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Baton Rouge Travel Articles
- Culture and Heritage
- History and Politics
- Words and Sayings of Baton Rouge
The Baton Rouge culture is full of mystery and wonder. Here's some insight on what some of our folklore terms mean.
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' the "River (for andouille) Cajuns" and the "Bayou (for boudin) ***
Beignet (bin-yay)
A fritter or strangely shaped doughnut without a hole, sprinkled with powdered sugar. A New Orleans favorite***
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**
Bouree' (boo-ray)
Popular Cajun card game, sometimes called "Cajun Bridge" ***
C'est la vie (say la vee)
"That's life" ***
Cafe Noir (kaf-ay nwah) & Cafe-au-lait (caf-ay oh-lay)
Black coffee or coffee and milk or cream ***
Cajun Cooking
Robust, inventive cooking evolved by the Acadian settlers rooted in resourcefulness, use of available ingredients and "made do" in artful ways **
Cajuns Bayou (by-you or by-yo)
A sluggish stream bigger than a creek and smaller than a river ***
Cher (sha)
Term of endearment or "my sweet" ***
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 ***
Crawfish-crayfish (craw-fish)
A small fresh water crustacean related to the lobster**
Etoufee (ay too fay)
Method of cooking something (usually shrimp or crawfish) smothered in chopped vegetables over low flame, tightly covered until tender **
Fais-do-do (fay-doh-doh)
A type of street dance derived from European religious festivals. Originally called Festival of God.*
Grillades (gree yahds)
Beef or veal round steak, browned, then simmered until tender in browned tomato sauce served over rice or grits**
Gumbo
Thick, savory soup with chicken, seafood, sausage or wild game ***
Hush puppies
A cornbread-type of mixture, formed into balls and fried until crispy on the outside**
Jambalaya
Highly-seasoned mixture of any of several combinations of seafood, meat, poultry, sausage and vegetables, simmered with raw rice until liquid is absorbed**
Joie de vivre (zhwah duh viv-re)
"The joy of living" the attitude of our citizens that permeates our lifestyle***
Lagniappe (lan yap)
An old Creole word for "something extra." Soup meat is the lagniappe from vegetable soup preparation.**
Laisez les bons temps rouler (lay-say lay bawn tawn rul-lay)
"Let the good times roll" the motto of many Louisianans***
Pirogue (pee-rogue)
Cajun canoe, originally made from a dug-out cypress log***
Roux (roo)
Basic ingredient of many Louisiana recipes. Essentially seasoned flour browned in a skillet***
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
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