Spanish Word of the Day
Sunday, August 17, 2008
nuez, noun
walnut
English has a general word - nuts - to cover hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, and so forth. There is no such general word in Spanish, and each kind of nut has a specific name, as with las nueces, walnuts. In cookery, the oil from walnuts is sometimes used instead of olive oil.
el aceite de nuez
walnut oil
Another very common ingredient in cooking is la nuez moscada, nutmeg.
Espolvorearlos con un poquito de nuez moscada.
Sprinkle them with a little nutmeg.
La nuez is also used in a surprising way to replace a different fruit in English:
la nuez de Adán
Adam’s apple
Right. So, there is no word in Spanish that equates to the English word nut. Strangely, nuez has served me fine in Central America. But here, yeah, it really only means walnut. Chilean host Mom suggested that I use the term frutas secas, or dried fruit, which kind of over encompasses what I want to say, but has worked so far to keep me alive. What also helps is taking out my epipen while I explain how allergic I am. I should really do this when I am in the US too, since most of the reactions I've had were when someone had told me that there weren't nuts in something when there actually were. Pulling out the epipen adds a little element of "I'm going to have to stab myself in the leg... in front of you... if you are wrong about this..."
In general, my tactics here are the same as my tactics in the US. Carry an epipen at all times, don't completely trust anyone, and avoid foods that are likely to contain nuts, especially in establishments which are likely to be creative with ingredient choices or where there is a language barrier.
And look, Mom! I'm still alive!!!
Besos,
Allie
8 comments:
I miss Allie cat... and trying to say nut in spanish with you. Hopefully I will be back soon!
lovelovelove,
Jenn
Ask your host mama if tuerca would work. And tell your primo mama that you can take good care of yourself, especially when your life is at stake!
Aaron
Jenn, I miss you too! Come back! lovelovelovelovelove....
Aaron, I've never heard that word and its not in my dictionary. I also should have referred to her as my former host mom, so I can no longer ask her. Does anyone out there have an opinion on tuerca? Gracias....
tuerco means stubborn...
now that may be very, very, very, very (etc) true but it doesn't help with explaining the nut allergy...
What is the difference between el fruto and la fruta?
I don't think el fruto is a word... I think its just feminine all the time... la fruta.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong on this.
tuerca is a nuts and bolts kind of nut and you definitely don't want it in your salad.
It's not the most authoritative source, but http://www.google.com/translate_dict?langpair=en|es&q=nut&hl=en thinks nuez -> nut.
My Cassell's dictionary is made of paper and it has nut -> nuez (pl. nueces) which also serves for walnut or kernel.
difference between el fruto and la fruta is, i think, that the fruta is what you eat and fruto is the thing before it's been picked, although i've seen fruto used when talking about small things like berries as well.
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