What is wrong with the word moist?
Time and time again. Over and over again I read food bloggers complain about the word moist. So I ask you, what is wrong with the word moist?
Let’s review the definition of the word moist:
- slightly or moderately wet
- tearful
- characterized by high humidity
Allrighty then. So I made some muffins the other day and called them moist.
Which they were. They were slightly wet and just a little tearful as I almost cried when they were all gone ’cause I was also out of almond flour and unable to make more. (Note to self: order almond flour.) The high humidity part doesn’t fit, but whatever. Recess can mean a break from class or a hole in the wall, but we all still liked playing four square just the same.
The first three examples of moist from my good pal Merriam Webster all involved food.
- I love cookies when they are moist and chewy
- The pork chops were tender and moist
- A moist and spongy chocolate cake
The next four examples involved dirt, eyes, fog and eggs so we’ll just skip over them.
So, can we all agree that moist can adequately describe a baked good that isn’t dry? Yes? No arguments there? Muffins can be moist? Good. Let’s move on to synonyms of moist.
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clammy
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damp
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dampish
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dank
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dewy
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dripping
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drippy
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drizzly
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humid
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irriguous
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muggy
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not dry
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oozy
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rainy
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soggy
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teary
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watery
Lovely, aren’t they? Now, let’s add the word muffins after each of them. Just for kicks.
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clammy muffins – for the nervous cook
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damp muffins – Mama muffins that didn’t have time, yet again, to blow dry their hair
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dampish muffins – for the muffins trying to be kinda damp, but not damp
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dank muffins – for the basement cook
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dewy muffins – the early morning muffin catches the dew
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dripping muffins – red velvet muffins, for vampires
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drippy muffins – for the muffins that really just wanna be eggs
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drizzly muffins - for the muffins that really want to be cinnamon buns
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humid muffins – throw in some dry ice and you might as well call them foggy
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irriguous muffins – look, it’s late and I’m too lazy to look this word up in the dictionary, but can we just assume it’s a synonym of moist that doesn’t go with muffins? K, thanks
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muggy muffins – for the inner thief
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not dry muffins – I know I’m no The Next Food Network Star winner, but come on, that’s just sad
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oozy muffins – for Halloween
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rainy muffins – It’s raining muffins, hallelujah, it’s raining muffins . . . A-MEN!
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soggy muffins – Does this make anybody else think of O Brother Where Art Thou? No? Just me?
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teary muffins – star of their very own harlequin romance cookbook
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watery muffins – If you don’t like the heat, stay outta the oven
To summarize, I would like to suggest that moist is indeed the best word to describe a not dry baked good. Who’s with me?
- Joanna
P.S. All the water pictures came from our motorcycle trip to West Virginia. You know, the one not picked. I’m going to tease you all with pictures till it finally wins.
Question of the Day: What’s one word that you hate? Seriously, I need ideas for the next blog post.