Apr 7, 2019 09:26
5 yrs ago
German term
Klöße-kochen
German to English
Bus/Financial
Cooking / Culinary
My ST uses Klöße-kochen as a metaphor for a manager organising a to-do list, where items go onto the list as low-priority but gradually rise to the top, when the manager then gets others to action them. In this case, the writer wants the reader to imagine the raw dumplings sitting at the bottom of the pan and then rising to the top when they are cooked and being removed. This final stage is key, as the writer emphasises the on-going nature of removing each cooked Kloß and adding new raw dumplings.
Can anyone think of a corresponding culinary metaphor in English? I'm loath to use dumplings as they have nothing like the cultural significance of a well-cooked Kloß in Germany. I thought of cooking frozen peas which float when cooked, but you remove them all at once.
The translation is for a business book for non-specialist readers.
Thank you!
Can anyone think of a corresponding culinary metaphor in English? I'm loath to use dumplings as they have nothing like the cultural significance of a well-cooked Kloß in Germany. I thought of cooking frozen peas which float when cooked, but you remove them all at once.
The translation is for a business book for non-specialist readers.
Thank you!
Proposed translations
(English)
Change log
Apr 7, 2019 10:04: Steffen Walter changed "Field" from "Other" to "Bus/Financial"
Proposed translations
8 hrs
Claudia Letizia
Germany
Germany
Native in English
Specializes in field
Germany
Specialist in Food and Academic Writing
Native in: English (Variant: US) 
, Italian (Variant: Standard-Italy)
Works in: Italian to English, English to Italian, English, and 4 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
8
Selected
Chicken wings + other considerations
Hi,
I have read your question earlier today and I have been thinking about it for a while, because it was a fun challenge.
I don't think I have found *the perfect* solution, but here are some ideas that came to my mind:
- any kind of filled dough. If you don't like the idea of dumplings, you might go with tortellini or ravioli. They do get removed in batches though, rarely one by one. Unless they are especially big. Same goes for gnocchi.
- some types of fried food. For example chicken wings are fried in boiling oil for a while, at first they sink to the bottom because they are heavy, then they slowly make it to the surface. They are kept on the surface for a bit longer and then removed, one by one.
If I can think of anything else, I'll let you know!
I have read your question earlier today and I have been thinking about it for a while, because it was a fun challenge.
I don't think I have found *the perfect* solution, but here are some ideas that came to my mind:
- any kind of filled dough. If you don't like the idea of dumplings, you might go with tortellini or ravioli. They do get removed in batches though, rarely one by one. Unless they are especially big. Same goes for gnocchi.
- some types of fried food. For example chicken wings are fried in boiling oil for a while, at first they sink to the bottom because they are heavy, then they slowly make it to the surface. They are kept on the surface for a bit longer and then removed, one by one.
If I can think of anything else, I'll let you know!
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
1 hr
Peter Ward
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
Works in field
United Kingdom
Fast, reliable, technical, IT experience
Native in: English (Variants: US, Wales / Welsh, British, Scottish, UK)
Works in: German to English
Souffle baking
Could you possibly use the metaphor of a souffle rising?
Note from asker:
| The souffles all rise at the same time, and you would never open the oven to add new ones while the first batch is cooking. Much as I love a souffle, this doesn't quite work, but thank you for your comment! |
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Ramey Rieger (X)
: Nice idea, but a soufflé is taken from the oven in one piece.
2 hrs
|
3 hrs
the perfect dumpling/making doughnuts
Doughnuts/donuts would also work, as they are deep-fried and taken singly from the fat.
You could also use a yeasty metaphor with muffins or rolls, but they also are take from the oven at the same time.
You could also use a yeasty metaphor with muffins or rolls, but they also are take from the oven at the same time.
Note from asker:
| This is making me hungry. I like the idea of doughnuts very much, and it fits the metaphor very well. |
10 hrs
Poaching eggs or alternatively making popcorn, popcorn approach
I think poached eggs are quite a British favourite and maybe your best choice here.
Though Jamie Oliver tells us not to use boiling water and these f***ers stay at the bottom of the maestro´s pan - in this recipe it is more like I (and possibly anyone else) experience my poached eggs:
https://www.finecooking.com/article/how-to-make-perfect-poac...
