Food words for Alias — dishes and the kitchen

Dishes, ingredients and the tools you cook with. The safest set for a big group.

A culinary set: dishes, everyday ingredients and the things you cook with. Words everyone knows regardless of age or education — which is why this set almost never falls flat.

Why this is close to a sure thing

Food is the one experience everybody in the room shares. An eight-year-old, a student and a grandmother all know what a grater is. Take this set early in the evening, while the group is still warming up and nobody wants difficulty yet.

Who this set is for

Any group at all, including one meeting for the first time. Food is the one experience everyone at the table shares: an eight-year-old, a student and a grandmother all know what a frying pan is. So this set belongs at the start of the evening, while people are still warming up, and any time somebody at the table is shy about playing.

Lemon

Works through taste: “sour enough to make you squint.” The room says it before you finish the sentence. Does not work: “a yellow citrus fruit” — it sounds precise, but it routes the group through orange, grapefruit and tangerine, because all of those are yellow and citrus too.

Garlic

Works through the consequence: “after this you would rather not talk to anyone.” Does not work: “a pungent plant with cloves” — clove sits too close to the word, and pungent sends the room off to pepper and horseradish. In this set smell and taste always beat a description of appearance.

Pan

Works through movement: show the grip and the shake, and say “you fry on this.” Does not work: “a round metal vessel with a handle” — that fits a pot, a ladle and a kettle equally. Kitchen tools are explained by the action, never by the shape.

Where groups go wrong

The commonest mistake is describing appearance. Food is recognised by taste, smell and when you eat it, not by colour and shape: “round and yellow” fits a dozen words at once. The second is explaining a dish by its full recipe; the main ingredient and the cooking method are enough. The third is playing this set hungry. It sounds like a joke, but every word here is a distraction, and the group ends up discussing dinner instead of guessing.

Come at it through taste and smell rather than looks: "sour, it makes you squint" gets to lemon faster.
For dishes, name the main ingredient and the cooking method — that is almost always enough.
Kitchen tools are easiest to mime in words: say what you do with it, not what it looks like.

Easy

Familiar words that land on the first clue. For warming up, for kids and for mixed groups.

bread, bun, loaf, rusk, porridge, soup, broth, stew, salad, dumpling, pancake, fritter, pie, pastry, cake, biscuit, candy, chocolate, icecream, honey, sugar, salt, pepper, oil, butter, milk, cream, cheese, kefir, yoghurt, egg, sausage, bacon, meat, chicken, fish, cutlet, hotdog, potato, carrot, beetroot, cabbage, onion, garlic, cucumber, tomato, radish, pumpkin, courgette, beans, peas, corn, mushroom, apple, pear, plum, cherry, strawberry, raspberry, currant, gooseberry, grapes, watermelon, melon, lemon, orange, tangerine, banana, pineapple, peach, apricot, walnut, raisins, tea, coffee, juice, compote, water, glass, cup, plate, spoon, fork, knife, saucepan, pan, kettle, fridge, stove, oven, table, tablecloth, napkin, kitchen, lunch, dinner, breakfast, supper, yolk, crust

Medium

Takes a few sentences and some imagination. The default setting for an ordinary evening.

potatocakes, halushky, cabbagerolls, doughnuts, flatbread, cheesecakes, jelly, brine, brynza, ryazhanka, curd, crepes, roulade, meatloaf, ham, roastpork, pate, lardons, mince, stock, gravy, sauce, marinade, pickle, vinegar, yeast, flour, starch, gelatine, vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, bayleaf, cumin, dill, parsley, basil, spinach, sorrel, celery, asparagus, broccoli, aubergine, squash, turnip, horseradish, mustard, adjika, mayonnaise, ketchup, jam, preserve, marmalade, syrup, condensed, waffles, gingerbread, cupcake, swissroll, meringue, marshmallow, pastille, halva, nougat, caramel, toffee, cocoa, chicory, kvass, cordial, kissel, colander, grater, ladle, sieve, bakingtray, mould, mortar, skimmer, spatula, whisk, scales, bowl, jug, kneading, towel, apron, chopping, peeler, corkscrew, opener, thermos, tureen, decanter, strainer, funnel, timer, filling, dressing, batter

Hard

Rare or abstract words. More failed rounds, and more laughing at them.

aldente, bechamel, blanching, brioche, braising, vacuuming, curing, soaking, baking, ageing, galantine, garnish, gastronomy, glazing, glacage, grilling, gourmet, tasting, decanting, dessert, deglazing, aspic, emulsion, gelling, roux, fermenting, starter, casserole, searing, candying, brewing, infusion, caramelisation, cultured, clarifying, coagulation, cocktail, concasse, preserving, confectionery, smoking, culinary, apricots, liquorice, laminating, husking, marinating, marzipan, buttermilk, melange, millefeuille, mirepoix, mousse, steeping, natural, shredding, deboning, oxidation, cruet, breading, coating, parfait, pasteurisation, poaching, parchment, whipping, piquancy, spice, pureeing, ragout, reduction, recipe, ricotta, roquefort, proofing, sauteing, plating, whey, salting, sauteed, seasoning, sterilisation, souffle, tartare, tempering, terrine, titration, braise, stuffing, fermentation, flambe, fondant, fondue, deepfry, julienne, larding, foaming, sousvide, umami, agar