Noisette

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small round piece of meat, typically lamb, or a hazelnut-flavored culinary preparation in French cuisine
2. A diminutive portion of meat or hazelnut-based flavoring employed in culinary preparation
3. A tender, spherical cut of meat usually taken from lamb or veal ; a dish or ingredient characterized by a hazelnut flavor often used in cooking

Etymology: "Noisette" is French for "little nut," a diminutive of "noix," meaning "nut." The name is applied to two quite different things in English. In cookery it describes a small, round cut of meat, usually lamb or veal, taken from the eye of the loin or rib and named for its resemblance to a hazelnut. The hazelnut flavour that gives some dishes and ingredients their character is the same nutty association at work. The name also belongs to a rose. The Noisette rose takes its name from a French gardener in Charleston, South Carolina, who produced it in 1817. The flower's clustered blooms and sweet scent recall the same small brown nut, so the French word for a hazelnut ended up naming a plant, a cut of meat and a flavour alike.

Synonyms: hazelnut, nut