Bluesky post asking why people can't "cook umber" sparks pun avalanche
A tongue-in-cheek question about the paint color "burnt umber" turned into a wave of wordplay replies about grilling, searing and roasting the pigment.
What to know
- A single whimsical Bluesky post about "cooking umber" (playing on the paint term "burnt umber") drew over 1,400 likes and 105 replies.
- The comment thread became a collaborative pun exchange about grilling, searing, and seasoning the pigment, rather than a factual debate.
- A handful of commenters used the thread to explain the real chemistry of umber pigment, including its iron oxide and clay composition and how heat actually changes its color.
Commenters treat the post as a prompt for cooking/food puns about the color umber.
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“First..find a bbq grill. Set the frozen umber on it. Then, put it under an umberella.”
sarcasmoultrablam.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
Some commenters use the thread to give real, factual explanations of what umber pigment is and how it's processed.
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“Composition: Umber contains iron oxides, manganese oxide, and clay. It creates warm brown shades used in art, paints, mortar, and stucco.”
sue-2cats.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
A few readers simply react to the humor itself rather than adding new jokes or facts.
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“Those made me laugh completely disproportionately! 🤣”
janbellina.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
mariana057.bsky.social original poster
How it unfolded 4 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump postscomments
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4
A commenter details umber's mineral composition and personal history with it
A user with family history near a former umber mine in Pennsylvania describes the pigment's composition of iron oxides, manganese oxide, and clay, adding a factual thread among the jokes.
“Composition: Umber contains iron oxides, manganese oxide, and clay. It creates warm brown shades used in art, paints, mortar, and stucco.”
— sue-2cats.bsky.social -
Composition: Umber contains iron oxides, manganese oxide, and clay. It creates warm brown shades used in art, paints, mortar, and stucco. I know this because there was an active umber mine on my family's property in PA in the 1800s. Long ago abandoned, and entrance caved in now.
2 more of the top 3 · 21 posts in this stretch
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Don't you carefully sauté in a field of sunflowers on a starry night until your ear drops off?
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I don't use it because everything comes out umber cooked.
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3
Some commenters explain the real chemistry of burnt umber
Alongside the puns, a few users offer factual explanations of how umber pigment is actually processed by heating (oxidizing) the raw earth pigment to darken or alter its color.
“It's that they burn the pigment with fire to get it to oxide. When you do that the colour goes lighter.”
— chibitbear123.bsky.social -
Those made me laugh completely disproportionately! 🤣
2 more of the top 3 · 23 posts in this stretch
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I’ve heard that the pun is the lowest form of humor, but you may have undercut it.
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Same, and I needed (always) a good laugh!
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2
Repliers pile on with cooking-themed umber puns
Commenters riff on the premise with jokes about grilling, sautéing, and seasoning umber, including bbq and 'umberella' wordplay and a parody of a folk song about 'umberjacks'.
“First..find a bbq grill. Set the frozen umber on it. Then, put it under an umberella.”
— sarcasmoultrablam.bsky.social -
Well, you see, it's not so much they don't cook it right as it's in the same category as "blackened" Cajun food. They can't use the term "blackened" though, because that would confuse people as to exactly what color it is.
2 more of the top 3 · 4 posts in this stretch
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First..find a bbq grill. Set the frozen umber on it. Then, put it under an umberella.
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I could learn. If only I knew what an number is....
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mariana057 posts "Do people not know how to cook umber?"
The original Bluesky post plays on the art-supply term "burnt umber," implying the pigment needs to be cooked, and quickly gathers over a thousand likes and more than a hundred replies.
“Do people not know how to cook umber?”
— mariana057.bsky.social
What people are saying 14 voices from 1 site · best of 49 · verbatim
- What exactly IS Umber and why have I only seen it as paint?
- Sep 21
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Had to pass this post on to my art teacher daughter. 😉
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“Umber at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, then let stand uncovered” wouldn’t fit on the tube.
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I'm an umberjack and I'm okay, I use burnt umber every day, I highlight trees, I add brown leaves, I love painting rotten wood, my autumn landscapes all look sad, I'd brighten them if I could...
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It's only in season one month a year. Septumber.
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I caught two umbers last time I was in Japan. An old sushi chef I knew prepared one sashimi (raw) and the other he grilled (burnt). Oishi!
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What exactly IS Umber and why have I only seen it as paint?
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I prefer air cooking, after it is applied to a canvas, along with assorted other 'flavorings'!
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Perhaps our ancestors... ...alas that arcane knowledge has been lost to the winds of the ages, or lies slumbering deep in the darkest vaults of The Vatican. 😉
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Okay, I may have asked this before—Mariana have told Z how brilliant … uh, Ana Z have you told Mari how brilliant … signed, umberstanding little
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Hey, some people like it browned off. And when you do overcook, it can be crunchy, too. Don't get started on the Siennas, now...
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Idk about umber but my street name is Burntfork. I didn't even know you were supposed to cook the fork. I've been eating wrong my whole life.
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🤷 I've done it in class before. You heat it over a Bunsen burner in a test tube. You can get bit more version, but it more down to the clay in the soil and how much iron is in that.
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I went looking for the answer to what makes a color "burnt" & unfortunately the answer doesn't explain this image either. Maybe the design got mixed up somehow? Idk, but I do know that the raw should be burnt and the burnt should be raw color wise.
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Obviously at least one person was able to demonstrate how to overcook umber. So, don’t listen to that dude.