Advanced search help

You can change the type of search by choosing a different option above the box where you type the search words. The default search type is main and the default group to be searched defaults to all. The type of search you last chose will be remembered for the next search. The different search types are described below.

Searching when you know the name (main)

You can search for something of which you know the name. Say you are in a restaurant in Norway or Portugal, you can check a name given on the menu to see what the dish contains. You could use it in a market if you want to find out what to do with something after you have bought it. See below how to reduce the number of results if you are getting too many. I have provided some phonetic or alternative spellings to help you find what you are looking for.

Examples: comice or borowiki or gulab or oysters

Searching for something in English to find the name in a foreign language (translate from English)

You can use this option to find a foreign word. Say you want to find the French word for fork or the Nepali word for sugar. Be aware that, if you search for, say, 'lemon' in the translate from English mode, all words which have lemon in the name will be shown in every language. Therefore, a search for lemon could result in the direct translation of lemon in as many as 90 languages, plus all the lemon drinks, pies, puddings and tarts you can think of. See below how to reduce the number of results if you get too many.

Examples: elderberry French or apricot leather or Swedish zander or German brill.

It is possible to search by 'Scandinavian' or 'South East Asian' or 'African' and so on. I realise that sometimes it is not easy to be certain about which language you are searching by.

Searching for something by keywords (keywords)

If you know the ingredients of something but you cannot remember its name you can search by ingredients or attributes. Obviously, if you search for 'beef red wine' you may find that a large number come up. However, you are still a step closer to identifying what it is you are looking for. You could also use it if you were, say, trying to remember the name of a really smelly fruit from Thailand. Just type in 'smelly fruit Thai' and you will find it.

You can limit the search by adding more likely ingredients. Again, I have tried to offer a number of different spellings of words to help you find what you are looking for (for example I offer chile, chili, chilli, chillie or aubergine, eggplant or bulgur, bulghur, bulgar, bulghar, bulgour).

Limiting the results from searches under the above categories if you get too many results (group to be searched)

A search for the word 'lemon' either in main or in translate from English will produce huge numbers of results and will probably not be very helpful. Using the Group to be searched dropdown to the right of the main search box, you could select 'Food', enter 'German lemon' in the search box and click on translate from English. This will result in the German for lemon and lemon sole. Alternatively, you could select 'Drink' from the Group to be searched box, enter 'French lemon' in the search box and click on translate from English. This will result in the French for drinks such as lemon squash and lemon juice. Compare this with searching under 'Dish' or 'All' and see how it works. 'Dish' will include all those cakes, tarts, puddings and so on.

Searching for information about varieties (varieties)

You can use it to check varieties of fruits and vegetables. You can use this facility if you want to know what sort of potato is good for making chips, or what is a good eating apple. This is particularly useful if you move countries and are shopping for foods which are unfamiliar. For example, type in 'potato fry' or 'potato chips' or, alternatively, 'eating apple red' or 'cattle black' and click on varieties

Examples: potatoes chips or Essex dessert apples or black cows or red chiles bell or green chilli

I have tried to offer a number of different spellings of words or representations of the quality or name of a food to help you find what you are looking for.

Searching by Latin name (Latin)

If you have the Latin name for a fruit or vegetable, fish or fowl and wish to search for the common name you can search by using the Latin names.

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