling, roasting, or another method. Results in a tender interior and crisp outer texture.
- Smoked: Food that is preserved or cooked by long exposure to smoke from smouldering wood. Results in a bold, distinctive flavour.
- Whipped: Food that has been stirred to incorporate air. Often results in a fluffy, light texture.
Choose Positive Words to Describe Your Food
The easiest way to unwittingly influence someone’s customers into passing over a menu item is to practice a word with a contrary connotation. Before one put a word in their menu description, take a moment to think about how that word is generally used. Does it produce a positive thought to the mind, or is it unappetising? Additionally, the positive options to negative words are often more particular, so they provide their customers with a more precise idea of their food.
Here are few examples of negative describing words and the positive adjectives that one can use to substitute them:
- Crispy vs dry: Chicken with a crispy breading compared to Chicken with a dry breading
- Velvety vs greasy: Pasta in a velvety sauce compared to Pasta in a greasy sauce
- Honeyed vs sugary: Pears with a honeyed drizzle compared to Pears with a sugary drizzle
- Blackened vs burned: Blackened salmon compared to Burned salmon
- Hearty vs tough: A piece of hearty bread compared to A piece of tough bread
- Tender vs mushy: A tender crabcake compared to A mushy crabcake
List of 240 Adjectives to Describe Food
When a person is trying to find the right words to describe the food on their menu, be certain to explore the hundreds of possibilities that one has. Remember to practice words that are appealing adequate to catch a customer’s eye, common enough to describe their food at a glance, and specialised enough that one doesn’t have to resort to cliches. Next time one adds a new dish or want to overhaul their menu, keep in mind that the time one invests in their menu descriptions can support sell their food to customers.
Here is the list of adjectives to describe food in English:
- Acid
- Acidic
- Appealing
- Appetising
- Astringent
- Ample
- Aromatic
- Beautiful
- Bite-size
- Bitter
- Bland
- Baked
- Balsamic
- Boiled
- Briny
- Brown
- Burnt
- Buttered
- Blazed
- Blended
- Blunt
- Caramelised
- Caustic
- Centre cut
- Cheesy
- Chocolate
- Cholesterol free
- Chunked
- Caked
- Calorie
- Candied
- Cool
- Crafted
- Creamed
- Creamy
- Crisp
- Crunchy
- Cured
- Cutting
- Classic
- Classy
- Cold
- Delicious
- Delight
- Distinctive
- Doughy
- Dressed
- Dripping
- Drizzle
- Dry
- Dull
- Dazzling
- Deep-fried
- Delectable
- Extraordinary
- Famous
- Famy
- Fantastic
- Fetid
- Fiery
- Filet
- Fizzy
- Flaky
- Flat
- Flavoured
- Flavorful
- Fleshy
- Fluffy
- Fresh
- Fragile
- Free
- Fried
- Edible
- Elastic
- Ethnic
- Fruity
- Furry
- Frozen
- Gingery
- Glazed
- Gourmet
- Garlic
- Generous
- Greasy
- Grilled
- Golden
- Gorgeous
- Gritty
- Heady
- Honey
- Hot
- Harsh
- Icy
- Intense
- Infused
- Insipid
- Jumbo
- Juicy
- Kosher
- Lean
- Leathery
- Large
- Lavish
- Low
- Low-fat
- Lite
- Lively
- Luscious
- Mashed
- Mellow
- Marinated
- Mild
- Minty
- Mixed
- Mouth-watering
- Moist
- Nutmeg
- Nutty
- Nationally famous
- Natural
- Nectarous
- Non-fat
- Organic
- Overpowering
- Oily
- Open face
- Peppery
- Perfection
- Petite
- Pickled
- Piquant
- Plain
- Palatable
- Penetrating
- Pleasant
- Plump
- Poached
- Popular
- Prickly
- Pulpy
- Pungent
- Pureed
- Pounded
- Prepared
- Reduced
- Refresh
- Rich
- Ripe
- Roasted
- Rancid
- Rank
- Rubbery
- Robust
- Rotten
- Saporous
- Satin
- Satiny
- Sauteed
- Saccharine
- Saline
- Salty
- Sapid
- Savorless
- Savoury
- Scrumptious
- Sea salt
- Seared
- Seasoned
- Sharp
- Sharp-tasting
- Silky
- Simmered
- Sizzling
- Skillfully
- Small
- Smothered
- Soothing
- Soporific
- Sour
- Special
- Spiced
- Spicy
- Spiral-cut
- Spongy
- Sprinkled
- Stale
- Steamed
- Smelly
- Smoked
- Smoky
- Sticky
- Stinging
- Strong
- Stuffed
- Succulent
- Sugar-coated
- Sugared
- Sugar-free
- Sugarless
- Sweet-and-sour
- Sweetened
- Syrupy
- Sugary
- Superb
- Sweet
- Tasteless
- Tasty
- Tender
- Tepid
- Terrific
- Thick
- Thin
- Tossed
- Tough
- Toasted
- Topped
- Traditional
- Treacly
- Treat
- Tangy
- Tantalising
- Tart
- Tasteful
- Unsavoury
- Unseasoned
- Unflavored
- Vanilla
- Vinegary
- Velvety
- Warm
- Weak
- Whipped
- Waxy
- Whole
- Wonderful
- Yummy
- Yucky
- Zesty
- Zingy
Filed Under: English Grammar
The Magic of Sensory Words (with a List of 75 Example Phrases)
Sensory language spices up your writing and allows readers to experience your words as if they’re living your story. You can use sensory words in any type of writing, including business writing.
Aarggh …
A thumping headache.
Does it ever happen to you?
You should work, but you can’t. You don’t want to deal with your to-do list, an overflowing inbox, an incessant stream of tweets.
You find your walking boots and get out.
The smell of rain lingers in the air. A gentle breeze soothes your aching head. You watch the sun rays play with the golden leaves.
Can you picture the scene?
That’s because of the sensory details
You might think that sensory words are for poets and novelists. For creative spirits. Not for serious business people like you and me.
But that’s not true.
Using sensory language can help you captivate your audience—a business audience, too. Sensory language helps readers experience your words, almost as if they’re present, right in the middle of your story. What’s more, sensory details add personality and flavor to boring content, helping you stand out in a sea of grey voices that all sound the same.
Shall I explain?
The science behind sensory words
Sensory words are more powerful and memorable than ordinary words because they make your reader see, hear, smell, taste, or feel your words.
When reading non-sensory words, your brain processes text. But when you read sensory words different areas of your brain light up. Your brain processes sensory words as if you taste a sweet cake, as if you see a dazzling display of colors, as if you feel a rough texture.
And we also know from research that when we can hold a product the desire for the product increases. Might we be able to increase desire simply by using sensory words so people can imagine holding our products?
Sensory words can even boost sales. Research into menus suggests that describing dishes using sensory words makes more people buy them.
So, sensory words are truly magic.
Want to write with more power?
Click here to get the 22-page ebook How to Choose Words With Power and Pizzazz (it’s free!)
What are sensory words?
Sensory words are descriptive—they describe how we experience the world: how we smell, see, hear, feel or taste something.
- Words related to sight indicate colors, shape, or appearance. For instance: gloomy, dazzling, bright, foggy, gigantic.
- Words related to touch describe textures. You can use them to describe feelings and abstract concepts, too: gritty, creepy, slimy, fluff, sticky.
- Words related to hearing describe sounds. For instance: crashing, thumping, piercing, tingling, squeaky. Often these words mimic sounds—that’s when they’re called onomatopoeic.
- Taste and smell are closely related. Most taste and smell words are easy substitutes for bland words like good, nice, or bad. For instance: zesty, tantalizing, sweet, stinky, stale.
- Motion is sensory, too. By using active words or describing movement, you help your readers experience your words. For instance: vibrating, soaring, mind-boggling, staggering, bumpy.
You can create a multi-sensory experience in your writing. Here’s an example from Benjamin Myers’ book The Offing:
Sitting here now by the open window, a glissando of birdsong on the very lightest of breezes that carries with it the scent of a final incoming summer, I cling to poetry as I cling to life.
Within one sentence Myers shares a visual detail (the open window), an auditory detail (a glissando of birdsong), a sense of motion and touch (the lightest breeze), and a sense of smell (the scent of the incoming summer).
