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a base de disparos

Glossary entry

Spanish term or phrase:

\"a los cuatro gustos\"

English translation:

4 flavours

Added to glossary by Berni Armstrong
Jun 26, 2012 10:43
12 yrs ago
Spanish term

"a los cuatro gustos"

Spanish to English Other Cooking / Culinary Menu
This is from a menu listing:

"steak tartar a los cuatro gustos..."

Anyone any idea what this implies?
Proposed translations (English)
4 +4 4 flavours
5 Four flavours Tartar Steak
3 +1 Four Seasons Steak
3 +1 steak tartare quartet
3 in 4 flavours

Discussion

Isamar Jun 27, 2012:
My only objection to Four Seasons is that it's the name of a hotel chain and might create some confusion with people thinking it's steak tartar/e the way it is prepared there. In any case, if I were to order it, I'd still ask what the four different ways it is prepared are if they are not explained on the menu.
philgoddard Jun 26, 2012:
I'm not sure we're really answering the question simply by finding a fancy name for this dish. If I were a customer of the restaurant, I'd want to know what it actually is. It's steak marinated in four different spirits, such as whisky and armagnac - so I'd put the Spanish name, possibly a literal translation in brackets (though if this is a fancy restaurant, you can flatter your foreign customers by letting them work out what it means), and then a one-line description of how it's made.
neilmac Jun 26, 2012:
Four seasons sounds better to me than "4 flavours", which seems pretty lacklustre. I'd also prefer "aux quatre goûts ..." rather than the English.
Berni Armstrong (asker) Jun 26, 2012:
Love some of your other options Now read your addenda and I love some of your other creative options. 4 Horsemen LOL :-)
Berni Armstrong (asker) Jun 26, 2012:
4 Flavours? I'd guessed it might be simply this, but was hoping someone had tried a dish with the same name and could describe it. As a vegetarian, I am often lost when translating menus, since I don't know how any of the meat dishes actually taste ;-)

Proposed translations

+4
4 mins
Selected

4 flavours

It could mean sweet, sour, bitter and... what's the other one? MSG?
I'd ask the chef/client.

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Note added at 5 mins (2012-06-26 10:48:47 GMT)
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"The sensation of taste can be categorized into five basic tastes: sweet, bitter, sour, salty, and umami."

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 7 mins (2012-06-26 10:50:21 GMT)
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In a menu you usually have a certain poetic leeway or licence. You could basically call it "four (insert groovy-sounding foody thing)".

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 8 mins (2012-06-26 10:51:19 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

4 seasons/ 4 winds / 4 flavours ...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 10 mins (2012-06-26 10:53:58 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

For example, if the restauarant is called "l'Apocalypse" , it could be "Steak tartare aux Quatre Cavaliers"...
Peer comment(s):
agree Lindsay Spratt
1 hr
Bon appetit, Lindsay :)
agree franglish : 4 flavo(u)rs or seasons, to simply stay with food. But do tell, what prompted that last gloomy vision of retribution? // ouch! How about the frog prince (according to the Grimms)? Painful but not lethal... 4 seasons in any case.
2 hrs
You know the old frog/scorpion tale? C'est moi ;)
agree Charles Davis : This explanation should be read by everyone that translates menus. Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Steak Tartare is one for the annals. Do I detect you're not into pretentious foody talk?
5 hrs
Pretentious? Moi? (groan)...
agree Yvonne Gallagher : LOL
11 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Went for "four flavours" and then added a bit from one of the notes here by someone who had tried the dish."
41 mins

in 4 flavours

my opinion,
maybe it`s a steak that can be prepared in 4 different flavours
Something went wrong...
+1
2 hrs

Four Seasons Steak

I don't know if you're looking for a creative way to translate "steak tartar a los cuatro gustos..." as well as wanting to know the meaning of los cuatro gustos. I found some websites that describe how: "La lengua tiene 4 zonas de gusto." But if you want a nice sounding name for your menu, Four Seasons Steak might do the job! (Four Tastes Steak just doesn't sound as good.)
Reference:

http://mitoscortos.com.mx/la-lengua-tiene-4-zonas-de-gusto/

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabor

Peer comment(s):
agree neilmac : Too late mate, I added "4 seasons" at 10 mins (see above).
1 hr
neutral franglish : sorry James, Neil was first!
2 hrs
Something went wrong...
+1
3 hrs

steak tartare quartet

I know that this sounds a bit like a musical term, but you do often see 'trios' on menus, so why not this? My understanding of the question is that it is steak tartare prepared in four different ways.
Peer comment(s):
agree James LaRue : This is creative and it includes the word tartar(e). (Depends if you want to use a musical term.) Very nice.
18 mins
Thanks James! Yes, it would have to go with the style of the menu.
Something went wrong...
2 days 5 hrs

Four flavours Tartar Steak

Steak Tartar is raw meat which is eaten with four condiments like the french "Fondue", which you use to dip each bite alternating condiments iin order to excite the sense of taste in the mouth. Delicious.
Something went wrong...
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