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  3. Cooking / Culinary

Klöße-kochen

English translation: Chicken wings + other considerations

09:26 Apr 7, 2019
German to English translations [PRO]
Bus/Financial - Cooking / Culinary
German term or phrase: Klöße-kochen
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!
Will Burn
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:33
English translation:Chicken wings + other considerations
Explanation:
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!
Selected response from:

Claudia Letizia
Germany
Local time: 21:33
Grading comment
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4Poaching eggs or alternatively making popcorn, popcorn approach
thefastshow
3Souffle baking
Peter Ward
3the perfect dumpling/making doughnuts
Ramey Rieger (X)
3Chicken wings + other considerations
Claudia Letizia
3Shifting gears/Juggling changing priorities
Michael Martin, MA
3bubble up
Darin Fitzpatrick


Discussion entries: 3





  

Answers


1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
Souffle baking


Explanation:
Could you possibly use the metaphor of a souffle rising?

Peter Ward
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:33
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
Notes to answerer
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 comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Ramey Rieger (X): Nice idea, but a soufflé is taken from the oven in one piece.
2 hrs
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
the perfect dumpling/making doughnuts


Explanation:
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.


Ramey Rieger (X)
Germany
Local time: 21:33
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 23
Notes to answerer
Asker: This is making me hungry. I like the idea of doughnuts very much, and it fits the metaphor very well.

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8 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
Chicken wings + other considerations


Explanation:
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!


Claudia Letizia
Germany
Local time: 21:33
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in ItalianItalian
PRO pts in category: 8
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10 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Poaching eggs or alternatively making popcorn, popcorn approach


Explanation:
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.

thefastshow
Germany
Local time: 21:33
Works in field
Native speaker of: German
Notes to answerer
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!

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1 day 4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
Shifting gears/Juggling changing priorities


Explanation:
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...


Michael Martin, MA
United States
Local time: 15:33
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman, Native in EnglishEnglish
Notes to answerer
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!

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!


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  seehand
1 day 17 hrs
  -> Thank you, seehand!
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
  -> 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.
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2 days 22 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
bubble up


Explanation:
Not culinary, and not a perfect metaphor by any means, but bubbles rise to the top.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 days 22 hrs (2019-04-10 07:43:37 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Someone else has run with this metaphor: https://to-round.com/

Darin Fitzpatrick
United States
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Notes to answerer
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!

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