But sensory words are not just for novels …
Example sentences: How to appeal to the senses in business writing
In business writing, we don’t need to write sentences as poetic as Myers’ sentence above.
We can add a touch of poetry by using one or two sensory words—to make our writing more vivid and to shape a stronger writing voice.
You can find opportunities to use sensory words almost everywhere—in headlines and email subject lines, on your About page, in product descriptions, business emails, or e-newsletters.
For instance:
A headline without sensory words:
5 Tips for Turning Boring Information Into a Practical Tutorial
With sensory words:
5 Tips for Turning Drab Information Into a Tantalizing Tutorial
A business email without sensory words:
Unfortunately, I’m currently too busy to take on new projects.
With sensory words:
Unfortunately, my schedule is jam-packed; and I’m unable to squeeze in new projects.
A product description without sensory words:
These long-lasting cabinets are made from the best material, guaranteed for 10 years.
With sensory words:
These cabinets remain squeak-and-creak free. That’s guaranteed for 10 years.
A bio without sensory words:
Irreverent copywriter on a mission to eradicate gobbledygook and to make boring business blogs interesting.
With sensory words:
Irreverent copywriter on a mission to stamp out gobbledygook and to add sparkle to business blogs.
A sentence without sensory words from a blog opening:
Imagine your writing is slowing readers down.
With sensory words:
Imagine your readers trudging. Their shoes feel heavy. Squelch. Sploosh. Squelch. Sploosh.
Sensory details inject a dose of personality into your writing. They make your writing stand out, and help readers picture the scenes you’re describing.
Sensory words for emotions
Emotions can often be expressed with sensory words.
For instance, you can use the word prickly (tactile) to describe feeling irritated. And when you’re calm, you’re cool-headed (also tactile). When you’re energetic, you’re buzzing (auditory) or bouncing (motion). You can feel bitter (taste). You can be bright or gloomy (visual).
To find a sensory word for an emotion, think about the sensation that that emotion causes in your body. When you’re nervous you become jittery or jumpy. When you’re angry, your body temperature rises, so you feel fiery or hot-headed.
Amplify your words with sound symbolism
There’s a little-known category of words that can make your writing even more expressive.
You may have heard of onomatopoeic words?
Onomatopoeic words express a sound such as to squeal, whoosh, or boom!
But there’s a different, more subtle category of words. Words with sound symbolism are associated with a specific sensory experience. For his master’s thesis, James Harbreck studied such words and found that their usage has been increasing over the last two centuries.
Harbreck mentions examples like:
- Words starting with gl– are associated with light, such as glint or glimmer
- Words ending with –irl or –url often relate to circular or spiral motion or shape such as curl, swirl, whirl, or twirl
- Words ending with –ump tend to be associated with roundness or heaviness, such as lump, clump, hump, or rump
According to Harbreck, words with sound symbolism (more here) are used more regularly in fiction than non-fiction.
But we can change that.
We can use such words to make our writing glitter and glow more brightly.
The truth about captivating your audience
You can use the same words every business writer uses.
It’s a quick way to write a lot of text. But you sound the same as everyone else, and the noisy internet machine drowns out your words. Your message gets lost.
So, try to release your inner poet and pick your words with care and precision.
Make your readers crave your next article.
Get them to fall in love with your writing, and get them to fall in love with your voice.
Want to write with more power?
Click here to get the 22-page ebook How to Choose Words With Power and Pizzazz (it’s free!)
Sensory language #1: Visual words
Sensory words for sight allow you to paint vibrant (or gloomy) pictures.
What are you seeing? What’s the size? What’s the light like? What are the colors?
Examples of visual words:
Gigantic
Teeny-tiny
Bulky
Glitter
Sparkling
Shimmering
Shiny
Glowing
Crooked
Hazy
Shadowy
Gloomy
Drab
Murky
Dull
Knotty
Vibrant
Sensory language #2: Tactile words
Sensory words for touch allow readers to sense the silky-smoothness of your words.
How does something feel when you touch it? What’s the texture? The temperature? How does the humidity or pressure of the air feel?
Examples of tactile words:
Fluffy
Gritty
Rough
Smooth
Slimy
Sticky
Creepy
Crisp
Hairy
Chilled
To stifle
Woolly
Crisp
Sensory language #3: Auditory words
Sensory words for hearing allow readers to hear what’s happening.
How does someone’s voice sound? What kind of sounds are made? Is it loud or soft?
Examples of auditory words:
Buzz
Hubbub
Humming
Faint
Deafening
Squeaky
Earsplitting
Serene
To sizzle
To hiss
To shriek
Snappy
Boom!
Roaring
Thundering
Crunchy
Sensory language #4: Words related to taste and smell
Sensory words for taste and smell help you turn a bland text into lip-smackingly tasty writing.
What kind of aroma is there? Is it natural or artificial? Strong or subtle? Pleasant or repulsive? And does something taste sweet, sour, savory, salty, or bitter?
Examples of words related to taste and smell:
Bland
Rotten
Fragrant
Stale
Juicy
Stinky
Gooey
Bitter
Yummy
Lip-smackingly
Pungent
Zesty
Sweet
Spice
Sensory language #5: Motion words
When you use strong verbs to describe motion, readers experience the motion as if they’re there, too.
Is the car swerving? Is the flight turbulent? Is the sea choppy?
Examples of motion words:
Soaring
To resonate
To breeze through
Staggering
Blown away
Paralyzed
Eye-popping
Gobsmacked
Shocking
To grab
Jaw-droppingly good
Turbulent
Choppy
Swirling
To wriggle
Want to write with more power?
Click here to get the 22-page ebook How to Choose Words With Power and Pizzazz (it’s free!)
The books listed below showcase sensory writing.
When you see how others use sensory details in their writing, it becomes easier to appeal to the senses in your own writing, too.
To accelerate the learning process, pay attention to imagery in the text. How do the authors help you imagine the scenes they describe? Which smells, feelings, tastes, sounds, motions, and sights do they refer to? Which words do they use to describe those sensory experiences? Which words do you like best? Add your favorite sensory words to a list and see whether you can include them in your own writing.
You can learn from any type of writing. If you’re writing about business, you can learn from fiction or science writing, too.
The links below are affiliate links. If possible, please support your local bookstore.
1. A sensory novel
Elif Shafak excels at sketching multi-sensory images to transport her readers to a different world. Here’s an example:
The brothel where Leila worked was among the oldest in the area. A single fluorescent tube flickered at the entrance with the force of a thousand tiny matches catching light and burning one after another. The air was thickened by the scent of cheap perfume, the taps encrusted with deposits of limescale and the ceiling coated with the sticky brown stains of nicotine and tar from years of tobacco smoke.
From: 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World by Elif Shafak
2. A sensory business book
Chip and Dan Heath are my favorite business writers. In their book The Power of Moments, they show how to weave miniature stories into your writing—even a business book.
The Power of Moments explains why certain customer service experiences have extraordinary impact. Here’s an example of their writing:
Let’s start with the cherry-red phone mounted to a wall near the pool. You pick it up and someone answers, “Hello, Popsicle Hotline.” You place an order, and minutes later, a staffer wearing white gloves deliver your cherry, orange, or grape Popsicles to you at poolside. On a silver tray. For free.
From: The Power of Moments by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
3. A science book that appeals to the senses
In his book The Eloquence of the Sardine, Bill François uses vivid imagery to show us what it’s like to be a fish. Here’s a snippet:
Some fish emit sounds through their swim bladders, pouches of gas located in their abdomens that keep them neutrally buoyant. They use these swim bladders as a drum, like children who tap out rhythms on their bellies after eating, an unaccountable music we’ve all made at one time or another. Patting their bellies like this, with the help of special stomach muscles, drum fish croak, groupers grunt and gurnards rumble. Their sounds are reminiscent of foghorns, drum solos or TV game-show buzzers.
From: The Eloquence of the Sardine: The Secret Life of Fish & Other Underwater Mysteries by Bill François, translated by Antony Shugaar
4. A nature book full of sensory language
Braiding Sweetgrass by botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer mixes Native American wisdom with western science, plus lots of sensory descriptions of nature. Here’s a sample:
You could smell ripe strawberries before you saw them, the fragrance mingling with the smell of sun on damp ground. It was the smell of June, the last day of school, when we were set free, and the Strawberry Moon, ode’mini-giizis. I’d lie on my stomach in my favorite patches, watching the berries grow sweeter and bigger under the leaves. Each tiny wild berry was scarcely bigger than a raindrop, dimpled with seeds under the cap of leaves. From that vantage point I could pick only the reddest of the red, leaving the pink ones for tomorrow.
