Thursday, December 10, 2015

The Word -Rechauffe

The cook, who looked like he'd been celebrating with the wine a bit too much, slopped a huge spoonful of rechauffed beef stew into a bowl that looked like it hadn't been washed in a century. Kolt exhaled, taking a seat in a quiet corner away from the crazy dancers. What he wouldn't do to get some fresh duck. It had been beef stew for every meal for two weeks it felt like.

Rechauffe -1: rehash 2: a warmed-over dish of food.

Added Info -We borrowed "rechauffe" in the early 19th century from the French; it is the past participle of their verb rechauffer, which means "to reheat." Nineteenth-century French speakers were using it figuratively to designate something that was already old hat--you might say, "warmed over." English speakers adopted that same meaning, which is still our most common. But within decades, someone had apparently decided that leftovers would seem more appealing with a French name. The notion caught on. A recipe for "Rechauffe of Beef a la Jardiniere," for example, instructs the cook to reheat "yesterday's piece of meat" in a little water with some tomatoes added, and serve it on a platter with peas and carrots and potatoes. "Rechauffe" shares its root with another English word, "chafing dish," the name of a receptacle for keeping food warm at the table.

No comments:

Post a Comment