Best translations for these Chinese foodstuffs.

[liuzhou]

What's your translation for my 千張, or 豆腐皮?

I've always seen it translated as tofu (or beancurd) skin and don't see any problem with that.

Translations of foodstuffs which are not generally known in English speaking countries are never going to be straightforward. Same with translating in the other direction.

Especially when you consider that "grill", for example, means totally different things in British and American English.

[liuzhou]

> what's wrong with "ganoderma"

Because it's abstruse and nobody would know what I was talking about.

Whereas they would if you called them Lingzhi mushrooms?

[Guest realmayo]

crisscrossed -> cross-hatched

[count_zero]

> Whereas they would if you called them Lingzhi mushrooms?

100% of readers would know that they were mushrooms, yes. And a smaller percentage might also know which type.

[liuzhou]

So call them ganoderma mushrooms. If someone knows neither, ganoderma is much easier to find in most reference sources.

While I know it isn't definitive -

"Ganoderma" on Google - 6,120,000 results

"Lingzhi mushrooms" on Google - 111,000 results.

[count_zero]

Well, that's a point. I don't really like the sound of ganoderma though. Also there's a wiki page on the "Lingzhi mushroom", which states that it is a type of ganoderma, making "Lingzhi mushroom" more specific and giving me an excuse to use a word I prefer the sound of!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingzhi_mushroom

[liuzhou]

giving me an excuse to use a word I prefer the sound of!

So. You admit your stance is an arbitrary, irrational prejudice against Greek! (Not Latin.)

Incidentally, most harvested "ganoderma mushrooms" are gathered round these parts (northern Guangxi) and are under serious study by international bodies including the UK organisation Cancer Research and others as a potential anti-cancer agent.

Not sure if their medicinal benefits stretch to anti-Greek, though.

Here are my pet ganoderma mushrooms.

[Kenny同志]

謝謝柳州同志解答俺的問題。

[liuzhou]

謝謝柳州同志解答俺的問題

不用谢

[count_zero]

> So. You admit your stance is an arbitrary, irrational prejudice against Greek! (Not Latin.)

Well, my decision is based on weighing up several factors – frequency of useage, conciseness, clarity and yeah, anything that puts two fingers up to those damned Mediterranean types.

Unlike “ganoderma”, which sounds like a skin disease and I have to keep C&Ping because I can’t even remember it, I can actually remember having a conversation about lingzhi at a 花卉市场. The guy told me you are supposed to wash them with baijiu.

[count_zero]

Not that it matters, but the records should show I never said that "ganoderma" was Latin.

> crisscrossed -> cross-hatched

I think that "crosshatched" is better than "crisscrossed". There are quite a few sources to be found of mango, squid etc being "crosshatched". Thanks!

[liuzhou]

The guy told me you are supposed to wash them with baijiu.

They will still taste like shit.

Ganoderma are not culinary mushrooms. They are extremely bitter. Medicine only.

[count_zero]

These were at a 花卉市场. For decorative purposes.