From the menu to the grocery aisle — foods whose names travel better than their pronunciation.
quinoaKEEN-wah
Not "kwin-OH-uh".
gyroYEE-roh
Greek G, not a hard J.
acaiah-sah-EE
Three syllables.
phoFUH
Rhymes with "duh", not "foe".
gnocchiNYOH-kee
Silent G, soft "ny" start.
charcuterieshar-KOO-tuh-ree
French — the C makes an S/SH blend.
bruschettabroo-SKET-uh
Hard K sound from the Italian "sch".
srirachaSIR-ah-chuh
Thai in origin — the R softens.
nicoisenee-SWAHZ
French — silent letters cluster at the end.
espressoes-PRESS-oh
No X, ever.
croissantkwah-SAHN
French nasal ending — not "kraw-SANT".
mascarponemahs-kar-POH-nay
Four syllables, ends in a pronounced "nay".
prosciuttopruh-SHOO-toh
The "sci" makes an SH sound in Italian.
quesadillakay-suh-DEE-yuh
Double-L makes a Y sound.
worcestershireWUSS-ter-sher
Swallows nearly half its letters.
hors d'oeuvresor DERVZ
French — barely resembles its spelling.
macaronmak-uh-ROHN
Not the same word as "macaroon" — French stress on the end.
edamameed-uh-MAH-may
Japanese — four even syllables.
gheeGEE (hard G)
Rhymes with "tree" but starts like "go".
quinoaKEEN-wah
Yes, still the most-missed food word in English.