The Language of Food

 One of the most fun aspects of food is not eating it - surprisingly - but finding out its' origins. Where did the word barbecu ecome ffrom? Or something as ordinary as Romaine lettuce? Now there's a new book that explains allthat and it's a tasty read.

Regular contributor Kim Severson wrote about this in yesterday's New York Times Food section.The book is Romaine Wasn't Built In A Day (Voracious Press 2023) by medieval scholar and English professor Judith Tschann. This is not just the book for foodies but for word lovers too. It's chock full of interesting nuggets about food and food related words. Who would have thought that seersucker which comes from the Hindi word sirisakar whic derives from a Persian word meaning milk and sugar. The smooth stripes are the milk while the bumpy ones are the sugar.  Our popular barbecue comes from the Caribbean Arawak word barbacoa for roasted meat on a spit.You know that Caesar salad is named after Caesar Cardini, anItalian chef who moved to Tijuana. and create this fantastic salad for the 1920's movie stars. Yet did you also know that Romaine lettuce originated from the medieval French laitue romaine, which arrived with the popes coming ot the then seat of the Church, Avignon. France.  Although some words like avocado have spicier origins, ahucatl coming fromthe Nahuatl word from the Aztecs which was slang for testicles.

There are tons of delicious morsels. like this in the book. "Language is amusing,"said the book's author ."It has a playfulness to it and so does food." Yet some words have a weighted history like the word  recipe. It derives from the Latin verb recipere to receive or take. IN Western medieval and early modern manuscripts it was used to instruct people to take medical prescriptions. The  abbreviation Rx is a remnant of that. Another interesting fact is that the English language as a habit of sucking up foreign words and then making them its' own. Take relish for example. Again another word coming from Old French relaisser which means to release. The idea is that it releases flavor according to Dr. Tschann. Then there is mushroom which comes from the old Anglo-French word musherum and the central French word moisseron. We have the Yemeni port city of MUkha to thank for the word mocha. Their coffee originally had a chocolate-y flavor  that we now used for a mix blend of chocolate and coffee. Surprisingly place names like Chicago are  aasociated with food. the name cones from the  word leek in the Miami Illinois language while Topeka means the palce for digging potatoes in the Dakota language.

Romaine Wasn't Built In A Day is the perfect book for food and word lovers. It's a tasty look into our word salad of cooking terms. Buy it for a good read.

A Provencal Passover

The Avignon region of southern France is rife with history and tradition. This also applies to food and the traditional dishes associated with this season of faith and belief. To the Jewish community of Avignon, the Passover dishes take on a special meaning.

Joan Nathan, a regular contributor to the New York Times Food section and export on Jewish cooking wrote an informative and intriguing article on the community at Carpentras. since Roman times, Jews have lived in this Northern Provence town and will now be celebrating Passover at the Carpentra Synagogue, first built in 1367/ It is one of the oldest synagogues still in use and will welcome some with roots in African Judaism.Carpentrs a became the center of Jewish life in 1306 when the Jews were expelled from the Kingdom of France.Like other nearby sanctuaries of Avignon and Cavaillon, the town was under French rule but the Contat Venaisson under the command of Pope John XXII. His Holiness decreed that the Jew would be welcomed as refugees. Thanks to the initial 1,000 Carpentras was known as 'Petit Jersusalem. They still sadly  had to  contained be in a ghetto, which was locked at night. They had their own butchers and bakers which now the slaughterhouses and ovens along with the ritual baths are being excavated. Some things have changed. Most of the younger generation have moved to the larger cities and townspeople have to travel to Marseilles for kosher meats.

The holiday foods has both Jewish and Provencal influences The cuisine is Jewish dishes were adapted from local foods according to the laws of kashrut, or Jewish religious dietary laws. Gilberte Levi's Haroset, the sweet paste that represents the mortar that built the pyramids has dried  apricots, figs, raisins and chestnuts, reflective of the harvests of southern France. She will also serve veal stuffed with Swiss chard, with the last being a popular ingredient of the region. Her Haroset is easy to recreate It not only has the chestnuts but also almonds, pine nuts  and walnuts.She adds in the traditional apple along with cinnamon and fresh ginger. The fruit used can be dried because sweet Kosher wine will moisten it. The provencal veal breast stuffed with Swiss chard also has rosemary and garlic, not too far in ingredients from an Italian Easter lamb Cote du Rhone,a  dry red is also added for moisture.

Carpentras  will celebrate Passover ,using ancient recipes and traditions of both France and Jerusalem. The food will reflect centuries of lives led there. It is a reminder of their contributions to Provencal life.