From: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer.
5. A food memoir
As Nina Mingya Powles shows in her book Tiny Moons: A Year of Eating in Shanghai, food writing isn’t just about describing taste and smell.
Here’s a tiny taster:
I eat my guotie right there, standing beneath the fluorescent lights. First the crunch, then hot soup scalds my tongue – I wasn’t expecting so much soup – then gingery, garlicky pork in the middle.
From: Tiny Moons: A Year of Eating in Shanghai by Nina Mingya Powles
6. A guidebook to smell
In her book Revelations in Air, Jude Stewart describes a variety of aromas, the stories behind them and the memories that smells can evoke.
For instance, here’s how Stewart describes the smell of oranges:
They smell sparkling, clean, literally zesty. Oranges invigorate the nose with a bright acidic tang, over which plays a light, balanced sweetness. It’s affable and domestic, a lunchtime smell.
From: Revelations in Air by Jude Stewart
How to Choose Words With Power and Pizzazz
- Discover 4 wordy rules for captivating your audience
- Learn how to fortify and energize your message
- Get examples that show you how to spice up your writing
101+ Descriptive Words For Foods
Posted by: Kathy Temean | April 25, 2009
Characters have to eat, right? Well, here is a list of 450 words you can use when food is present in your story. If you think of some others and I will add them to the list.
NOTE: English spellings and expressions.
Acid
Acidic
Acrid
Airy
A la carte
A la king
A la mode
Alcoholic
Al dente
Almond flavored
Ambrosial
Appetizing
Aroma
Aromatic
Au fromage
Au gratin
Au jus
Balsamic
Barbecue
Battered
Béarnaise
Bite-size
Biting
Bitter
Blackened
Blah
Blanched
Bland
Blended
Boiled
Bold
Bolognese
Boned
Brackish
Braised
Brewed
Briny
Brittle
Broiled
Browned
Bubbly
Burning
Bursting
Buttercream
Butterflied
Buttery
Cacciatore
Cakey
Candied
Canned
Caramelized
Caustic
Chalky
Charcuterie
Charred
Cheesy
Chewy
Chili
Chilled
Chipotle
Chocolaty
Chopped
Chowder
Clarified
Classical
Comfort Food
Condensed
Condiment
Course
Creamed
Creamery
Creamy
Creole
Crisscrossed
Crispy
Crumbly
Crunchy
Crusty
Crystalized
Cuisine
Curd
Curdled
Cured
Curried
Dash
Decadent
Deglaze
Dehyrated
Delectable
Delicious
Delightful
Dense
Devein
Deviled
Dietary
Diluted
Dipping
Disagreeable
Disgusting
Distasteful
Distinctive
Divine
Doughy
Dredged
Drenched
Dripping
Dried out
Drizzled
Dry
Dry-Roasted
Dull
Dusted
Earthy
Eatable
Edible
Enjoyable
Enticing
Entrée
Escalloped
Etouffee
Evaporated
Exquisite
Fatty
Fermented
Fine
Finger Licking Good
Fibrous
Filled
Filling
Fiery
Fishy
Fizzy
Flakey
Flambé
Flavorless
Flavorful
Flavorsome
Florentine
Floury
Fluffy
Foie gras
Folded
Fondant
Foul
Fra diablo
Fragrant
Feathery
Fresh
Freeze dried
Fricasseed
Fried
Frosty
Frozen
Fruity
Fudgy
Full-bodied
Full-flavored
Gamy
Garlicky
Garnish
Gastric
Gingery
Glazed
Glopy
Glossy
Gluteny
Golden
Good
Gooey
Gourmet
Grainy
Granulated
Grated
Gratifying
Greasy
Griddled
Grilled
Gritty
Gross
Hardboiled
Heady
Heat
Heavy
Healthy
Hearty
Heavenly
Herbaceous
Hint
Homogenized
Honeyed
Hors d’oeuvre
Hot
Hot Sauce
Icy
Infused
Intense
Inviting
Jiggly
Juicy
Julienne
Kick
Kneaded
Kosher
Laced
Laden
Laiche
Layered
Lemony
Light
Limp
Lip-smacking
Liquid
Low-Fat
Lumpy
Luscious
Lusty
Lyonnaise
Malodorous
Malted
Marinate
Marvelous
Mashed
Mealy
Medium
Mellow
Melting
Messy
Microwave
Mild
Milky
Minced
Minty
Mixed
Mixture
Moist
Moldy
Morsel
mouth-watering
Muddy
Mushy
Nasty
Natural
Nauseating
Nectarous
Nosey
Nourishing
Noxious
Nuked
Nutriment
Nutritious
Nutty
Odoriferous
Odorless
Orgasmically-delicious
Oily
Oniony
Oozing
Organic
Overpowering
Packed
Palatable
Pan-fried
Paprika
Parboiled
Parched
Parfait
Pasteurized
Pasty
Pâté
Peanut butter
Peck
Penetrating
Peppered
Peppery
Perfumed
Perishable
Piccata
Pickled
Piping
Piquant
Pleasant
Plump
Powdered
Powdery
Potent
Pouched
Preserved
Puffy
Pulp
Pulverized
Pungent
Puréed
Ragout
Rancid
Rank
Rare
Raw
Redolent
Reduced
Reeking
Refrigerated
Refreshing
Relish
Rich
Rib Sticking
Ripe
Roasted
Robust
Rolled
Rotten
Roux
Ruined
Runny
Saline
Salted
Salty
Saturated
Sapid
Saporous
Sauté
Savory
Scalded
Scented
Scorched
Scrambled
Scrumptious
Seared
Seasoned
Sharp
Shredded
Sizzling
Simmering
Skimmed
Skunky
Slathered
Sliced
Slimy
Slippery
Slivered
Smelly
Smokey
Smooth
Smothered
Snappy
Snappy
Soaked
Sodden
Soft
soft-boiled
Soggy
Solid
Solidify
Sordid
Soufflé
Soupy
Sour
Sparkling
Spicy
Spirited
Spoiled
Spongy
Spread
Sprinkled
Spritzed
Stale
Starchy
Steamy
Stewed
Sticky
Stiff
Stinging
Stringy
Stinky
Strong
Stuffed
Subdued
Succulent
Sunnyside up
sugar-coated
Sugary
Sweet
Sweet and Sour
Syrupy
Tainted
Tangy
Tantalizing
Tart
Tasteless
Tasty
Tempting
Tender
Tepid
Texture
Thick
Titillating
Toasted
Toothsome
Tough
Tumaceous
Umami
Unsavory
Vanilla
Velvety
Viscous
Vinegary
Warm
Watery
Well-done
Wet
Whey
Whipped
Wholesome
Wild
Wilted
Wrapped
Yucky
Yummy
Zest
Zestful
Zesty
Zippy
I know there are more. Let me know.
Kathy
http://www.kathytemean.comn
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Dictionary 58+ delicious words for descriptions of dishes in the
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When it comes to writing beautiful texts for menus, the choice of tasty words is especially important. The words you use to describe dishes can both lure customers and increase the sale of dishes if you choose them well, or scare or confuse customers if you’re not careful.
Below we will analyze the key components of a sales text for a menu, as well as offer a list of delicious words with which you can write a colorful description of any dish or drink.
Words to describe taste
The taste of food is what diners focus on most when choosing what to order. The way you describe dishes on the menu can create anticipation and sometimes even convince a hesitant customer to try something new. Taking this into account, it is important to choose the most accurate and complete wording to convey the taste sensations of the dish in the description.
