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traction sur la carène
jugements patrimoniaux constitutifs

Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

aiguillettes

English translation:

strips of duck tenderloin

Added to glossary by Tony M
Sep 27, 2013 07:33
10 yrs ago
8 viewers *
French term

Aiguillettes

French to English Other Food & Drink
Aiguillettes de canard sauce aux cèpes
Proposed translations (English)
3 +3 strips of duck / duck strips
4 +2 Aiguillettes
4 filets
Change log

Sep 27, 2013 07:35: philgoddard changed "Field (write-in)" from "wine tasting vocab" to "(none)"

Sep 27, 2013 08:00: Tony M changed "Field (specific)" from "Food & Drink" to "Cooking / Culinary"

Sep 27, 2013 10:34: writeaway changed "Field (specific)" from "Cooking / Culinary" to "Food & Drink"

Oct 4, 2013 21:18: Tony M Created KOG entry

Discussion

Wendy Streitparth Sep 28, 2013:
@ Tony: Certainly a relief to know that I wasn't completely wrong with "slithers", but I like your "ribbons" and it gets all of 4 ghits!
Tony M Sep 28, 2013:
@ Helen I know I am labouring the point, but the key point with aiguillettes is that they are long, thin strips; 'sliced' is all very well (though note that 'proper' aiguillettes aren't sliced at all, they are removed from the carcass whole, whence their shape), but we do need in some way to make clear the ribbon-like nature of them...
Helen Hammond Sep 27, 2013:
Thinly sliced duck breast?
Tony M Sep 27, 2013:
@ Wendy Well, turns out you weren't wrong anyway! Victoria has pointed out, and NS OED confirms, that 'slither' is indeed used for 'sliver', and this usage has been around since the early 20th c. So I guess it's just something I'm not familiar with... and you are. Well done!
Wendy Streitparth Sep 27, 2013:
Gosh yes - I did mean sliver. Brain ain't what it used to be!
Tony M Sep 27, 2013:
@ Kashew Thanks, that's a great definition! Once, the aiguillettes were almost throw-away pieces relegated to the poor; but then they became fashionable, and now even attract a premium price!
Victoria Britten Sep 27, 2013:
@Tony You win - strips it is!
kashew Sep 27, 2013:
A definition: http://dico-cuisine.fr/news/aiguillette
Tony M Sep 27, 2013:
@ Victoria I don't agree about the term being imported into EN; in my 40-odd years of eating in French-style (and other) restaurants in the UK, I have never once seen this term used; I only found out what it truly meant once I started cooking and eating the things here in FR.
While I wouldn't dispute for an instant that it may be being used on menus in some 'French' restaurants in the UK, as I said before, if the restaurant is of the level / style where Asker has been asked to translate the menu in the first place, then simply keeping the FR term is not IMHO an option, it is simply a cop-out.
There are of course some FR terms that are widely used and understood in EN, like crème brûlée or crème fraîche, or terrine, or quenelle, or filet mignon; but I honestly don't believe aiguillette has yet reached that status.
Victoria Britten Sep 27, 2013:
Size and shape "Sliver", rather than "slither", indeed: though "slither" is definitely being used ever more frequently in spoken E, I wouldn't put it on a restaurant menu. I do get your point, Tony, but neither for me really conveys the "aiguillette". Which is presumably precisely why the term has been imported tel quel into E...
Tony M Sep 27, 2013:
@ Wendy I think 'slither' tends more to conjure up slimy, slithery things, doesn't it?

I wonder if you were thinking of 'slivers'? I agree that would be a more appetizing term, but there, I think Phil is again going to object that this would suggest something even skinnier still — like slivers of truffle or foie gras, etc.
Tony M Sep 27, 2013:
@ Victoria, Phil I buy these things all the time, and although perhaps 'miserable' was unkind, the fact is, they are always long narrow, and thin(nish); quite the opposite of sliced duck breast, which is usually sliced across the width of the breast, and tends to be small, oval-ish, and thicker.
So whatever term is finally used, I think itis very important (and I feel sure any FR chef would agree with me!) to differentiate clearly between a classic 'sliced duck breast' and this duck meat that is sliced.
Wendy Streitparth Sep 27, 2013:
Would "slithers of duck breast" be an improvement?
Victoria Britten Sep 27, 2013:
@Tony Quite, which is why I didn't post that as an answer! Although as Phil says, and if Google is to be considered as an acceptable element of the research toolkit (discuss...), the definition of the term does seem these days to have broadened to include some wider and fatter pieces than the name suggests.
philgoddard Sep 27, 2013:
I agree with Victoria, and I think strips sounds very unappetising. They're not "miserable" at all - they're quite substantial slices. Look at these pictures:
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=aiguillette canard&client=...
Tony M Sep 27, 2013:
@ Victoria I agree with your overall comment, but do please note that 'aiguillettes' are not really accurately described as 'sliced duck breast' — they are really rather miserable strips, not decent 'slices' at all. So I think another term is needed...
Victoria Britten Sep 27, 2013:
Context Although Clompy is right, "aiguillettes" is less widely used (and therefore understood) in EN than in FR, and it might be better to use something like "sliced duck breast" depending on the style of restaurant.

