What's new in Italian snacks? 4 Italian words to know and 12 more to recognize, 2 things to try eating - starting with Truffle Crisps

 White truffles and called white diamonds and black truffles are called black diamonds. they are dug out of the earth and they are sold for high prices. 

White truffle crisps come from  Geofoods. They are very more-ish, like all crisps.

Here are the words you should know, easy to learn and recognize

Flag of Italy, called the tricolore or three colours

Italian - English (short list)

bianco - white

con - with

patatine - crisps (UK) chips (USA)

tartufo - truffle

English - Italian

crisps (USA chips) - patatine

truffle - tartufo

white - bianco

with - con

Longer list

burro- butter

crema - cream

di -of

estivo - summer

oliva - olive

miele - honey

nera - black

olio - oil

salsa - sauce

succo - juice

tricolore - three colours, of the flag, and a restaurant starter of red tomato, white cheese and green vegetable

via - road

You can also get truffle honey. The same company has many more products with truffles.

Useful Websites

www.geofoods.it

Translation

google translate

See previous post on truffle crisps.

Please share links to your favourite posts.

American and British English

Problem
When writing a book for an American audience you need to change your vocabulary. Even if you have lived in both countries, it is a constant challenge. Churchill said, We are divided from America by a common language.

Answer
Just make a list, stop worrying, enjoy the differences.

Stories
In an American hotel I phoned down and asked reception, "We're checking out. Can I have a porter?"
No porter appeared. After ten minutes I phoned again.
"Can I have a porter?"
"Ma-am, I'd gladly send you one if I knew what it was."
Thought for a minute. "A person to carry out suitcases.:
"You mean a bell-hop?"
"Yes, that's what I mean."
"Now I know who you want, Ma-am, I'll send one right away."

Americanism/Americanese - British English
à la mode - (Pie) with ice cream
aliens - visitors, people from outer space in science fiction films
attitude - bad attitude
attorney - lawyer
automobile - car
awesome - awe-inspiring, impressive, marvellous, wonderful
back in the day - in the past
baggage - luggage
bathroom - toilet
biscuit - savoury biscuit, savoury flat scone eaten with white sauce in the Southern States
bell hop - porter
buddy - friend, mate
bunch of people - group of people
burger - hamburger
butt - bum, bottom
can I get - I would like / may I have / ... please
candy - chocolate, sweets
catch a movie - watch a film
chips - crisps
close of play (sports term) - end of day or meeting
cookie - biscuit
crosswalk - crossing
deplane - disembark
do lunch - have lunch
done - finished
dove - dived
drug - dragged (past tense of drag)
dude - mate, man
elevator - lift
eraser - rubber
fall - autumn
faucet - tap
Fish and chips (same as English)
field hockey - hockey
for sure - certainly
freeway - motorway
fries - French fries (thinly cut)
French fries / fries - chips
garbage - rubbish
gas - petrol
get go - beginning, start
gifted to me - given to me
go-to man - Mr Fixit
good job - well done
good to go - ready to go
gotten - got
grits - grains of corn ground up and boiled/cooked (a bit like polenta, speciality of Southern states of the USA)
guys - people (of both sexes); girls and boys, folk
hacks - tips
heads up - warning or briefing (as if you literally had your heads up to see danger or action coming)
heaping tablespoon - heaped tablespoon
I'm good - I'm well
issues - problems
j
k
l
make a left/right - turn left/right
math - maths
Mom - Mum
moment in time - moment, time
movie - film
my bad - my (bad) mistake, my fault, my error, my bad thought / speech / action , mea culpa (Latin for my fault); sorry I did that, sorry I got found out / caught / oops
New York cheesecake - baked cheesecake
on line (New York expression for in Line)
on sale - reduced price
over easy - (eggs) cooked both sides
passed - died
pavement - built up road, roadway
period - full stop
play period - break time
q
reach out - contact
realtor - estate agent
regular size - standard size
rent it out - let it out
rest room - toilet
ride - lift
rubber - condom, Durex (brand)
sidewalk - pavement, path
skinny dipping - nude bathing (dipping in water showing your skin)
skinny latte - coffee with skimmed milk
snuck in - sneaked in
so - really / very
soccer - association football
Spring Break - Easter Holiday
stand in lie - queue
totally - yes
touch base - get in touch
trash - rubbish
truck - lorry
two times - twice
u
vacation - holiday
w
x
y
zee - zed

British English - Americanism

a
baked cheesecake - New York cheesecake
biscuit - cookie
break time - play period
bum, bottom - butt
car - automobile
certainly - for sure
chips - French fries
cooked both sides (eggs) - over easy
contact - reach out
crisps - chips / potato chips
died - passed
disembark (aircraft) - deplane
dived - dove
dragged - drug
Easter holiday - Spring break
engaged (sign on toilet door) - occupied
film - movie
finished - done
Fish and chips - Fish and chips (same in American)
free - for free
full stop - period
gas station - garage
get in touch - touch base
given - gifted
group of people - bunch of people
guys - boys, men
hockey - field hockey (as opposed to ice hockey)
holiday - vacation
I would like - can I get
I'm well - I'm good
j
k
lawyer - attorney
let it out - rent it out
lift - elevator
lift - ride
lorry - truck
luggage - bagage
man, mate - dude
mate - buddy
maths - math
motorway - freeway
Mum - Mom
Mr Fixit - the go-to man
n
on sale - available
Pavement - sidewalk
petrol - gas
porter - bell hop
problem - issue / challenge
queue - line, line up, stand in line
ready to go - good to go
really / so
route (pronounced root, a French word, as in r o u t i e r) - rout pronounced r o w t rhyming with out
rubber - eraser
rubbish - trash, garbage
s n e a k e d in - snuck in
standard size - regular size
start (noun) get go
tap - faucet
time - moment in time
tips - hacks
toilet - rest room
turn left/right - make a left/right
twice - two times
u
v
watch a film - catch a movie
well done - good job
x
yes - totally
zed - zee (last letter of the alphabet)