The most successful words for taste:
Sour: Food with a pronounced spicy bite. Often used to refer to wines, fruits, dairy products, meats, fish
Bitter: tart, sharp, and sometimes quite harsh repulsive taste. The clearest examples are radish, horseradish, mustard
Bittersweet: Less harsh than just bitter taste. Combines tartness and sweetness. Can be found in dark chocolate, coffee, grapefruit
Citrus: Bright flavor with hints of lemon, lime, orange, tangerine or grapefruit
Refreshing: flavor that conveys a feeling of coolness. Often used to describe lemonade, mint
Earthy: reminiscent of fresh soil. Often used to describe red wines, root vegetables and mushrooms
Burning: a taste that feels like something is giving off heat. Synonym for spicy
Fresh: light and invigorating taste. Applicable to many foods (fruits, vegetables, meat) and herbs
Fruity: any flavor reminiscent of sweet fruit
Rich: rich flavor, may feel a bit heavy in the mouth. Often used to describe wines
Herbal: bright, fresh and sometimes earthy flavors with hints of herbs
Honey: sweet or candied flavors that may resemble honey
Nutty: nutty. Often used to describe cheeses
Nutritious: rich, dense taste. Often used in relation to products containing cream
Strong: rich flavor with some earthiness. Suitable for alcoholic beverages: whiskey, wine, aged liqueurs
Pungent: sharp, bitter or astringent taste. Used to describe sour foods
Smoky: Taste reminiscent of smoke. Used to describe varieties of tea, whiskey, sauces
Spicy: pungent taste from hot spices
Sweet: cloying taste
Pungent: tart, spicy taste, tingling in the mouth
Astringent: pungent, bitter or sour taste. Often used to describe acidic foods.
Yeasty: earthy taste with yeasty undertones. Often used to describe beer or bread
Woody: Earthy, sometimes nutty flavor. Suitable for coffee and cheeses
Spicy: fresh, colorful or invigorating taste
Words to describe texture
Another way to describe food is texture. Matching the right texture words to your dishes will help your restaurant guests visualize the tactile sensations of eating.
Best word for texture:
Airy: light, soft texture, often created with air
Oily: soft creamy texture reminiscent of butter
Sticky: food texture that must be chewed thoroughly before swallowing. May be light and springy or heavy and sticky
Creamy: soft, thick texture derived from dairy content
Crispy: firm texture, often recognizable by a sharp, audible noise when biting
Crumbly: texture of food with a crumbly structure, falling apart into small pieces or crumbs
Crusty: texture with a hard layer on the outside and a soft filling inside
Delicate: light soft texture that instantly loses shape when pressed
soft and thick texture
Sparkling: texture due to the presence of small bubbles, applicable to carbonated drinks
Flaky: light texture formed in layers that fall apart during eating
Lush: light and airy texture
Sticky: viscous, sometimes sticky texture due to the presence of moisture in dense solid food
C3:
C3:
C3:
fine texture, characterized by the presence of a large amount of liquid
Silky: fine, soft texture, evoking a sensation with something smooth in the mouth
Smooth: Homogeneous texture without grains of sand, tubercles and dent
Yazyaty: soft, juicy texture
velvety: Smooth and saturated texture
We will help to establish traffic in your restaurant orders food delivery through integrated promotion .
Cooking words
One of the best ways to colorfully describe a meal on a menu is how it was prepared. Use words to create a picture in the head of the visitor that will give a clear idea of the taste and appearance of the dish.
The following words will help you:
Baked: food that has been cooked in the oven, often resulting in a crispy crust
Blanched: food cooked in boiling water and then abruptly cold. Characterized by the formation of a softened texture
Stewed: food that is first briefly fried and then slowly stewed in a covered saucepan. The result is a dry, slightly crispy shell with a delicate texture inside
Breaded: food that is covered with a mixture of breadcrumbs or batter that is baked or fried. More blackened and smoky when cooked
Caramelized: food cooked slowly until browned and sweeter
Fermented: combining food with bacteria, yeast, and other micro-organisms to produce organic acids, alcohol, or gas . Leads to a sharp, biting flavor
Fried: food usually cooked in an oiled pan. It has a crispy crust and golden color
Glazed: food is moistened by spraying the surface with drops or using a brush.
Flamed: a dish is treated with alcohol and then set on fire
Soaked: a food is soaked in a liquid with another ingredient to extract the flavor of the ingredient and mix it with the product
Marinated: food (usually meat) that has been thoroughly soaked in an aromatic marinade containing herbs, spices, vinegar and oil otherwise
Sauteed: food cooked quickly in a small amount of fat
Smoked: cooked or preserved by exposure to smoke from smoldering wood
Whipped: Stir the ingredients rapidly until fluffy. Leads to a light, fluffy texture
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Tasty words to describe dishes — GoodServ
Colorful description of dishes0034 is one of the key skills of a waiter. Just as Academician Pavlov used to make dogs salivate by lighting a light bulb, so the waiter must be able to evoke a thrill of anticipation in the guest using a beautiful description of the dishes.
The list of adjectives (click to download in pdf) that I will provide in this article is far from complete, so I plan to update it all the time. I will be glad to your additions, which you can leave in the comments!
Tasty words for waiters
If you want your waiters to start using colorful adjectives to describe food and drink, it’s not enough to just tell them to start doing it. Even if (fantastic situation) they sincerely want it.
My experience is that even if you just now print out and give them a list of adjectives, all they will say is «delicious» , «fragrant» and «refined» . And, often wrong. For example, «fragrant creamy ice cream» , «exquisite borscht» . Also, waiters often seek to compensate for their inability to make a high-quality presentation of the dish — using diminutive suffixes (“lisping”). This must not be allowed.
As with everything, it takes some effort to get the waiters to present food and drinks nicely.
First, I recommend that the management staff develop and write down a colorful description of the dishes and drinks. And include them in the training menu. So, all waiters who have problems with imagination can simply learn a ready-made version. In addition, it will allow you to get rid of unwanted creativity such as «juicy bread» or «refreshing mashed potatoes».
Secondly, you need to conduct constant training. This must be done at daily morning staff rallies. You can conduct training sessions by simply asking some participants to describe some dishes or cocktails. And you can do it in a playful way. For example, by ordering our training for waiters «Selling Service» or special educational games for waiters. And here I will share one of the games for practicing a colorful description.
Game for waiters: «What will you beat?»
Purpose: to teach waiters to use adjectives to colorfully describe food and drinks.
Description: | Example: |
1. Eliminated (winner plays next). But it is better to take the next pair. Play 2 times in a 5-minute. The coach chooses two waiters.
2. Names a dish or drink from a menu. 3. Participants take it in turns to name colorful adjectives suitable for this dish (1. the adjective “delicious” cannot be used; 2. the adjective must really match the dish/drink or dish ingredient. 3. Do not repeat). 4. All participants must ensure that the rules are followed. 5. When one participant runs out of epithets, the game ends. 6. The coach remembers weak participants in order to train them separately. |
Coach: is played by Petrov and Vasechkin. Caesar salad with chicken». Petrov begins:
Petrov: Sytny Vasechkin: with fresh lettuce Petrov: large piece of tender chicken breast cooked on charcoal Vasechkin: gentle caesar sauce Member: «gentle» has already been! Vasechkin: good, light Caesar sauce Petrov: a unique Caesar sauce prepared according to a special recipe from 11 ingredients! Etc. Vasechkin: (thinks… more than 10 seconds). Coach: applause for Petrov and Vasechkin. Well done! Next couple: Ivanov and Sidorov. |
Description of the dish
If the waiters are creative and refuse to use the text you suggested to describe the dish, you can offer them a simple algorithm: list the ingredients of the dish, add epithets and adjectives to them: Italian spaghetti al dente , delicate cream sauce, etc. You can use one epithet from each zone of sensations: taste-smell, appearance, texture. By the way, if you want a lot of colorful descriptions, check out Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Cooking Course!
Any ingredient, as well as a drink or dish, can be described in 5 planes:
- Appearance (presentation, shape, color)
- Taste and smell (taste, shades, aroma)
- Texture (tactile sensations)
- Features (more on food and drink in general)
- Value (usefulness, status of a dish, economy or high cost, prestige)
I will put all the delicious words to describe the dishes in a pdf file available for download. So that you can immediately print it and distribute it to the waiters for study:
Download the list of adjectives and epithets to describe the dish *. pdf
Forbidden words
I can’t think of any unambiguously forbidden words, it all depends on the context. Some epithets will be forbidden in one case (frozen fish) and quite appropriate in another (frozen fruit juice, in some kind of cocktail).
The main thing is that the waiters make colorful descriptions in a relaxed way and they themselves like it! And for this you need to deal with non-material motivation of waiters, which I already wrote about once.
Dish presentation, legend
Some legends about the dishes and drinks you serve can become a special feature of your establishment. So, the waiters will be able to entertain guests with short intriguing stories about the dishes or drinks they ordered.
