Wednesday, February 7, 2007

The English language has always fascinated me

Today I heard a chef use the word “schmear”.

I’ve been hearing that word a lot lately and every time I hear someone say it, I think they mean to say “smear”. I did not think “schmear” was a real word.

I did a little investigating and Ifound out I am so wrong.

It seems schmear is a multi-faceted expression denoting everything from bagel toppings, to a tiny amount (just a schmear), to a big bunch of stuff (as in the whole schmear).

The Encarta World English Dictionary defines a “schmear” as “something such as cream cheese spread on a roll or bagel,” while Miriam-Webster has this entry:

Main Entry: schmear
Variant(s): or schmeer /'shmir/
Function: noun
Etymology: Yiddish shmir smear
: an aggregate of related things

Who knew?
Well, probably everybody, but me!

Speaking of knowing, who knows anything about this liqueur?

I've had it for years (it was a gift) and I haven't the vaguest idea what to do with it! It's certainly a pretty bottle, isn't it? It's probably something I am supposed to sit and sip, but I'm not much into liqueur sipping. Can I use it for some type of cooking? Does it last forever?

14 comments:

  1. Being Jewish, and yiddish was spoken in the house when I was younger, schmear is an everyday word for me. So I knew.

    Don't know about the liqueur and cooking, I have sipped it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Schmear I know - probably from movies.

    The Chambord is raspberry liqueur, and if it were at my house, it wouldn't last forever! Actually, I'm not sure of that - it's been so long since I tasted it that I might not like it anymore. It seems to me that it was a big fashion in the seventies, maybe? Back when Galliano was also hot stuff among young marrieds.

    You could also go retro and pour it over vanilla ice cream. [That was mid-Sixties.]

    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

    ReplyDelete
  3. It'll last forever, but you should send it to me. oh,yummm..

    I like mine over Breyers Vanilla ice cream with just a drizzle of chocolate sauce.

    It's also good as a dipping sauce for a nice, moist cake - lemon or pound.

    Where do you want a lovely strong raspberry flavor with a kick?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yum-that's a good raspberry liquor as
    Annie told you. Bri's aunt loves to bring it out for the holidays. I bet you could find recipes using it on the web. We've had it here too and it's strong if I remember correctly.
    I guess you never saw Mike Myers doing his Linda character on Saturday Night Live? She was like buttah!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ha-Jenn and I were writing at about the same time. Cool

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm not sure what you can do with it. I just wanted you to know that I have been looking at your garden photos and they are great!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Chambord is lovely mixed with Champagne for a nice spring luncheon drink. Also mixed in with fudge sauce for ice cream. Mix with whipping cream for a cake frosting topped with raspberries. Oh my, I could go on and on!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I am with Giddy...
    You can also serve it in snifters along side after dinner coffee and won't your guests be impressed!!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Darn it, Bloglines hasn't been working properly and didn't show me that you've had new posts in the last couple of days!! Good thing I came to check up on you:-)

    Hmmm, I never knew there was such a word as schmear either...now we both know! lol

    As for the liqueur, I'm afraid I can't help you there...I'm not much of a drinker so don't know much about it! Beautiful bottle though!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I'm behind on bloglines too. What is up with it lately??
    My son worked in a bagel shop and I knew "schmear"
    I've heard of the liqueur, but wouldn't know what you could use it in!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I think I have that exact bottle... from my aunt's estate sale that I did years ago... never opened it... just love the bottle! Sooo pretty & artsy!

    ReplyDelete
  12. After reading those comments I really want to taste Chambord! I love anything rasberry flavored! Just a schmear please? Perhaps not a good use of the word, but you get the picture :)
    I just read through your hint on categorizing posts Zoey. Thank you! It's a job I still must do and your instructions will help a lot.
    Enjoy you hibernation.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi! I am sorry to say that it won't last forever as there is no preservative in it. The shelf life is about one year. And you should drink it within 6 months after opening the bottle.
    You can find a lot of good recipes on http://www.chambordonline.com/

    ReplyDelete
  14. Mix half an ounce of that Chambord with one-and-a-half ounces of Stolichnaya, and you've got a Red Velvet cocktail, one of my favourites. Lucky.

    ReplyDelete

I appreciate you taking the time and effort to leave a comment. I will try to answer any questions you have. Please note due to Blogger changing word verification so almost nobody can read it, I have had to change to no word verification and only allow registered users to comment.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...