The Right Way to Say Hard-to-Pronounce Food Brands

You probably use these products all the time. We certainly do in the test kitchen—they're some of our favorites. But how do you pronounce those brand names?

You may never have to say the brand names for your favorite foods and cookware out loud. But at America’s Test Kitchen, we actually do have to learn the right pronunciation for every product we test, since we put those products on TV and talk about them. 

Over the years, we’ve learned how to correctly say dozens if not hundreds of brand names, asking the manufacturers’ PR reps or, when that’s not an option, by watching videos made by the manufacturer or calling customer service.

If you want to be able to confidently recommend your favorite gear to your friends in conversation, this is the guide you’ve been looking for. 

Here are a few of the trickier names we’ve learned how to pronounce over the years (Some may surprise you!).

• DeCecco: This Italian pasta manufacturer (and the brand of our favorite spaghetti) is pronounced duh-CHEK-oh.
• Fage: As it says on the package, this Greek yogurt company is pronounced FA-yeh. 
• Ghirardelli: There’s a hard g at the beginning of this chocolate company’s name, not a soft g (think: garbage, not giraffe). Say it GEE-rar-DELL-ee. They're the makers of many of our chocolaty favorites, from supermarket boxed brownies to dark chocolate chips.
• Hoegaarden: The famous Belgian beer company is pronounced HOO-gar-den.
• Kikkoman: Talking about soy sauce from this popular company? It’s KEE-ko-mahn.
• La Croix: The name’s French, but the seltzer company’s American! So it’s pronounced la-KROY, not luh-KWA. As the company says, it “rhymes with enjoy.”
• Maggi: This one’s tricky. As the manufacturer of these iconic bouillon cubes, seasoning sauce, and noodles explains, it depends on where you are. In America, Maggi is pronounced MA-gee, like the woman’s name “Maggie,” with a hard G; in other countries, it’s more like MA-jee (Maggie with a soft G!).
• Maille: This legendary mustard manufacturer is pronounced MY.
• Rao’s: As we learned during the recipe development for Skillet-Roasted Chicken in Lemon Sauce, our homage to Rao’s iconic dish, it’s RAY-ohs, not ROWS.

• Ankarsrum: Our favorite stand mixer is made by a company whose name is most commonly pronounced AN-kar-shroom in the United States, but AHN-kar-shroom in Europe. (Both are fine, says the company!)
• Ateco: Known for their cake-decorating tools and bakeware, this company makes everything from biscuit cutters to offset spatulas. It's pronounced ah-TEE-koh, not ah-TEH-koh.
• Braun: Based in Germany, this company is pronounced BRAWN in the United States. 
• Calphalon: This cookware company is pronounced KAL-fuh-lon. 
• Kuhn Rikon: The manufacturer of our favorite vegetable peeler is pronounced koon-REE-kon. 
• Le Creuset: Our favorite enameled cast-iron cookware manufacturer is pronounced luh-cruh-ZAY.
• Oster: This popular home appliance manufacturer is pronounced OH-ster.
• OXO: We love many of this company’s tools, from their salad spinners to their grill tongs. The name is actually pronounced OX-oh, not oh-ex-oh.
• Rösle: They’re a Swiss cookware company, and their name is pronounced ROOS-leh.
• Shun: This Japanese knife manufacturer tells customers that its name rhymes with “moon,” so say it SHOON. 
• Staub: The maker of beautiful enameled cast-iron cookware says their name rhymes with “robe,” so STOHB.
• Zojirushi: Our favorite travel mugs and rice cooker are made by this Japanese company, pronounced zoh-jee-ROO-shee.