A Lesson on Hummus and Foodie Terms That Make Me Cringe

I've always know that hummus is made from mashed chickpeas + seasonings. I had been going crazy seeing recipes like "edamame hummus," "white bean hummus," and "black bean hummus," that had no actual chickpeas in the recipes. My friends, that is a dip. The word hummus is both Arabic and Hebrew for chickpeas, so why on earth would something with a base of another legume, be called hummus? It's just not right. Last night when I made my Sweet Potato Hummuses, I thought it was safe to call them hummus being that the base was chickpeas with the addition of sweet potato + other seasonings. This really isn't correct either, and I'm not afraid to admit that. Maybe I'm being too pedantic about the subject, but I'd much rather own up to my mistake and use food terminology correctly. 

Then I got to thinking about other annoying foodie terms. This kept me up last night too, so that makes 2 nights in a row that I have not slept well because my brain is in overdrive thinking about food. Some might call me an insomniac, others might call me manic depressive, but I'd like to think I just really love food. And I have really bad a.d.d. Someone medicate me, please?


Baby Talk

• Yummers, yummo, or any other variation of yum. Unless you are under the age of 10, you need to stop it.
  
• Sammy and sammich. The word sandwich has an n in it, not an m. So why would you put two in there? Take out your pacifier.
  
• Foodbaby. The actual thought of giving birth to food is actually something we do on the toilet. Do not talk about human babies like that! That's disgusting.
  
• Cuppycake. People actually say this.

Unnecessary Abbreviations

• Brekkie, for breakfast. Are you that tired you can't say the whole word before you eat it?
  
• Resto, for restaurant. Sounds more like a rest stop to me, and I sure as heck don't want to eat there.
  
• EVOO. It's olive oil. "E-V-O-O" has the same amount of syllables as "ol-ive-oi-l" so stop being lazy, Rachel Ray.
  
• Ressy/Rezzie, for restaurant. Admittedly, Amanda and I have used this in a conversation.

Onomatopoeia

• Om, nom, nom. Where did this come from, Sesame Street?
  
• Meh.

Sexy time

• Foodgasm. Not possible to my knowledge. If so, call me.
  
• "This food is orgasmic." Again, if you can produce orgasm-inducing foods, call me.

The Redundant

• Cheese quesadilla.
  
• Chai tea.
  
• Au jus sauce.
  
• Shrimp scampi.
  
• Pizza pie.

The Self-Congratulatory Menu Items

• "Housemade"
  
• "Artisan"
  
• "Gourmet"

The #1 Worst

• EXPRESSO instead of ESPRESSO
  
• OH
  
• MY
  
• GOD
  
• STOP

Question: What food-related words/phrases do you find most aggravating? Or noises? How about gum smacking or loud chewing? ;)


Favor: The Charleston City Paper is taking votes for their annual “Best of Charleston” list featuring people, restaurants, and all things related to Charleston. I have received several emails and tweets from friends who have voted Hungry Meets Healthy for “Best Local Interest Blog.” If you have a spare few minutes, I would GREATLY appreciate your vote here: Best of Charleston.


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