Stories
I was arguing in a supermarket over the novelty of Pepperidge Farm cookies which I wanted to buy. The whole joy of going overseas is to try new things. I saw about ten varieties and wanted one pack of each, to do a taste test comparison.

My husband thought we should buy one packet of biscuits, eat frugally, and sensibly, and low calorie, low sugar, no more than one biscuit between two per day for a week, and buy a different pack the following week.

From the far end of the supermarket I could see a member of staff scurrying towards us. She had clearly spotted two Brits arguing about why NOT to buy her products.

I assumed she was going to tell us to be quiet, and not disparage the supermarket's premium biscuits, nor discourage any less prejudiced and less penny-pinching customers from buying.

It turned out that she just loved our accents and wanted to know where we were from.

Tips
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4508804/Countdown-s-Susie-Dent-reveals-love-Americanisms.html#comments

Author
Angela Lansbury, author, speaker, teacher of English and languages. Please share posts.

Planning a trip to a restaurant? How to check menus, prices and deli

You can check prices of menus at a restaurant and before your visit. For example, I have a birthday meal planned. I can go online to check the restaurant menu.

Food Checks
Check the dishes online.  Make a quicker decision when I reach the restaurant. Check alternatives if I have an allergy.

Translation of Menu Dishes
What is sourdough bread?

What are chips and crisps in the UK?
Chips - known in the USA as French fries. Usually long oblongs of potato like the ones you get with burgers in fast food outlets.
Crisps - usually deep fried wafer thin potato slices, served cold.

Translation of Menu Wines
What is a 'garage wine'? Good or bad/ Cheap or dear?

What is a 'grand cru classé'?
A 'luxury cuvée'?
A 'premier cru'?

What is vintage port?

Wine Checks
Then check the wines offered. See what matches my food choice.

Price Checks
Check the supermarket price for the wine. Even buy a bottle in advance and try it out. Decide if the wine by the glass is a bargain or overpriced.

Corks and Transporting Leftover wine
See if the wine is sure cap or corked. If I am driving, or the host is driving, and you have to order a bottle, take my own cork in case the restraint throw it away. Take something for transporting the half full bottle home.

Website Updates
Phone the restaurant to find out if the online menu is the same or if it has been updated. Are there any daily specials?

Stools and Chairs
Am I going to be perched on a high stool? (If so, don't wear tight skirt. Wear Stretch skirt.) Can I request a table with upright dining chairs instead of a stool?

Early Arrival Waiting
If they don't open until 6 pm and you plan arriving earlier, is there a pub or coffee bar nearby? Is there a coffee bar at the station where you can meet other members of the party who are likely to get lost or need help (especially those with walking sticks who won't want to double their journey by taking the wrong route.)

Coffee or Tea Locations Afterwards
After the meal, does the restaurant offer the decaffeinated tor other coffee you want, or the herb tea, or is there a nearby coffee bar, nearer the station?

DIY Nibbles and Nosh
Take my own nuts or olives if I am likely to be waiting a long time for others, or chocolates to go with any coffee. Very discreetly.

Leftovers Bags
Take a plastic bag to cover takeaway leftovers or opened bottles of wine carried home. Take insulated bag for leftovers, or food shopping done in their deli which has to be kept fresh during a two hour meal and one hour travel home.

GLOSSARY
Bearnaise - (Info from Wikipedia)
Bearnaise or Béarnaise sauce (/bɚrˈneɪz/, French: [be.aʁ.nɛz]) is a saucemade of clarified butter emulsified in egg yolks and white wine vinegar and flavored with herbs. It is considered to be a "child" of the mother Hollandaise sauce, one of the five sauces in the French haute cuisine mother saucerepertoire.^[1] The difference is only in the flavoring: Béarnaise uses shallot, chervil, peppercorn, and tarragon, while Hollandaise uses lemon juice or white wine. Its name is related to the province of Béarn, France.^[2]
Châteaux (French plural, the hat represent a missing letter s reminding you that the word is similar to root word castle or in German Cassel, fine houses or castles)
chorizo - Pork sausage coloured with pepper, from Portugal or Spain, strong flavour, uncooked and in my opinion fatty and unhealthy
cuvée - pronounced in French coo - day
garage wine - limited production, new producers, not aged, yet high price because of novelty, see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garagistes
Gressingham duck - has more breast meat - for more information see
http://www.gressinghamduck.co.uk/products/fresh-duck
Premier Cru - premier is first, as in a French word used in English for the first showing of a film (in the USA movie) premiére; premier in French is pronounced prem-ee-ay. The French don't pronounce the last letter/consonant of words.
Saint - saint - in French pronounced Sant, whereas in English pronounced say-nt

Websites
http://www.bordeaux.com/us/vineyard/appellations
Google wine searcher.com

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer,