Don't turn your nose up at this plate of fresh greens. Photo / Getty Images
Don't turn your nose up at this plate of fresh greens. Photo / Getty Images
Travel and food go hand in hand, but adventurous ingredients are often riddled with tongue twisters.
Foreign cuisine can be delicious but deceptively difficult to say.
There's nothing that leaves a sour taste in the mouth than the contempt of a French peddler from whom you've just asked for "goosesd'ale" and a "cross aunt."
Fortunately the website Forvo.com has set about creating an open-source catalogue of native speakers discussing the foods they love.
So quit butchering local delicacies and spare yourself a side of embarrassment.
The much maligned Shiitake mushroom is rather pronounced "she-tah-kay."
Go forth an order without fear!
Sriracha
This Thai hot sauce is hard to say - or eat - quickly. Photo / Getty Images
The spicy south-east Asian hot sauce is the condiment of choice from Bangkok to Ponsonby Road. While it's not obvious where it originated from – a source of hot contention between Burma and Thailand – one thing is certain: all those Rs make it tricky to say.
The closest approximate is "see-rotch-ah."
Hummus
Hummus? Easy peasy. Photo / Getty Images
The Arabic delicacy has been spread generously throughout the Middle East. Greek, Turkish and modern Mediterranean cuisines all claim the stuff. With all that cacophony the caused by the polyglot dish maybe it's time to find a definitive answer.
Named after its main ingredient in Arabic, it's safe to say it should be pronounced closer to "hoom-uhs."
Give chickpeas a chance.
Prosciutto
Most tourists are ready for a ham-fisted attempt at Prosciutto. Photo / Getty Images
Your waiter's patience will get wafer thin if you butcher a word like Prosciutto.
The Italian cured ham should instead be pronounced "proh-shoo-toh."
Crudite
Don't turn your nose up at this plate of fresh greens. Photo / Getty Images
The traditional raw platter of vegetables is often mispronounced as if it might be superhero's Achilles heel. Calling it 'Krud-ite' is not nearly as appetising.
Don't shy away from simple these delights. Go ahead, order "kroo-dee-tay."
Espresso
This coffee is quick to drink, but pause before order. Photo / Getty Images
There's nothing as excruciating for Italian speakers than overhearing an order for an "expresso". It's not just the java that gives your barista the jitters. It's time to fix that pronunciation, pronto: it should be said closer to "e-spres-oh".
Croissant
These buttery crescents are tricky to order. Photo / Getty Images
The favourite French pastry is stuffed full of as many silent consonants as it is buttery layers. The crescent shaped delicacy often misleads tourists into pronouncing it 'croiscent'.
The correct pronunciation is "kwa-sahn" – though "kwa-sant" is also acceptable.
Guacamole
South America's favourite Green avocado dip. Photo / Getty Images
Does your pronunciation of this South American classic make gauchos want to gouge their eyes out? We are here to smooth over your mangling of everyone's favourite avocado spread. When in Argentina, simply order "wak-a-mol-ay."
Wiener sausage
There's nothing teenie-weenie about this Austrian sausage. Photo / Getty Images
The Austrian beef veil sausage is a favourite is an international favourite.
When in the capital Vienna (or "Wien" as it is called) from which the sausage gets its name, don't balk and ask for a 'hot dog.' The proper pronunciation is "vee-ner".
Why not try and order it in proper 'modernes Hochdeutsch?'
What's the wurst that could happen?
Quesadilla
Quesadilla: Delicious however you say it. Photo / Getty Images
A cheese sandwich would taste as sweet by any other name, but a toasted Mexican tortilla filled with cheese is even better.
But why should something so delicious be so humiliatingly difficult to pronounce? The correct pronunciation is "kay-suh-dee-ya."
