Have You Ever Really Paid Attention To Some Food Words?

Other than liver of course… we all know how I feel about that one. But I mean really… some names of foods are rather strange and in some cases, can even be somewhat off putting if you don’t know what they are.

Take what you all know are two favorites of mine. Yes, you know what’s coming. Twinkies and Cheetos. Wth? Cheetos at least gives one some idea of what one is eating by the use of “chee” though I guess they couldn’t bring themselves to actually call it cheese since even I am willing to admit that God alone knows what kind of cheese would leave your fingers stained orange for 3 weeks. But Twinkies? What the hell is a Twink that they then turned it into a Twink”ie”?

Then of course we have the much maligned “Spotted Dick” which in actuality is really a steamed pudding. But here in the states, where we have completely bastardized the English language, it has become a name worthy of the type of giggling that five year olds do at fart jokes. And No, I do not laugh at fart jokes or at the name Spotted Dick… I don’t, I swear it!! *Giggles quietly remembering the last fart joke I heard as well as how my husband and I titter every time we go down the international foods aisle and see the can of Spotted Dick*. Let’s not forget the brand of bread that proudly goes by the name of “Bimbo Bread”. I haven’t yet been able to bring myself to buy that. I’m afraid there will be cameras filming me as proof of my bimboness.

This brings me to the recipe for today. Now let’s make sure we’re straight on something. I love a good curd, be it a citrus curd to spread on a scone, a yummy Wisconsin cheese curd to either eat plain or fry up and pop by the dozen into my waiting mouth or ye olde curds and whey, aka cottage cheese in these parts. But the word is rather….disconcerting. Maybe it’s just me though… heck, it probably IS just me πŸ˜› But something about the word, especially in respect to this recipe, doesn’t do justice to what a yummy food (and kind of) curds can be. So without further ado, please put your hands together and give a warm welcome to todays special… CLEMENTINE CURD!!!

This is a very sweet curd. It doesn’t have the tang that lemon curd does so be aware that it will be sweet with a heavy orange essence, not tart. It’s great on scones or muffins, mixed with sour cream or whipped cream as a dessert topping or my favorite way, straight off of the spoon πŸ˜€ You can sub any other type of orange for this but if it’s a large one rather than tiny like Clementines are, only use 4 or so.

Clementine/Vanilla Curd

  • 6 Clementines, zested
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 5 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup of fresh squeezed Clementine juice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  1. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together the zest and sugar until the zest if finely ground and well combined with the sugar
  2. Cream the butter and add the yummy smelling Clementine sugar. Mix until fluffy.
  3. Add the eggs, then add the juice and vanilla. Don’t beat this for long; just until combined.
  4. Pour into a medium saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until it is thickened and registers 175 degrees on an instant read thermometer.
  5. Remove from heat and let cool.
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26 thoughts on “Have You Ever Really Paid Attention To Some Food Words?

  1. I love the color of your curd! So smooth πŸ™‚ I love clementines and am sure this is delicious.
    German food words are no better, there’s some really odd names.

  2. I join you in the immaturity camp. I laugh at spotted dick whenever I get the chance. I even type spotted dick as often as I can. πŸ™‚ Heck, while we were overseas, we bought laundry detergent home and gave it out as gifts simply because its name was Barf. I’m serious.

    Anyhow, I bet I could finish off that bowl of curd before you could say spotted dick. It looks absolutely fantastic. I adore curd and have never tried to make it with clementines. Time to remedy that!

  3. I tried to make this once. Another disaster as I cannot read a recipe through to save my life! I think there was something in that recipe about soaking the zest or something. Your recipe at least sounds like something I can attempt again! (What will we all do for twinkies now that Hostess has filed for bankruptcy?)

  4. Oh, I can’t help but laugh at the jokes…..and the curd looks amazing! It would be delicious as a filler for yellow cake – I don’t know why, but that’s what I thought about immediately. Thanks, Janet!

  5. The curd looks yummy. I went to Mexico a few years ago and Bimbo snacks were everywhere and then one day I realized they were everywhere here. It is such a funny name for a snack, plus they own entenmanns which I thought was pretty crazy. I love cheetos! πŸ™‚

  6. Bravo to you for bringing forth a recipe to use with clementines, especially a curd. Like Ann, I can think of several ways to use this in baked goods. While things do have funny names, I do try and look past that-especially since I have a habit of using funny names for my recipes.

  7. I totally agree…curd is a pretty grotesque word. The good news is it tastes good, so that sort of makes up for it! I’ve never heard of clementine curd, but I’d sure like to try it πŸ™‚

  8. I haven’t had clementine curd, but it looks just amazing. Now I’m trying to think of weird food names…that is going to occupy my brain for way too much time.

  9. I thought you would lead in with a chorus or two of, “Oh My Darling Clementine”, and now I’ll be humming that all day. Anywho, your curd (giggle) looks like something that would be good with my toast right about now. Beautiful color.

  10. I have not tried spotted dick because I can’t really isolate the food from its name. Ever tried lemon posset? I like curd but, yes, I do wonder where the curd part is. Your clementine curd is so right for Chinese new year. Clementine is a lucky fruit.

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