Cupboard Love: A Dictionary of Culinary Curiosities

Nominated in 1997 for a Julia Child Award, 'Cupboard Love' is back, bigger and better than ever. In this updated and expanded edition, Mark Morton lays out a sumptuous feast of more than a thousand culinary word-histories. From everyday foods to exotic dishes, from the herbs and spices of medieval England to the cooking implements of the modern kitchen, "Cupboard Love" explores the fascinating stories behind familiar and not-so-familiar gastronomic terms. Who knew that the word pomegranate is related to the word grenade? That baguette is a cousin of bacteria? That soufflé comes from the same root as flatulence? Who knew that vermicelli is Italian for little worms, that avocado comes from an Aztec word meaning testicle, or that catillation denotes the unseemly licking of plates? Lighthearted and thoroughly researched, packed with linguistic lore and cultural trivia, the book blends the edible and the etymological into a delectable pièce de résistance.