- Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: Vintage; Vintage Books ed edition (Nov 24 1998)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0375702989
- ISBN-13: 978-0375702983
- Product Dimensions: 12.7 x 0.6 x 20.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 272 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #712,563 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
It's a browser's treasure of culinary etymological lore, but there's a table of contents that bespeaks a structure, starting with foods named for what they look like (such as rambutan, the sweet, red-bristle-covered fruit named for rambut, the Malay word for hair; or cabbage, which arose from the Old North French caboche, meaning head, making the phrase "a head of cabbage" redundant). Next comes a chapter on food names associated with religion and the supernatural (from angel-food cake and cappuccino, named after the brown cloaks of Capuchin monks, to pumpernickel, which supposedly means devil fart). There's a section on foods named by mistake, covering misnomers like geoduck, Bombay duck, and cold duck, none of which is related to the fowl, and a chapter on foods named for people and places, like Beef Wellington, Fettuccine Alfredo, Tootsie Rolls, and even Carpaccio (named after Renaissance artist Vittore Carpaccio, whose work often displayed a predilection for red).
Barnette delves into the stories of foods named for what's done to them or what they do to us (such as bangers, British sausages that'll explode if not pricked before cooking, and aubergine, which derives, via Arabic and Persian, from the Sanskrit for antifart vegetable.) And finally, there's a chapter on words derived from other words about food and drink, such as the dog term mutt, which came from muttonhead as an insult applied to dull people, which came from the assumption of stupidity of sheep, i.e., mutton.
Its index makes it a bona fide language reference, but it's more than just an academic resource. It's an etymologist's dream, a food lover's fantasy, and a general delight for anyone who takes joy in words and trivia. In telling the stories behind the names of foods, Barnette proves, as writers M.F.K. Fisher, Harold McGee, and Calvin Trillin have before, that a love of food and a fascination with language are not incompatible. --Stephanie Gold
From Booklist
Barnette delights in uncovering the plain facts and sentencing to oblivion the fiction about food words we know and maybe love. In a frothy, tongue-in-cheek manner, she uses detective skills to expose six categories: foods named for what they look like (bow-tie pasta); religion and the supernatural (various meanings of angel food); mistakenly named foods (Jordan almonds); eponyms and toponyms (Cobb salad); foods named for what is done to them or vice versa (pesto); and words derived from food and drink lingo (bagatelle). The surprises don't stop with, for example, her note that seersucker is from the Hindi word for milk and sugar. In effect, we're introduced to a wealth of new and unusual phrases, from geoducks to the pope's-eye, that will enrich, amuse, and edify gastronomes and linguists alike. Barbara Jacobs
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
If Your Recipes Include Foods AND Words...,
By
This review is from: Ladyfingers and Nun's Tummies: From Spare Ribs to Humble Pie--A Lighthearted Look at How Foods Got Their Names (Paperback)
I admit I'm a lover of both food and words, so this delicious book seemed the right menu choice when I borrowed it from the library recently. I was not disappointed; I have since purchased my own copy for reference in my food writing. The book is erudite, of course, but delightfully so. The origins of many of our food terms may indeed be obscure, but now that I have feasted on this little masterpiece, I no longer feel comfortable eating things with titles I cannot explain. Martha Barnette does go off on tangents that some may find vexing, explaining word relations that only begin with cuisine, but in doing so she adds richness to the stew. Both food and language are quintessentially civilizing; she's melded the two into an important book for any culinary or literary shelf.Food writer Elliot Essman's other reviews and food articles are available at www.stylegourmet.com
5.0 out of 5 stars
Deliciously funny AND nourishing for the mind,
By A Customer
This review is from: Ladyfingers and Nun's Tummies: From Spare Ribs to Humble Pie--A Lighthearted Look at How Foods Got Their Names (Paperback)
I've never written one of these reviews, but I just had to stop by and say what a big kick I got out of Martha Barnette's clever book. I bought it because I love food and cooking, but after reading "Ladyfingers and Nun's Tummies", I also bought a copy to send to my sister, because she's one of those people who're crazy about words and their origins.If you're like us, you'll learn a whole lot from this little book -- and enjoy a whole lot of laughs in the process!
5.0 out of 5 stars
A "feast of words" for any lover of food and language.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Ladyfingers and Nun's Tummies: From Spare Ribs to Humble Pie--A Lighthearted Look at How Foods Got Their Names (Paperback)
I LOVED this book! The author has an amazing range of knowledge, both about the kitchen and about words, but what's truly wonderful is her terrific sense of humor, which makes learning all this stuff so much fun.I mean, who knew that Tootsie Rolls were named after a little girl or that Twinkies were named after shoes? Or that German chocolate cake isn't really German and Swiss steak isn't really Swiss? Or that the Italians like to nibble a plum they call a "nun's thigh," while the Dutch like to chow down on a dish of string beans and navy beans with a picturesque name that translates: "bare buttocks in the grass"? This is the perfect gift for the cook or food lover who has everything!
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