
This is a generalization though and there are many exceptions to this rule. Learn about heavy appetizers and hors d'oeuvres to serve at your next party Heavy appetizers are perfect to serve at a cocktail hour, as the main meal, or during cocktail parties. Method of Eating: Typically, hors d’oeuvres are eaten by hand, whereas you would use cutlery to eat an appetizer. Appetizers on the other hand are often served directly to you while seated at a table. Purpose and Setting: Hors d’oeuvres can be thought of as ‘mingling food’ small portioned items that are passed around in a social setting. Quantity Served: It’s not uncommon to pass around several types of hors d’oeuvres, whereas appetizers are usually served one per person, although there are exceptions. The former tends to be 3-4 bites while the latter are usually 1-2 bites. Portion Size: One of the most important distinctions between appetizers and hors d’oeuvres is the portion size. An hors d’oeuvre isn’t considered to be part of the meal, but appetizers are usually chosen specifically to complement the following courses. Time Eaten: Hors d’oeuvres are typically served before the meal even begins, while appetizers tend to indicate the beginning of the meal.

At least you’ll never have to eat your words.Although the words ‘appetizer’ and ‘hors d’oeuvre’ are often used interchangeably, there are many differences between the two types of dishes. Your culinary education may not be complete, but you’re off to a good start.
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You now not only know how to spell “hors d’oeuvres,” but how to serve them, what they are, and what they are not. You can now go forth and charm your dinner guests. Like antipasto, it is served before the meal and consists of foods that are related to the Scandinavian culture from which the word has been borrowed. You can still call it a starter, and if you want to use French, you could call it an entree.Ī smorgasbord is also not the same as hors d’oeuvres. Although it consists of a range of dishes served before a meal, the style will be Italian, and antipasto is always served at the table. Instead of being foods you use to start off a meal, they’re savory finger-snacks that are served at cocktail hour.Īntipasto is also not the same as hors d’oeuvres. It will spoil the great impression you’ll make by knowing how to spell the word, how to serve them and what the French words actually mean.Ĭanapes are not hors d’oeuvres.

Now that you know how to use this chic French word to describe starters, you need to be careful that you don’t get muddled up and use it in the wrong place. Now you can make the distinction between “table” hors d’oeuvres and “butler-style” or “butlered” hors d’oeuvres. You can place the dishes on the table and let everyone help themselves, or you can have somebody pass the dish around allowing guests to select what they want to eat. Perhaps one day, we’ll adopt the word into the English language by changing the spelling to one that makes more sense to us, in which case, it’ll likely become “horderves” or “orderves.” Taking It to the Next LevelĪside from the many dishes that can make up starters or hors d’oeuvres, you also get two ways of serving hors d’oeuvres. You’ll be amazed at the number of permutations. Some get the “hors” bit right as well as the “d” and its apostrophe, but then they spoil it by spelling the last bit as “oueveres” for hors d’oueveres. What probably won’t make the grade as dinner table conversation is all the common misspellings for the word, but now that you know how it’s spelled, you’ll be able to see them everywhere. You’re now in the position to give any dinner guests you may have over this little gem of information. Now you know something that most English-speaking people never stop to think about. Directly translated, “hors” means “except” and “oeuvres” means “works.” This may not initially seem too helpful, but if you assume that the main course is “the works,” and you interpret “hors” as meaning “outside,” the phrase basically means “outside the main course.”

Hors d’oeuvres is another word we have borrowed from the French. If you go into the origins of common words, you’ll discover that borrowing from the French is not that unusual: “cuisine” is basically French for cooking.

On the other hand, if you’re writing an article and happen to want to talk about the appetizers you served using the “cuisine” word, it becomes a little more important to know the correct spelling. Nobody is going to know you don’t know how to spell the word correctly when you say “horderves” as you place out appetizers. Of course, it’s not always necessary to know how to spell the foods you serve. The correct spelling of horderves is hors d’oeuvres. While the word may sound like horderves, this is not the correct spelling. The reason you’re likely here reading this article is you need to know the spelling of “horderves” and not knowing it, you simply sounded it out.
