How to Use Chou in French Conversation

If youre talking about cabbage in French, then youre going to need to know how to use the word  chou.  Pronounced shoo, the word  chou  can be used to describe a cabbage or as a term of endearment akin to darling or dear. Using  Chou  in Conversation As a vegetable, chou can be served grated raw in a salad, boiled then creamed with bacon bits, stuffed with milk-soaked bread, sausage, eggs, vegetables, and herbs or baked in a cabbage galette with herbs and lardons (hearty French smoked bacon). But, really, the options are only limited by the culinary imagination of Frances  talented regional and restaurant cooks. The use as a term of endearment  may derive from the pretty, frilly, green, slightly delicate Savoy cabbage that the French have a certain affection for. On va manger du chou. Were going to eat some cabbage.Salade de chou rouge  est un excellent example de la cuisine minceur de  Michel Guà ©rard. Red cabbage salad is an excellent example of [chef] Michel Guà ©rards slimming cuisine.Ça va mon [petit] chou? How are you, my darling (my sweet)? Related Words There are a number of related words with chou as their root, for example: un chouchou darling, pet  chouchouter (informal) to pamper, coddle  la choucroute sauerkraut (brine-marinated cabbage)les choux de Bruxelles Brussels sprouts These root  words also wind up in some common French expressions, such as: à ªtre dans les choux (informel) to be screwed up, lost, in trouble  faire chou blanc to draw a blank, to lead nowhereCest chou vert et vert chou.   Its green cabbage and cabbage green. [meaning, roughly: Its the same either way.] Additional Resources As you expand your  vocabulary, youll want to learn more ways to talk about food with your loved ones. French terms of endearmentFood in French