The raw egg sinks to the bottom and the egg white rises up when it´s done... like with dumplings one will have to check and take out each egg one after another.
Alternatively:
Ok, not soo British either, but will work. Each corn pops at a different time and the popcorn will have to be removed once your portion is ready... and in goes another portion of corn.
Though Jamie Oliver tells us not to use boiling water and these f***ers stay at the bottom of the maestro´s pan - in this recipe it is more like I (and possibly anyone else) experience my poached eggs:
https://www.finecooking.com/article/how-to-make-perfect-poac...
The raw egg sinks to the bottom and the egg white rises up when it´s done... like with dumplings one will have to check and take out each egg one after another.
Alternatively:
Ok, not soo British either, but will work. Each corn pops at a different time and the popcorn will have to be removed once your portion is ready... and in goes another portion of corn.
Note from asker:
| A great tip, thank you, though Mr Oliver's method seems a little too idiosyncratic for the general-purpose service this metaphor has to render. Nonetheless, it's an excellent idea for breakfast. Thank you! |
1 day 4 hrs
Michael Martin, MA
United States
United States
Native in German
&
English
United States
Creativity wins in the long run
Native in: German (Variant: Germany) 
, English (Variant: US)
Works in: German to English
Shifting gears/Juggling changing priorities
This is one of those occasions where I am inclined to "improve" the source text. Even though Klöße kochen seems no more idiosyncratic than any of the other metaphors floating around, none of them are like idioms that everybody understands. Here, you have to carefully read the paragraph that follows to get the idea. Personally, I'd be more interested in dumping the dumplings and finding something more descriptive for clarity and less distracting from the real issue.
But when I looked around, English language metaphors on setting up tasks mainly seemed to draw distinctions between to-do lists that list everything and action items that are prioritized but still static, e.g. juggling glass balls and rubber balls. What we have here though doesn't allow for a fixed separation between these two: some items may be a low priority at the outset but will rise to the top later...
But when I looked around, English language metaphors on setting up tasks mainly seemed to draw distinctions between to-do lists that list everything and action items that are prioritized but still static, e.g. juggling glass balls and rubber balls. What we have here though doesn't allow for a fixed separation between these two: some items may be a low priority at the outset but will rise to the top later...
Note from asker:
| Thank you for this. I decided to stick with the cooking metaphor in the end. The juggling metaphor doesn't really fit the evolutionary ground of the middle metaphor, but I appreciate your insight! |
| Thank you for this. I decided to stick with the cooking metaphor in the end. The juggling metaphor doesn't really fit the evolutionary ground of the middle metaphor, but I appreciate your insight! |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
seehand
1 day 17 hrs
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Thank you, seehand!
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| disagree |
thefastshow
: ...kind of like the culinary context and would stick to it ... quite a challenge, but entertaining. Otherwise we may also compare it to playing "Commando Libya" etc. :)) //Well, it says disagree not right/wrong-I disagree with your take on this-legit!
1 day 22 hrs
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|
You need to explain why a solution is wrong when you disagree. That you prefer culinary metaphors doesn't do that. Your solutions are entertaining all right but don't really illuminate the challenges of efficient task setting.
|
2 days 22 hrs
Darin Fitzpatrick
United States
United States
Native in English
United States
Engineer & Project Manager
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, English to German
Related KudoZ points
:
4
bubble up
Not culinary, and not a perfect metaphor by any means, but bubbles rise to the top.
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Note added at 2 days 22 hrs (2019-04-10 07:43:37 GMT)
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Someone else has run with this metaphor: https://to-round.com/
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Note added at 2 days 22 hrs (2019-04-10 07:43:37 GMT)
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Someone else has run with this metaphor: https://to-round.com/
Note from asker:
| Thank you for your suggestion. In this case, it needed a little more sense of slow gären, rather than rapid bubbling. I appreciate your thoughts, though! |
Discussion
Also, you aren't really supposed to cook them (ziehen lassen!). Maybe you remove them one by one when you serve them, but then dump in new ones? I'm sorry but this is about the worst "metaphor" I have heard in a long, long time.
Maybe Ramey's idea is OK (I'm not a bake-a-cake type) or Michael's. You should just find something else for your text, IMO, because this doesn't even work in German.
Best wishes