Phở is not pronounced how you think, plus more foods you're saying wrong

New book debunks all the common food words you and your friends have been bungling up this whole time.

From French wines to Vietnamese soups, there are certain words in the foodie vernacular better left to pointing at dumbly on menus rather than risking embarrassment and blindly taking a stab.

If words like quinoa and phở still stump you, then a new book You're Saying It Wrong by Ross Petras and Kathryn Petras (Penguin Random House) should be your next read. Even if you have perfect food pronunciation (*cough cough—you probably don't—cough*), it's still a very interesting read.

While the book covers a raft of sticky linguistic tripper-uppers, it's the commonly mispronounced food items that caught our attention and is sure to serve us well the next time we queue up at our local hawker stall/wine bar/bakery/fine diner/trattoria/health food store—yeah, pretty much any place that sells food.

You can put your newfound food pronunciation knowledge into practice almost immediately. For example, the next time your unenlightened mate attempts to order a bottle of "MO-ee" or "Chan-DON" at the bar, you can smugly correct them, like the true sophisticate you are (It's "Mwett eh SHA(n)-doh", of course—leaving off the final "t" in Moët is a rookie mistake which you'll never repeat).

Or when the bruschetta debate is inevitably reignited while dining out at your local pizzeria, you can do like the Italians and self-assuredly order a plate of "broo-SKEH-tah" while your fellow quibbling diners marvel at your food ordering prowess.

Time to eat your words

Are you ready to embark on the path to food pronunciation redemption? Check out more commonly mangled food gems—as well as some totally delicious ways to eat them, so you can eat your words both figuratively and literally.

Croissant (as in your favourite French pastry): "kwah-SAHNT"
Recipe: Chocolate croissant and plum pudding

Phở (as in your favourite Vietnamese noodle soup): "fuh"
Recipe: Easy Vietnamese chicken phở noodle soup

Gnocchi (as in the Italian doughy dumplings): "NYAW-kee"
Recipe: Potato gnocchi with blue cheese sauce

Açaí (as in the purplish superfood berry beloved by health buffs): "ah-sigh-EE"
Recipe: Probiotic enzyme health smoothie

Bánh mì (as in your favourite cheap eat—the Vietnamese pork roll): "bahn MEE"
Recipe: Ms G's mini pork bánh mì

Bouillon (as in the French-style broth/soup): "BOOL-yen or BOOL-yon" (with a very light-to-non-existent "l" sound)
Recipe: Ocean trout poached in court bouillon

Endive (as in that green, bitter leafy vegetable): "EN-dive or AHN-deev"
Recipe: Pan-fried John Dory agrodolce with endive and goat's cheese

Gyro (as in the delicious Greek-style kebab featuring rotisserie lamb in a pita wrap): "YEE-roh" (ditch the "g" sound)
Recipe: Lamb tandoori wrap

Quinoa (as in the trendy gluten-free grain that's not really a grain): "KEEN-wah"
Recipe: Beef, zucchini and quinoa meatloaf

Hoegaarden (as in the Belgium-style wheat beer): "HOO-gar-duhn"
Recipe: Beef, beer and dumplings

Stolichnaya (as in the vodka brand you revered as a teenager): "stoh-LEECH-nye-a"
Recipe: Watermelon, raspberry and mint vodka cups

You're Saying It Wrong by Ross Petras and Kathryn Petras (Penguin Random House), $24.99 is available to buy online at selected book retailers.