How to Learn French Pastry Words

Learn French pastry words to prepare for travel, better cultural awareness or a pastry chef career.

Whether you are considering a career as a pastry chef or just want to brush up on your pastry knowledge before arriving in Paris to eat your heart out, you can learn French pastry words through a combination of vocabulary study and taste tests. Learning French pastry words is not like learning how to ask for directions in French. When you study French pastry words you are diving into French culinary arts that carry historic and cultural significance and specific technique. So the next time you eat a croissant, you might appreciate its craftsmanship a little more. Does this Spark an idea?

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French pastry words
French pastry pictures

Instructions

- 1
  
  Visit a pâtisserie, or French bakery, and take notice of the words that you see on the shelves. You might see names of French pastries such as pain au chocolat, profiterole, mille-feuille and brioche. Write down these names. If you are not in France or near a French bakery, purchase a French pastry cookbook, such as "Paris Boulangerie-Pâtisserie: Recipes from Thirteen Outstanding French Bakeries," by Linda Dannenberg, which lists the various French pastry words for you to learn.
- 2
  
  Research the different French pastries. Learn their ingredients and how they are baked to really get a grasp on the word. For instance, you will find that éclairs and profiteroles are composed of choux pastry, a specific type of French dough.
- 3
  
  Learn how to pronounce the pastry words. If you live or are traveling in France, you can get authentic help with this by asking the baker in person. If you have a French pastry cookbook, the recipes will help you sound out the words phonetically. Say the French pastry words to yourself over and over until you feel comfortable saying them.
- 4
  
  Practice identifying the French pastries once you are familiar with the words. Collect pictures of French pastries and quiz yourself to see how well you can spot a French tarte or palmiers.
- 5
  
  Perform taste tests of the French pastries. For instance, now that you know that madeleines are small, doughy cakes, it helps to taste them and experience the flavor and consistency, so that you can distinguish them from, say, Langues de Chat.