Category Archives: Language and Food
Recent Blog Posts
Lardcore: Southern Food, but Southern Style?
December 6, 2010
The holidays are often a time of overindulgence, especially when it comes to food. From Thanksgiving through New Years, Americans tend to stuff their faces with holiday mainstays. But it’s fair to say that a plate topped off North Dakota won’t look like one topped off in Alabama. Southern food […]
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Not So French? The Possible Etymologies of the French Fry
November 19, 2010
The weekends are often a time of culinary decadence—a respite from the long working week, at which time many people celebrate with candlelight, nice dinners, wine, etc. Some of us, though, aren’t so different from Clarence Worley in True Romance, and when we’re done with the week’s struggle, we want […]
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The Problematic Language of Corn Sugar
November 3, 2010
Only a few days have passed since Halloween, but some of you might already be reaching for the last few sweet treats in your (or more likely your child’s) candy bag. Among all the delectable chocolates, hard candies, and gelatinous goodies, you’ll surely find some form of corn syrup residing […]
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Currywurst: Language History in Every Bite
September 14, 2010
As a food writer, chef, and television guru Anthony Bourdain often points out during his show, No Reservations, that every culture has their “meat in tube form,” and, that more often than not, this meat product (i.e. hotdog, bratwurst, sausage of some form, etc.) is delicious. One of these meats […]
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Hegan: The New Male Vegan
March 25, 2010
It’s hard not to have fun when newspapers roll out with brand new words like the 2008 recessionista , the “style maven with a budget,” or, more recently, the femivore, a stay-at-home mother who finds empowerment through feeding her family organic and locally sourced food. The latest neologism is hegan. […]
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The Language of Liqueur
March 17, 2010
Liqueur and liquor may both stem from the same Latin verb liquere meaning “to be fluid” and the Old French noun licour meaning “liquid.” Nevertheless, liqueurs are entirely different liquids from their counterpart spirits. According to Stuart Walton, the author of The Bartender’s Guide to Cocktails and Mixed Drinks, liqueurs […]
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The Cream Christ Connection
October 14, 2009
There are few things that I love more than finding out that two seemingly very different words share the same root. Like the shared history of pomegranate and hand grenade, these connections between word origins sometimes surface in decidedly non-linguistic places. Today’s strange linguistic history comes from Harold McGee’s On […]
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Bento: The Japanese Art of Lunch
September 14, 2009
Over the past year or so I’ve noticed a strange phenomenon: people are showing up in cafeterias and break rooms carrying tiny plastic boxes or tins filled with elegantly arranged or cutely flourished lunch items. Their sandwiches may look like mice one day, cats another; the fruit resembles a bouquet […]
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The Soul of Food
August 26, 2009
This summer feels like it has been, the summer of food. Between the premiers of movies like Food Inc. and Julie and Julia, the buzz around New York Times food critic Frank Bruni’s retirement , and the usual food and beer festivals, food—whether the art of growing it, cooking it, […]
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Etymology of Cocktails and Spirits
July 31, 2009
Here’s to Friday, and to making it on the Lexiophile’s list of the Top 100 Language Blogs of 2009! Thanks to everyone who voted. Since it’s customary to raise a glass and toast in celebration, here is a language lovers list of the origins of common cocktails and spirits: Cocktail […]
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