5 Commonly Mispronounced Food

Jalapeño

OK, so is it ‘jala-peeno’, ‘hala-pen-o’ or ‘jala-penyo’? According to the folks at Mission Burrito, it’s none of them.

They tell us that this spicy chilli pepper is most definitely pronounced ‘ha-la-peyn-nyo’.

It’s thought that the jalapeño chilli originated from the Mexican city of Xalapa, also sometimes spelt ‘Jalapa’.

The ‘eño’ was added on the end of the word to mean ‘from’, as in ‘from Jalapa’.

Mascarpone

It’s spelt ‘mascarpone’ but a lot of people still slip in an extra ‘r’ in the first syllable and pronounce this Italian cheese ‘mars-ca-po-neh’.

According to the team at Italian restaurant chain Carluccio’s: “the name is said to come from mascarpa, a milk product made from the whey of stracchino”.

They confirm that it should be pronounced ‘mas-car-POH-neh’.
Crêpe

This crispy, thin French pancake isn’t pronounced ‘kreyp’. In fact, the best way to pronounce it is a bit like ‘krep’.

The French ‘r’ isn’t pronounced as in English – the sound comes from the back of the throat like a little gargle.

According to the Epicurean website, crêpes were first made in Brittany in north-west France and their name comes from the Latin ‘crispus’, meaning ‘crisp’.
Espresso

Don’t be surprised if your barista looks slightly irritated when you ask for an ‘expresso’. The drink might be quick to make, but it’s actually called an ‘espresso’.

According to legend, in 1903 an Italian named Luigi Bezzera became frustrated over the length of time it took to brew a coffee. He decided to force pressurised water through the coffee, making a short but full-bodied drink.

And so the first ‘espresso’ (‘express coffee’) was born.
Chipotle

Often pronounced how it seems to be spelt, ‘chip-ottle’; we’re told by the team at Mission Burrito that this smoke-dried jalapeño is pronounced ‘chip-pot-lay’.

It’s used in Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes, and gives sauces and rubs a heady, smoky spice. The word is thought to come from the Aztec ‘chilli’ and also ‘poktli’ - named after the smoking process.