Ladyfingers & Nun's Tummies: A Lighthearted Look at How Foods Got Their Names - Softcover

Barnette, Martha

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0595345034 ISBN 13: 9780595345038

Publisher: iUniverse, 2005

Synopsis

What naughty joke is tucked inside every loaf of pumpernickel? Why do we call it a Tootsie Roll? How did a drunken brawl lead to the name lobster Newburg? What squiggly creature inspired the name of the pasta called vermicelli?Ladyfingers and Nun's Tummies reveals the surprising stories behind the names we give to the foods we eat. With her witty, engaging style, Martha Barnette serves up a savory feast of history, culture, folklore, and science.Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as one of the "The 100 Best Books of the Year," Ladyfingers and Nun's Tummies is a delectable exploration of the language of food and drink. For cooking enthusiasts and word lovers alike, this book provides a smorgasbord of knowledge and bountiful food for thought."Everything in it is delightful to learn. Barnette takes us through languages and across millennia in a charming style that, starting with words describing things we eat, turns out to offer endless food for thought."-The New Yorker"Truly delicious a vast multicultural smorgasbord of our culinary delights a tour de force."-Gene Bluestein, Los Angeles Times Book Review"Ladyfingers will be savored by anyone with a fondness for food and a passion for language."-Francine Prose, People magazine"Why didn't anybody think of this before? What fun Martha Barnette has made of it all, every name for every dish explained and traced and jollied."-William F. Buckley, Jr.

About this title

Review

Martha Barnette's Ladyfingers & Nun's Tummies is like a chocolate soufflé: it's a light and fluffy indulgence, yet too delicate and complex to have been concocted by anyone other than a master. Sections on foods named after body parts, foods associated with religion, foods named by mistake, and others give a whole new meaning to the term food groups. The lollipop, it seems, is named for the smacking pop it makes when pulled away from an eager lolly (a northern-England dialectal term for "tongue"); the Reverend Sylvester Graham, an 1820s Connecticut minister who espoused the use of unrefined wheat flour, was the impetus behind graham crackers; the passion in passion fruit has more to do with the torture and crucifixion of Jesus than with erotic fervor; and Fig Newtons take their name from the Boston suburb of the same name.

For some reason, though, the food meanings that provoke the most visceral reactions are the ones that most fascinate. Would linguine and vermicelli be so popular if it were widely known that they mean "little tongues" and "little worms," respectively? How about avocados, whose name derives from ahuacatl, the Aztec word for testicle? Prik khee noo, those teeny little hot-hot Thai chilies, translate as "rat droppings." And there are many etymologists who believe that pumpernickel comes from the German for "devil fart." They would be well advised to follow that corned beef sandwich with a bit of eggplant, which goes by aubergine in England and France; aubergine derives from the Sanskrit vatingana, or "antifart vegetable."

From the Inside Flap

"Everything in [this book] is delightful to learn. Barnette takes us through languages and across millennia in a charming style . . . that offers endless food for thought." --The New Yorker
What makes the pretzel a symbol of religious devotion, and what pasta is blasphemous in every bite? How did a drunken brawl lead to the name lobster Newburg? What naughty joke is contained in a loaf of pumpernickel? Why is cherry a misnomer, and why aren't refried beans fried twice? You'll find the answers in this delectable exploration of the words we put into our mouths.
Here are foods named for the things they look like, from cabbage (from the Old North French caboche, "head") to vermicelli ("little worms"). You'll learn where people dine on nun's tummy and angel's breast. There are foods named after people (Graham crackers) and places (peaches), along with commonplace terms derived from words involving food and drink (dope, originally a Dutch word for "dipping sauce"). Witty, bawdy, and stuffed with stories, Ladyfingers and Nun's Tummies is a feast of history, culture, and language.
"Why didn't anyone think of this before? . . . What fun Martha Barnette has made of it all, every name for every dish explained and traced and jollied." --William F. Buckley, Jr.

About this edition

• Publisher: iUniverse
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0595345034
• ISBN 13: 9780595345038
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 226