This always has a positive effect on tips and is remembered by guests. Especially when the legend is told by the waiter artistically, naturally and accompanied by a small show when serving (for example, a dish or drink is burned with a felt-tip directly on the guest’s table). Moreover, guests can then retell these legends to their friends, which will be a great advertisement for your establishment.
Author: Maxim Pylaev, Excellent Service.
When publishing an article or part of it, a link to the source is required! (goodserv.org.ua)
How the menu is described : Radioschema.ru
When it comes to writing beautiful texts for the menu, the choice of tasty words is especially important. The words you use to describe dishes can both lure customers and increase the sale of dishes if you choose them well, or scare or confuse customers if you’re not careful.
Below we will analyze the key components of a sales text for a menu, as well as offer a list of delicious words with which you can write a colorful description of any dish or drink.
Words to describe taste
The taste of food is what diners focus on most when choosing what to order. The way you describe dishes on the menu can create anticipation and sometimes even convince a hesitant customer to try something new. Taking this into account, it is important to choose the most accurate and complete wording to convey the taste sensations of the dish in the description.
The most successful words for taste:
Sour: Food with a pronounced spicy bite. Often used to refer to wines, fruits, dairy products, meats, fish
Bitter: tart, sharp, and sometimes quite harsh repulsive taste. The clearest examples are radish, horseradish, mustard
Bittersweet: Less harsh than just bitter taste. Combines tartness and sweetness. Can be found in dark chocolate, coffee, grapefruit
Citrus: Bright flavor with hints of lemon, lime, orange, tangerine or grapefruit
Refreshing: flavor that conveys a feeling of coolness. Often used to describe lemonade, mint
Earthy: reminiscent of fresh soil. Often used to describe red wines, root vegetables and mushrooms
Burning: a taste that feels like something is giving off heat. Synonym for spicy
Fresh: light and invigorating taste. Applicable to many foods (fruits, vegetables, meat) and herbs
Fruity: any flavor reminiscent of sweet fruit
Rich: rich flavor, may feel a bit heavy in the mouth. Often used to describe wines
Herbal: bright, fresh and sometimes earthy flavors with hints of herbs
Honey: sweet or candied flavors that may resemble honey
Nutty: nutty. Often used to describe cheeses
Nutritious: rich, dense taste. Often used in relation to products containing cream
Strong: rich flavor with some earthiness. Suitable for alcoholic beverages: whiskey, wine, aged liqueurs
Pungent: sharp, bitter or astringent taste. Used to describe sour foods
Smoky: Taste reminiscent of smoke. Used to describe varieties of tea, whiskey, sauces
Spicy: pungent taste from hot spices
Sweet: cloying taste
Pungent: tart, spicy taste, tingling in the mouth
Astringent: pungent, bitter or sour taste. Often used to describe acidic foods.
Yeasty: earthy taste with yeasty undertones. Often used to describe beer or bread
Woody: Earthy, sometimes nutty flavor. Suitable for coffee and cheeses
Spicy: fresh, colorful or invigorating taste
Words to describe texture
Another criterion for describing dishes is texture. Matching the right texture words to your dishes will help your restaurant guests visualize the tactile sensations of eating.
Best word for texture:
Airy: light, soft texture, often created with air
Oily: soft creamy texture reminiscent of butter
Sticky: food texture that must be chewed thoroughly before swallowing. May be light and springy or heavy and sticky
Creamy: soft, thick texture derived from dairy content
Crispy: firm texture, often recognizable by a sharp, audible noise when biting
Crumbly: texture of food with a crumbly structure, falling apart into small pieces or crumbs
Crusty: texture with a hard layer on the outside and a soft filling inside
Delicate: light soft texture that instantly loses shape when pressed
soft and thick texture
Sparkling: texture due to the presence of small bubbles, applicable to carbonated drinks
Flaky: light texture formed in layers that fall apart during eating
Lush: light and airy texture
Sticky: viscous, sometimes sticky texture due to the presence of moisture in dense solid food
C3:
C3:
C3:
fine texture, characterized by the presence of a large amount of liquid
Silky: fine, soft texture, evoking a sensation with something smooth in the mouth
Smooth: Homogeneous texture without grains of sand, tubercles and dent
Yases: soft, juicy texture
velvety: Smooth and saturated texture
Words for describing the preparation method
One of the best of the best colorfully describe the food on the menu — indicate how it was prepared. Use words to create a picture in the head of the visitor that will give a clear idea of the taste and appearance of the dish.
The following words will help you:
Baked: food that has been cooked in the oven, often resulting in a crispy crust
Blanched: food cooked in boiling water and then abruptly cold. Characterized by the formation of a softened texture
Stewed: food that is first briefly fried and then slowly stewed in a covered saucepan. The result is a dry, slightly crispy shell with a delicate texture inside
Breaded: food that is covered with a mixture of breadcrumbs or batter that is baked or fried. More blackened and smoky when cooked
Caramelized: food cooked slowly until browned and sweeter
Fermented: combining food with bacteria, yeast, and other micro-organisms to produce organic acids, alcohol, or gas . Leads to a sharp, biting flavor
Fried: food usually cooked in an oiled pan. It has a crispy crust and golden color
Glazed: food is moistened by spraying the surface with drops or using a brush.
Flamed: Flamed: A dish is treated with alcohol and then set on fire
Soaked: A product is soaked in a liquid with another ingredient to extract the flavor of the ingredient and mix it with the product
Marinated: food (usually meat) that has been thoroughly soaked in an aromatic marinade containing herbs, spices, vinegar and oil otherwise
Sauteed: food cooked quickly in a small amount of fat
Smoked: cooked or preserved by exposure to smoke from smoldering wood
Whipped: Stir the ingredients rapidly until fluffy. Leads to a light, fluffy texture
Photo credit, Getty Images
Designing a good menu requires a lot of creative effort and thought including how to stimulate the customer more and return to your establishment again.
With a theatrical gesture, a leather-bound book in sober colors is placed in front of you. The pages inside are written in thick cursive. Your eye is attracted by several positions with colorful descriptions.
You go back to the waiter and order.
A delicious meal is being prepared. But what made you choose it? Perhaps you liked the name, or maybe something else influenced your decision?
You might be surprised, but the design of the menu played a significant role in your choice. After all, this is not just a price list, it is a complex marketing tool that pushes the client to a certain choice.
The menu can even influence the course of your thoughts.
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“The menu cover itself already tells you what to expect from this place,” explains Charles Spence, Professor of Experimental Psychology and Multisensory Perception at the University of Oxford.
“A restaurant menu has many elements that can be used to influence the choice of visitors,” he adds.
Also the order of the positions in the menu or the font in which it is printed matter.
Restaurant menus are now being developed by an entire industry called «menu engineering» whose goal is to get customers to spend more money and come back to the restaurant again.
Photo by Alamy
rosemary fries” sounds much more appetizing than the banal “steak and potatoes”
“In large chains with about a million daily visitors, it can take up to a year and a half to create a menu, because we test it three times,” says Gregg Rapp, engineer menu from Palm Springs, California.
For 34 years he has been developing menus for both small cafes and international chains.
«Customers usually spend no more than a few minutes browsing menus, so we want them to use that time efficiently.»
«If they find what they are looking for quickly, they will have time to choose something else. »
The first thing a customer notices when they pick up a menu is its weight. The heavier the menu, the higher the level of the institution and the service in it.
Font
The font in which the menu is printed has a similar effect. Italics, for example, are associated with quality.
Whereas a complex style can even affect the taste of food.
Swiss researchers have found that the font in which the name of the wine is written on the bottle affects the enjoyment of the drink.
Also, wine bottled with different labels was more liked by consumers if its name was printed in a catchy, hard-to-read font.
Image copyright, Getty Images
Italics are associated with quality
Spence’s own research even found that consumers often associate rounded typefaces with sweet tastes, and pointed ones with brackish, sour, or bitter tastes.
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“Restaurants can take advantage of this to encourage people to order expensive meals,” explains an expert who recently published a book on the subject, Gastrophysics: The New Science of Nutrition.
However, the language in which the menu is written is just as important, he adds. After all, «Lucy Meadow Raised Aberdeen Angus Fillet with Rosemary French Fries» sounds much more appetizing than the banal «steak and potatoes.»
Description of dishes
This style of description of dishes is widely used in the food industry. So, for example, does the British trading network Marks & Spencer, describing its products in advertising with pompous sensual epithets.
«It’s not just a pudding,» proclaims the commercial. “It’s a Belgian chocolate dessert topped with cream from Alpine cows that melts in your mouth.” And sales skyrocket by 3,500 percent.
Words have a huge impact on our choice of food. The description of a dish on the menu can increase sales by a third.
This method works especially well if the description states the origin of the ingredients: «Homemade zucchini cookies like your grandma’s» sounds much more appealing than «zucchini cookies. »
“The mention of a vegetable farm or the name of a pig breed adds authenticity to a product,” explains Spence. “Consumers perceive it as a sign of quality, even if the names are fictitious. And the description of the taste makes the dish more attractive.”
Image copyright Jez Timms
Does wine really taste better if it has a nice label on the bottle?
And the point is not only in the meanings of words, but also in their pronunciation. Researchers from the University of Cologne in Germany found something unexpected last year .
The names of dishes, the pronunciation of which mimics the chewing process, enhance the taste of food. First of all, this applies to words whose pronunciation first involves the front part of the speech apparatus, and then to the back, for example, the fictitious word «Bodok».
There is an effect even while reading silently, apparently because the brain still stimulates the organs of speech, even if we do not pronounce the words aloud.
According to the authors of the study, it promotes the work of the salivary glands.
Customer choice is positively influenced by brands in food names, as well as nostalgic expressions such as “homemade” or “good ol’,” explains Brian Wansink of the Food and Branding Lab at Cornell University.
A portion of patriotism and family comfort steadily increases sales.
Word length and color
However, be careful if the menu is full of too long, wordy descriptions. This may mean that the restaurant is simply inflating its price.
Computational linguistics professor Dan Jurafsky of Stanford University analyzed the names and prices of 650,000 items on 6,500 menus.
He found out that the longer the word that describes a dish, the more expensive it is.
Each letter that increased the average length of a word in a dish’s description increased its price by 18 cents and its value in the eyes of customers.
“If you just write ‘New York Steak, $43’, the dish will seem too expensive. But if you write a whole paragraph about the quality and origin of its ingredients, as well as the long tradition of the recipe, the price will already seem more justified,” Rapp explains.
Image copyright Getty Images
Menu images are associated with cheap fast food
“However, it is important that menu descriptions reflect the real beliefs of the restaurateur, otherwise they will look fake. The story you create around the dish needs to be personal and sincere,” he adds.
Colors on the menu play an equally important role. Green is usually associated with natural and fresh foods, while orange stimulates the appetite, notes Aaron Allen, an expert in menu psychology from Orlando, Florida.
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Red is an eye-catcher. With it, the chef can designate those dishes, the sale of which is profitable.
Restaurants use other tricks to encourage patrons to order expensive meals. For example, lowering the price by a few cents (or kopecks), as a result, the price of $5. 99 seems lower than the whole $6.
This is, of course, an old idea that is widely used in retail. However, restaurants have gone even further by removing the dollar, pound or other currency mark from prices, respectively.
“The banknote is a painful reminder to the client that they are spending money,” explains Allen. “A number without a currency designation is less painful, and even better if the price is written down in words.”
The order of the dishes and their quantity
The order of the dishes on the menu also has a great effect. If you place the most expensive dishes at the top, the rest of the menu will seem cheaper.
“You can increase a restaurant’s profits by thousands of dollars just by rearranging menu items,” says Allen.
Using eye-tracking technology, the researchers found that diners tend to read menus in very similar ways.
This is usually like looking at a book, but there are a few special places on the page where the customer’s eyes stop.
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“This is usually the top right of the page, and of course the first item on top,” adds the researcher.
In addition, too many menu items make selection difficult. Experts advise dividing the menu into separate sections, each of which should contain no more than seven items.
“Five courses are ideal, three is great,” says Rapp.
Photos of dishes
There are other ways to draw attention to certain items. For example, circle the name of the dish with a frame. This works well with expensive dishes such as steaks.
Some restaurants identify new or seasonal dishes with a logo. Photos of dishes are also an effective technique, but its perception depends on traditions.
In many countries, food menus are associated with cheap fast food and can turn away demanding customers.
“The problem with photos is that when we see them, the brain begins to imagine the taste, and the dish itself can be disappointing,” warns Rapp. “In reality, the food often doesn’t look as perfect as it does in the picture.”
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Yet appetizing food porn is playing an increasingly important role as the restaurant business moves into the digital age.
We are increasingly ordering food online via smartphones or interactive displays at the table
Image copyright, Getty Images
Electronic menus of the future will be able not only to show videos of dishes, but also to guess your tastes
“Thick cheese or yolk that spreads a little on the plate is perceived attractively,” says Spence. “When menus go digital, there will be more opportunities to showcase the beauty of food through video or animation.”
Menus of the future can even anticipate what you want to order before you know it, Allen says.
A couple of years ago, Pizza Hut introduced eye tracking technology. She had to determine which of the 20 proposed ingredients the client would choose and recommend the best combination to him.
According to Allen, artificial intelligence and computer processing can deepen this idea.
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The program will analyze your choice during your last visit to the restaurant and suggest other ingredients based on your tastes.
“The restaurant industry has spent billions of dollars over the years on effective menu design and customer psychology,” says the expert. “But the opportunities that the fourth industrial revolution opens up are huge.”
“Imagine being able to order a dish with your favorite ingredients with a single click,” he adds.
Are you still sure that an Aberdeen Angus fillet raised on lush meadows is exactly what you wanted to order?
You can read the original of this article in English on the BBC Future website.
500 words for your menu
Today we’re going to talk about the restaurant menu as the item you give your guests to order. Consider how easy this subject is to read and what limitations it carries.
Usually the guest makes his choice in 10-15 minutes. What can be done in this relatively short time? First of all, a person must read the menu. A dish map is not a book or an article, which means that he will stop and think about whether he likes or dislikes this or that position, what size the portion will be, how expensive it is. Consequently, he will read slowly and thoughtfully, and will spend 5-7 minutes on the reading itself, and the rest of the time on analysis and discussion (if the guest came not alone) of what he read.
Do you know that the average reading speed of an adult in our country is 100-150 words per minute? Let’s now think about how many words the average person will have time to physically read in the average time of studying the menu? If we take the lower bounds of all the given values, then we get 100 words multiplied by 5 minutes = 500 words.
Why did we take the lower values? This is a recommendation for the preparation of texts that came to us from professional journalism — when creating a material, you need to write as if a tired and annoyed person will read it. Targeting such an audience helps to create easy-to-read texts. In addition, do not forget that when reading, your guest will be distracted by communication with neighbors, by looking at the interior, by music, by his phone. In a word, the values taken from the limits of speed and reading time in this case will even be overestimated 🙂
What does information about 500 words read give us? Let’s translate these words into the number of dishes that we can describe with them.
Here is an example of one item taken from the menu of the Shlyapa restaurant from Kyiv:
How many words are used to describe? 20, excluding prepositions, but including weight information. It is clear that this is a complex dish that requires a “juicy” description, because from its name it is not very clear what is included in it.
There are other items that are limited to 8-10 words:
And some of them fit into laconic 5 words:
And what about the descriptions of dishes? Indeed, in the first case, we divide 500 words by 20 and get only 25 menu items, the description of which a person is physically able to read in the allotted time for ordering. For the second option with eight words, there are already 50 such dishes, and for the last option with five words — as many as 100 positions!
How many items are on your menu? Including bar, drinks and desserts? It turns out that if you have a compact menu of 30-70 items, then the guest will have time to make a choice from the entire richness of the restaurant’s assortment. If the menu is large, then some of the dishes will simply be beyond the attention of most guests.
You might object that nothing prevents you from reading the menu longer and more carefully. Then the person will definitely be able to make the right choice and appreciate the diversity of your offer. In fact, in the first place, this will be prevented by the patience of the guest himself! After all, the selection process is sometimes called «torturous» for a reason. This is actually a rather complex process for psychology, which at first quickly tires, and then begins to cause deaf irritation. As a result, what will be ordered is what is already familiar to the guest or what friends advise. This is how it turns out that a rare visitor spends more than ten minutes studying the menu, and often, instead of ordering, we hear “the same for me!”
When analyzing lunchtime sales, we constantly see that the pair «salad» + «soup» dominates in orders. Why do you think this is happening? How many salads do you have on the menu? How many soups? If there are more than ten positions here and there, and also if they are presented on the menu with a detailed description of the ingredients (as in the figure below), then the answer is obvious — the guests have enough patience to study the menu only up to the “Soups” group.
To paraphrase Gogol, we can say that « A rare guest will read such a menu to the middle!»
The situation is slightly improved by the fact that almost no one reads the dish map in a row, from position to position, from group to group. When reading the menu, as a rule, the “ scan ” method is used, the guests look at it superficially, stopping their attention only on those elements that have attracted attention. On the one hand, this allows us to hope that in this mode the guest will «scan» the entire menu. On the other hand, the result does not change — he will still have time to read a very small amount of information.
When «scanning», the guest’s attention will be drawn to the headings, pictures, colors and sizes of the font used. Everything that stands out from the background design. Not surprisingly, such a selection is almost always used for those positions whose sales they want to increase. But within the guest’s view there should not be more than nine such prominent elements, otherwise they themselves will turn into a background or «mess». After all, our brain can perceive 7+/-2 elements as separate and independent.
It turns out that the easier it is for a guest to read and perceive information from the menu, the more he will be able to read and the more comfortable his choice will be.
There are simple rules that have been used by writers and journalists for many years to analyze the ease of perception of a text:
1. The text should contain no more than 10% of «complex words». Words with 4 or more syllables are complex (the word “baked” in the example above), while words written with a dash are considered one word (“mixed salad” will also be a complex word). Foreign or little-used words are also complex (“josper”, “Lolo Biondo and Rosso” from the first example). This paragraph is already an example of complex text 🙂
2. Long sentences make text difficult to read . Divide the description into parts if the description has more than 10 words. Here is an example of «compound words» and «long sentence» at the same time:
3. The use of verbs makes the text easier to understand because it helps us quickly determine the meaning of the phrase. For example, the words «baked» or «fried» are much better perceived than their counterparts «baked» or «fried,» although many people think that adjectives convey taste better. At the same time, the verb form of the word is usually shorter than its adjectival counterpart, so such words cease to be «complex».
4. Use punctuation and capitalization correctly . This makes the text easier to read.
Compare the spelling of these two options:
5. Do not load the menu with unnecessary information. Remember that you only have 500 words to make a guest fall in love with your restaurant with a menu. Post all additional information on flyers, tables or walls. Here is an example of a part of the menu with a description of the action, information about which can not be included in the menu:
This complex sentence with complex words will take the place of at least three courses in the guest’s head!
6. Divide the menu into small blocks of 5-8 items . This will make it easier for the guest to “scan” the text, allowing them to comfortably skip sections and groups that are not of interest to them.
Do not forget that when reading the description of a dish, the guest should literally feel its taste and aroma! But every word that gets on the pages of the menu also has its price. Menu space is a resource that needs to be managed wisely. Dividing the menu into categories and assigning each “weight” depending on its contribution to the attractiveness and profit of the restaurant will help to do this. If your menu has 10 groups, then this does not mean at all that you can spend 50 words on each of them to fit into those very 500. The word limit for snacks, drinks and desserts can be reduced by allocating 5-7 words for each item. words, because the names of these positions are clear and do not require additional description. For hot dishes and soups, on the contrary, you can use 10-15 words to enhance the appetizing description. But try not to use too many «difficult» words.
Another simple rule — description of a dish deserves more words, the higher its marginality . An appetizing description of such a dish will emphasize its value and peculiarity in the eyes of the guest and encourage them to order this particular item.
The menu is a navigation tool. If this tool is convenient to use, then it will work effectively. Look at the menu of your restaurant from this point of view. The issue of fashion and menu design should be solved only taking into account the tasks assigned to it, putting its functionality and simplicity at the forefront. Remember that if a guest wanted to read something interesting or look at works of art, then he would go to the library or to the exhibition, and not to the restaurant.
How the menu is described
Coffee Flavor Character Dictionary
Cupping is a universal way of assessing the taste of coffee. First of all, descriptors are used to describe the taste of coffee. Cupping participants listen to the aroma of ground coffee, then evaluate the taste of already brewed coffee and try to find something familiar in them, for example: fruits or berries. We talked about descriptors in this article.
But if you describe only the taste and aroma, the picture will be incomplete. To complete the description of coffee, it is complemented by aftertaste, acidity, body and balance. Today we will talk about these criteria and their description.
Aftertaste
Aftertaste is measured when the coffee is swallowed or spat out. This is a complex parameter that includes flavor and tactile sensations. It is important that the aftertaste has positive characteristics.
Aftertaste is an important parameter that is evaluated in cupping
Positive characteristics
Negative characteristics
Continuous
Short
Pure
Dry
Sweet
Bitter
Velvety
Binder
Complex
Rough
Pleasant
Rough
Rounded
Sand
Completed
Metal
Dusty
Dirty
Tartkoe
Analgin (reminiscent of the taste of a tablet)
Acidity
For a coffee to be highly rated, there must be acidity in its taste. It is evaluated when the coffee has cooled down to about 60–70 ºС. Pay attention to its intensity and quality. Moreover, high intensity does not imply high quality and vice versa.
How to describe acidity:
Positive characteristics |
Negative characteristics |
Pure |
Muted |
Lemon |
Flat |
Apple |
Corrosive |
Phosphorus |
Immature |
Wine |
Simple |
Integrated |
Enzymatic |
Bright |
Unbalanced |
Structured |
Acetic |
Sparkling |
Sharp |
Juicy |
Herbaceous |
Soft |
Sour |
Balanced |
Aggressive |
Sweet |
|
Transparent |
|
Delicate |
Body
The body is also evaluated at 60-70°C. It is important to take into account its quantitative characteristics — weight, as well as qualitative — texture.
We talked about the body of coffee in more detail in this article.
How to describe the body:
Positive characteristics |
Negative characteristics |
Thick |
Watery |
Rounded |
Dry |
Smooth |
Binder |
Tea |
Rough |
Silky |
Rough |
Juicy |
Sand |
Syrup |
Dusty |
Creamy |
Tart |
Enveloping |
|
Velvety |
|
Cream |
Balance
This is a comprehensive assessment of the overall impression of a cup of coffee: the combination of taste, aftertaste, acidity and body of the drink.
The description of coffee ends with a balance characteristic
Positive characteristics
Negative characteristics
Delicate
Dirty
Elegant
Plain
Complex
Unbalanced
Rounded
Flat
Pure
Muted
Sweet
Dull
Balanced
Watery
Bright
Pitky
Juicy
Why know this
Cupping is a universal way to evaluate coffee around the world. During the process, it is important not only to name the descriptors that can be felt in the cup, but also to describe the qualitative characteristics of the taste. These skills make it possible to speak the same language with professionals from other countries.
Thank you for the information provided by Daria Zakharova, Product Promotion Manager at KLD Coffee Importers.
Description of food in English
Colloquial vocabulary
kaplaninternational
16 May, 2019
What unites us at the table and reminds us of the old traditions of family dinners and friendly get-togethers? Food. What allows you to create new traditions and make friends while trying something unusual? Food. What helps to get to know the culture of another country better? You guessed it: food!
Food plays a huge role in our lives, but talking about it can be difficult. For example, in English there is a special vocabulary for describing tastes.
We have compiled a small dictionary of commonly used and unusual words and expressions that will help you keep up small talk about any dish.
TASTE
Flavor (or flavor in British spelling) — taste, flavor, general taste bouquet. A specific and literal description of a food (such as a sweet candy or a salted potato) is flavor.
Sweet — sweet
Cookies, sweets, ice cream, lollipops, mangoes… In a word, everything that tastes remotely like sugar can be described as sweet. Just like in Russian.
Savory — spicy, savory
A little spice, a little salt, no sugar — and here we have a classic savory flavor. Some confuse rich, multi-faceted savory with simple salty — salty. Do not do it this way. Is it possible to describe lasagna, roast, salmon, hamburger or even french fries in one word «salty»? Oh no, these are all examples of real rich savory.
By the way, here’s your first lesson in small talk at the table. Don’t know how to start a conversation? Try saying:
Do you prefer sweet or savory foods?
Do you prefer sweet or spicy dishes?
Such a question is always appropriate. In addition, you can show off new vocabulary.
Salty — salty
Everything is clear with the salty taste — they usually describe dishes about which there is nothing more to say.