Proposed translations

+3
31 mins
French term (edited): aiguillettes de canard
Selected

strips of duck / duck strips

Always tricky to find a term that is accurate yet sounds appetizing! But I don't think the FR term is widely enough accepted for you to be able to leave it, unless the restaurant is a pretentiosuly French one, in which case, one might wonder why the menu is being translated at all?

So if the decision has been made to translate, then to me this term DOES need to be translated / explained.

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Note added at 1 hr (2013-09-27 09:21:03 GMT)
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OK, after further research, I have found what seems to be the accepted translation: 'duck tenderloin' — now THAT sounds appetizing!

I still feel that maybe 'strips of duck tenderloin' could be a helpful guide to the diner; note that there are quite a number of references out there to 'strips' and 'slivers', and even some that specifically make the distinction as I was seeking to between 'strips' and 'slices'.

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Note added at 3 hrs (2013-09-27 10:35:36 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

This image shows what one Chinese supplier calls 'duck tenderloin' — here, presented in the long strips of classic 'aiguillettes' (though it does of course also exist whole):

http://d9ro3cx7dwl25.cloudfront.net/image/product/12100/resi...

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Note added at 3 hrs (2013-09-27 10:37:08 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

And here is a US image showing chicken cuts, which specifically shows the tenderloin as strips:

http://cinitalmija.com/catalog/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/ch...

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Note added at 3 hrs (2013-09-27 10:41:10 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Here is a FR image showing duck cuts; you can see it shows the aiguillettes as a distinct cut:

http://www.las-craberes.fr/media/catalog/product/cache/1/ima...
Peer comment(s):
agree Mark Nathan : Agree with your original suggestion, or just "thin slices", but tenderloin, apart from being US English, surely refers to a part of the animal rather than the way it is sliced/diced etc. // Sorry, just noticed you said "STRIPS of duck tenderloin"
2 hrs
Thanks, Mark! Yes, the problem is they are by nature 'long, thin strips', so it's hard to know how best to convey that idea. I don't think 'tenderloin' is in any way US, I'm very familiar with it from the UK donkey's years back.
neutral writeaway : it's long thin slices of duck breast
2 hrs
Well, although that's what people often use, that's not quite entirely true; it is not just a cut-up breast, but a specific cut of the carcass. / In any case, I've been at pains to point out the long, thin strip nature, and tenderloin = duck breast anyway
agree Victoria Britten
5 hrs
Thanks, Victoria! :-)
agree rachelha
5 hrs
Thanks, Rachelha!
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
+2
4 mins

Aiguillettes

like many culinary terms, the English name is taken straight from French


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 10 mins (2013-09-27 07:44:02 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

http://www.frenchcountrycuisine.com/daily_food_word/2010/02/...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 10 mins (2013-09-27 07:44:16 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

http://www.frenchcountrycuisine.com/daily_food_word/2010/02/...
Reference:

http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780192803511.001.0001/acref-9780192803511-e-8

Peer comment(s):
agree GILLES MEUNIER
13 mins
neutral Victoria Britten : Would depend on the type of restaurant/clientele
18 mins
agree writeaway : I think this is the best solution. breast fillet is the dictionary definition of aiguillette when it's poultry. so if people insist on translating it, then long, thin slices of duck breast. (could be put in parentheses following the French).
2 hrs
Something went wrong...
2 hrs

filets

Or more chic - filet mignon
Peer comment(s):
neutral Tony M : That corresponds OK to 'tenderloin' (though I'm not sure if one can say 'filet mignon' for a duck?); however, it still misses out the rather important linear nature of these things. A 'filet' could be taken as being an entire 'magret'.
6 mins
Something went wrong...
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