What about creating a glossary of cooking terms in english?

Question

I think it would be very helpful to avoid or resolve ambiguity in communication.

I expect a lot of people participating here won't be native english speakers and cooking technical terms only make things harder for everybody.

This glossary could be added to the FAQ, and will hopefully be illustrated (for instance, to show the differences between chop, slice, cut, dice).

What do you think? If you agree, propose terms to add.

Or maybe just have a link to an already existing good glossary.

Answer 1

I love, love, love this idea. For ideas and maybe format, might I suggest referencing the Stack Overflow Glossary - Dictionary of Commonly-Used Terms. It is clear and concise and easy to reference.

Another option is post one term per answer. The main advantage is that the term/answer can be linked directly from other posts. The big disadvantage is that this index would have to be created and maintained by volunteers. I would suggest using the accepted answer feature to lock the index to the top. The index would have to be maintained and updated each time someone added a new answer.

Here are a couple of suggestions:

• In the question, describe the purpose, format, and submission process. Make the answer Community Wiki so it is more accessible to editing.
• Create an answer to start the "official glossary" (see the link above)
• Accept that answer so it automatically stays at the top.
• Use the remaining questions to field questions and suggestions regarding the glossary.

Answer 2

One thing to consider, Which English are you going to use, as there are numerous differences between US English and British English, with regard to cooking. Not least of which are measurement definitions and the names of common kitchen utensils.

Answer 3

Ask a question about what a word means and tag it with "glossary". Perhaps eventually we could get a glossary tab in the front page.