This popcorn is very salty; it makes my lips burn!
This popcorn is so salty it makes your lips burn!
Bitter — bitter
Rough, strong taste, the exact opposite of sweet. Often bitter flavor spoils the dish, but there are exceptions with a pleasant bitterness, such as coffee, dark chocolate, stout or grapefruit zest.
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Tart — tart
Slightly spicy, with a slight bitterness and delicate acidity, tart is an interesting taste that adds gastronomic volume to the dish. Ripe lemon, white wine, pickles, tartar sauce, some red berries are all tart.
Sour — sour
Synonymous with tart, but more negative. For example, a green lemon and an unripe cherry can be sour.
Smoky — smoked
This description originates from smoking as a cooking method and was formerly used to describe dishes cooked over a fire. But over time, it took on a broader meaning, and today everything that fits the definition of «smoky», that is, has a bite of a singed chip, is smoky. And we’re not just talking about barbecue! Smoky can be fish, bacon, even whiskey or red wine.
Rancid rancid, fermented, sour, generally not very fresh
Rancid describes that bad smell or taste when you realize the food is gone.
How old is this milk? It smells rancid. How old is this milk? It smells like it’s gone bad.
Spicy / hot — spicy hot or spicy
As a rule, you can use both words in the same meaning to describe a dish, but there are nuances. Spicy is when your tongue is on fire from chili peppers. Hot — when the tongue is on fire from chili … Or from the fact that the food is very hot. If you use hot, be prepared to clarify what you mean.
This curry is hot! — Do you mean spicy hot or temperature hot?
— This curry makes my mouth burn! You mean too spicy or too hot?
TEXTURE
Texture — food texture. What we feel when we touch or taste food.
Creamy Yogurt, melted cheese, soufflé — it’s all creamy. Important: despite the name, cream texture dishes are not necessarily made with cream. For example, avocados, mashed potatoes, smoothies and hot chocolate are also creamy.
Crumbly Crumbly
This is what literally falls apart when you eat or break off a piece. Crumbly perfectly describes shortbread and some cheeses like aged Parmesan or dry feta.
Crunchy — crunchy
These dishes are unmistakable — they are tough, hard and very loud! You will definitely hear if someone nearby is chewing something crunchy — chips, crackers or carrots.
Greasy — greasy, oily
Anything that literally drips oil is greasy.
This pizza is so greasy that my entire plate is covered in oil. This pizza is so greasy that my entire plate is covered in oil.
Gooey — gooey (but in a good way)
This word perfectly describes dessert toppings: hot caramel, maple syrup, young honey — in a word, thick liquids with a gooey texture.
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Moist — juicy
A little wet, soft, soft, soft, soft, soft, soft, soft, soft, soft, soft, soft, soft, soft, soft, soft, soft delicate texture. The perfect description for a good shortbread or biscuit cake.
Mushy — softened
Also moist and soft, but in a negative way. This is usually used to describe dishes that should not be soft at all, such as stale apples, sluggish carrots, or old potatoes.
There are a billion ways to describe food. You will find the brightest definitions in restaurant reviews and food bloggers. Simply search hashtags for dishes that interest you and learn new vocabulary to describe familiar foods.
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by kaplaninternational (50 Posts)
Taste of Food in English (Adjectives for Describing Taste)
This article is a collection of adjectives that describe the different tastes of food in English. These include positive comments about the freshness of food, how it is prepared, as well as negative comments if you do not like the food.
Where are we going for dinner? (Where are we going to have lunch?)
Imagine that you are hungry ( you’re hungry ) and would like to go out to eat, but where to go? ( where should we go? )
If you want a fancy meal, you can go to a French restaurant.
We could go to this new Asian buffet. They make a Chinese-Vietnamese-Thai mix. They certainly have vegetarian options if you don’t eat meat.
Or, we could just pick up fast food or street food as usual and find a place to eat somewhere outside.
Slap up dinner — an expensive luxurious dinner. Buffet ( buffet ) is an inexpensive restaurant where you can go with friends. You choose your own food and set the table, and it’s good value for money ( good value for money ). Perhaps one of your friends is a vegetarian ( a vegetarian ) and wants to make sure there is something suitable on the menu. You will need to find a place that has options for vegetarians. Veggie means vegetarians can eat.
The cheapest and fastest options are street food and fast food. Street food is food that you can buy from a store or kiosk on the street, and it’s usually cooked right in front of you. Fast food is usually fatty and fried foods ( fried, fatty foods burgers, chips, kebabs, fried chicken, and so on burgers, chips, kebabs, fried chicken, and so on .
Describing tastes and textures
A friend asks you, “How is your food?”
You could say something like «This curry is very spicy!»
“The sauce is rather sour; maybe they added vinegar.»
“I don’t like vegetables; they seem bitter.»
“I like soup; it’s salty.»
«Chicken has a kind of sweet flavor.»
Spicy or hot describes a spicy food with a lot of chili that makes the mouth burn.
Sour — sour, think lemon, lime or grapefruit.
Bitter — bitter — the taste of black coffee or dark chocolate.
Salty and sweet — with deer and sweet, respectively.
About textures ( textures ). Texture is an important part of food, it refers to how the food feels in the mouth. For example, if you eat chips, you want them to be crispy ( crunchy , crispy ).
Undercooked or dry food ( undercooked or dry ) — food that needs to be chewed for a long time ( to chew for a long time ) before you can swallow it ( to swallow ). The adjective chewy is used to describe such food. For meat you can use the adjective tough . Of course, when you eat something like ice cream, you don’t want it to be hard to eat. If it has a really good texture, you can say that it melts in your mouth ( it melts in the mouth ). This positive expression can be used for any fatty foods, including desserts, meats, and fish.
«This pasta is undercooked and needs to be chewed for a long time.»
«The fish takes a long time to chew — they must have cooked it too long.»
«This hamburger has been on the barbecue for too long and now it’s tough.»
«These chocolate truffles just melt in your mouth.» «The chicken was cooked so perfectly that it almost melted in my mouth.»
Positive vocabulary and expressions.
Imagine that you really like your food and want to tell your friends how good it is. Of course, you can say that your food is delicious ( delicious ), but there are other words and phrases you can use.
It’s really yummy! — It’s really delicious!
That looks mouth-watering. — This looks delicious.
Mmm, scrumptious! — Mmm, amazing!
Be careful with the word yummy because it sounds a bit childish. Of course, you can use it, but remember that it has this connection.
Adjectives mouth-watering and scrumptious can be used for any food.
Now imagine that one of your friends ordered a chocolate cake for dessert ( a chocolate cake for dessert ). You can say about this dessert:
That chocolate cake is very rich . (This chocolate cake is very rich.)
Your cake looks really decadent. (Your cake looks really luxurious.)
Adjectives rich and decadent use for very sumptuous or elaborate dishes. They are usually used for desserts with a lot of ingredients such as butter or cream.
If you are talking about something appetizing ( savoury ), such as a hamburger that is cooked very well, you can say that it is tender ( tender ) or juicy ( juicy ). Tender is used to describe soft, chewy meat. Juicy is also used for juicy, well-cooked meats. If the meat is overcooked ( overcooked ), it may become dry ( dry ) and tough ( tough ).
This pork’s amazing, it’s really tender. (This pork is amazing, it’s very tender.)
This is for meat, but what about vegetables? Salads or raw vegetables can be crunchy ( crisp ), fresh ( fresh ).
I can tell my salad is really fresh from how crisp the lattice is. (I can tell that my salad is really fresh, it’s so crispy.)
Negative words and expressions (Negative words and expressions)
Imagine a different situation. You come to a restaurant and the food tastes terrible ( terrible ). How can you describe the bad taste of food? You can use common negative adjectives like disgusting and revolting ( disgusting). You can say that food turns your stomach ( turns your stomach ). These words have a strong meaning, they are used when something is very unpleasant or looks so bad that you cannot put it to your mouth ( you can’t put it near the mouth ).
Imagine that one of your friends ordered dessert and it turned out to be terrible:
This dessert looks disgusting
I won’t eat it, I’m sure it’s disgusting
Just looking at it makes my stomach turn out
This curry is not spicy, it’s bland and completely tasteless
Bland ( bland ) and tasteless ) have similar meanings. They mean that the food has no taste. It’s not disgusting, it’s just not tasty.
Two of your friends ordered pizza, chips and steak.