This morning, Merriam-Webster announced it just added a whopping 1,000 new entries to its dictionary. Some of the additions are turns of phrase that have only more recently become part of wider, mainstream cultural vernacular, from "ghosting" to "throwing shade"; others are such phrases as "safe space" and "microaggression."
Included in this slew of new faces are 30 new food-related words. Browse the list below at your own leisure. I'm honestly a bit flummoxed as to how a good number of these of these weren't in the dictionary already. Oh, well. Welcome to the club, kids.
1. acai
2. Alfredo sauce
3. American chop suey
4. arancini
5. artisanal
6. calamondin
7. chef’s knife
8. chicken mushroom
9. chicken of the woods
10. circus peanut
11. coconut milk
12. coconut water
13. d’Anjou
14. elderflower
15. EVOO
16. farro
17. flatbread
18. food secure
19. food insecure
20. food truck
21. immersion circulator
22. macaron
23. Minneola tangelo
24. noni
25. olericulture
26. red bliss
27. santoku
28. secret sauce
29. Shirley Temple
30. strata
Genuinely curious—what food words would you nominate for next year's batch? Let us know in the comments.
Written by: Mayukh Sen
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12 Comments
kim
February 8, 2017
Shirley Temple, my goodness I drank them as a little girl 55 years ago. I guess, better late than never.
Whiteantlers
February 7, 2017
Mayukh, the word for corn fungus (delicious by the way) is pronounced 'HWEET-la-co-shay' the 'c' in co pronounced like 'c' in cook. I bet Merriam-Webster is just trying to get people to buy dictionaries. I still have the one my uncle gave me for my 10th birthday, several decades ago.
ChefJune
February 7, 2017
hmmm never heard of "chicken of the woods" mushrooms. Pretty sure they are called "hen of the woods." No?
Mallory M.
February 7, 2017
I'm so glad I'm not the only person out there maintaining a list under that heading.
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