New food words added to Merriam-Webster dictionary

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If you’re a foodie, you probably know food lingo. Sriracha and IPA are standards in your vocabulary. But now Merriam-Webster, the Springfield, Mass., company known for print and online dictionary sources, is making them official. Among the 250 new words and definitions added to Merriam-Webster.com, several are food-related.

If you’re a foodie, you probably know food lingo. Sriracha and IPA are standards in your vocabulary. But now Merriam-Webster, the Springfield, Mass., company known for print and online dictionary sources, is making them official. Among the 250 new words and definitions added to Merriam-Webster.com, several are food-related.

Here’s a selection of those being added and their definitions:

Bibimbap: A Korean dish of rice with cooked vegetables, usually meat, and often a raw or fried egg.

California roll: A type of sushi roll containing avocado, cucumber, and cooked crabmeat or imitation crabmeat with a wrapping of seaweed and rice.

Callery pear: A deciduous tree (Pyrus calleryana) of the rose family that has upright branches forming a conical crown, heart-shaped glossy leaves with finely serrated margins, showy clusters of white flowers, and small, bitter, brownish round fruits.

Choux pastry: A very light, egg-based dough used to make pastries (such as cream puffs and éclairs).

Cordon bleu: Stuffed with ham and Swiss cheese (like chicken cordon bleu).

Cross contamination: Inadvertent transfer of bacteria or other contaminants from one surface, substance, etc., to another especially because of unsanitary handling procedures.

Farmers market: A market at which local farmers sell their agricultural products directly to consumers.

Froyo: Frozen yogurt.

IPA: A pale ale made with extra hops.

Saigon cinnamon: The dried, aromatic bark of a Vietnamese tree (Cinnamomum loureirii) that yields a sweet and spicy cassia sold as cinnamon.

Sriracha: A pungent sauce that is made from hot peppers pureed with usually garlic, sugar, salt and vinegar and that is typically used as a condiment.