Cajun Terms

  1. Andouille and Boudin (ahn-doo-ee and boo dan) Two types of Cajun sausage. Andouille is made with pork, boudin with pork and rice. Sociologists recognize two major categories of Cajuns; "River" (for andouille); and the "Bayou" (for boudin) ***
  2. Beignet (bin-yay) A fritter or strangely shaped doughnut without a hole, sprinkled with powdered sugar. A New Orleans favorite***
  3. Bouquet Garni (boo-kay gar-nee) An herb bouquet. A small cheesecloth bag containing 1 large bay leaf, teaspoon thyme, teaspoon dried basil, about 8 sprigs fresh parsley, teaspoon dried tarragon, 3 chopped green celery tops, 6 whole peppercorns and a slashed clove of garlic used in Cajun cooking**
  4. Bouree' (boo-ray) Popular Cajun card game, sometimes called "Cajun Bridge" ***
  5. C'est la vie (say la vee) "That's life" ***
  6. Café Noir (caf ay nwah) & Café-au-lait (caf-ay-o-lay) Black coffee or coffee and milk or cream ***
  7. Cajun Cooking Robust, inventive cooking evolved by the Acadian settlers rooted in resourcefulness, use of available ingredients and "made do" in artful ways **
  8. Cajuns Bayou (by-you or by-yo) A sluggish stream bigger than a creek and smaller than a river ***
  9. Cher (sha) Term of endearment or "my sweet" ***
  10. Cochon de lait (coo-shon duh lay) An event where a suckling pig is roasted over a blistering hickory fire until the inside is tender and juicy and the outside brittle as well-cooked bacon ** Comme ci, Comme ca (come-se, come sah) So-so ***
  11. Crawfish-crayfish (craw-fish) A small fresh water crustacean related to the lobster**
  12. Creole Several definitions exist: in Louisiana, a Creole is a white person descended from French and Spanish settlers or a person of mixed European and African blood. It's also a style of cooking and architecture Etouffée (ay too fay) Method of cooking something (usually shrimp or crawfish) smothered in chopped vegetables over low flame, tightly covered until tender **
  13. Fais-do-do (fay-doh-doh) A type of street dance derived from European religious festivals. Originally called Festival of God.*
  14. Grillades (gree yahds) Beef or veal round steak, browned, then simmered until tender in browned tomato sauce served over rice or grits**
  15. Gumbo (gum bo) Thick, savory soup with chicken, seafood, sausage or wild game ***
  16. Hush puppies A cornbread-type of mixture, formed into balls and fried until crispy on the outside**
  17. Jambalaya (jum buh lie uh) Highly-seasoned mixture of any of several combinations of seafood, meat, poultry, sausage and vegetables, simmered with raw rice until liquid is absorbed**
  18. Joie de vivre (zhwah duh viv-re) "The joy of living" the attitude of our citizens that permeates our lifestyle***
  19. Lagniappe (lan yap) An old Creole word for "something extra." Soup meat is the lagniappe from vegetable soup preparation.**
  20. Laissez les bons temps rouler (lay-say lay bawn tawn roo-lay) "Let the good times roll" the motto of many Louisianans***
  21. Pirogue (pee-rogue) Cajun canoe, originally made from a dug-out cypress log***
  22. Roux (roo) Basic ingredient of many Louisiana recipes. Essentially seasoned flour browned in a skillet***
  23. Zydeco (zy-duc-coh) Lively variant of Cajun music derived from the word haricot, French for string bean

* * From the Louisiana Experience by Mary Alice Fontenot & Julie Landry

** From the Encyclopedia of Cajun and Creole Cuisine by John D. Folse

*** From the Louisiana Office of Tourism

English