Eat Your Words. Paul Convery

* flour from whole wheat grains, with some loss of bran and germ

      wineberry * a contender for the earliest word for grape in the English language

      winter banana * an apple cultivar recommended for eating fresh in the hand

      witherslacks * a Northern dialectal term for damsons

      witloof * the Belgian endive, a type of chicory mostly grown as a salad green

      xocolatl * chocolate, or “bitter water” in the original Nahuatl; a plant food produced from roasted cocoa beans and spices given to Aztec warriors as a reward for bravery

      yatsufusa * a hot speciality chilli pepper native to Japan

      ynneleac * an Anglo-Saxon onion; as the name suggests, onions and leeks are alliaceous vegetable cousins

      youngberry * a raspberry, blackberry, and dewberry triple-hybrid food fruit

      yuca * cassava or manioc root, an edible tuber rich in starch

      yuzu * a fragrant Japanese citrus fruit; the rind is a garnish and the juice a seasoning

      za’atar * Middle Eastern spice mix

      zahidi * a common semi-dry date; it “dates” as a human food crop to 4000 BCE

      zedoary * white turmeric, an aromatic culinary root with qualities similar to ginger

      zenvy * ground wild mustard seeds used as a food spice in West Country patois

      zerumbet * Indian “bitter ginger,” a rare traditional spice and flavouring agent

      zinziber * an archaic name for ginger

      zizypha * a cover term for a range of sweet edible berries or dates, or “jujubes”

      zucchini * the courgette as it is known stateside, a popular summer squash

Chapter 3

Items and Ingredients from the Animal World

      “Nothing helps scenery like ham and eggs.”

      —Mark Twain

      abalone * a species of edible marine snails, enjoyed raw or cooked

      acacia * the most popular variety of honey among modern consumers

      aileron * in culinary parlance, poultry wings or fish fins used as food

      aitchbone * a beef cut lying over the buttock, or rump bone, of cattle

      albacore * a commercially important table fish, being the chief source of canned tuna

      albondigas * small Spanish or Latin American-style meatballs

      alecs * herring; a name also sometimes given to pickled anchovies

      amberjacks * a genus of food and game fish found in temperate and tropical waters

      andouille * a spicy smoked pork and tripe sausage popular in Cajun cooking

      angelot * a soft, rich cheese from Normandy

      animelles * a culinary term for testicles, most especially from oxen and sheep, cooked and served as food

      anthotyros * a fresh, “flowery” traditional Greek whey cheese

      appetitost * a nutty semisoft Danish cheese made from sour buttermilk

      asadero * a flavourful semisoft white cheese from Mexico

      asetra * a highly prized type of caviar, obtained from the Ossetra sturgeon

      asiago * a many-textured Italian cow’s milk cheese

      aspic * a clear jelly obtained from meat stock used to glaze cold savoury dishes

      Australorp * a breed of chicken with a reputation as a copious egg producer

      axayacatl * “Mexican caviar,” aquatic insect eggs enjoyed since Aztec times

      ayren * hen’s eggs, as they were known in days of yore

      baconer * a pig reared solely to produce bacon

      barramundi * the Asian sea bass, a popular item in Thai cuisine

      bêche-de-mer * the flesh of the sea-worm, esteemed in the Far East as a delicacy

      beefalo * a bovine-bison hybrid; its meat is lower in fat and cholesterol than beef

      beestings * the protein-rich super-milk yielded by a cow or goat upon giving birth

      beluga * the world’s most expensive type of caviar, from the fish of the same name

      bierkase * a semisoft “beer cheese” originating in Germany

      biltong * “buttock-tongue,” strips of lean, cured meat eaten as field rations in the veld

      bindenfleisch * an air-dried beef product from Switzerland

      blacang * a Malaysian fermented shrimp paste, also known as terasi

      bloater * a whole herring soaked in brine before being smoked

      blutwurst * German “blood” or black pudding

      bockwurst * traditional German sausage made from ground veal

      boerewors * South African spicy sausage

      boloney * Bologna sausage

      bonito * the flesh of a tunny-like food fish—a cheap substitute for skipjack tuna

      bonnyclabber * a thickly clotted sour milk, somewhat akin to cottage cheese

      botargo * mullet roe pressed to form rolls of fish paste or relish

      boudin * French black pudding

      boulette * a whiffy Flanders cheese

      Boursault * an internationally popular modern French cheese made from cow’s milk

      Brangus * a hardy trademarked beef cattle cross

      branzino * the flesh of the sea bass used as food

      bratwurst * German fresh link sausage, usually made from pork

      brawn * cooked meat from the head of a pig or a calf, pressed and potted in jelly

      bresaola * Lombardy air-dried salted beef

      Brillat-Savarin * a triple-cream Brie named for one of the great historical gourmets

      brisket * one of the nine primal beef cuts, taken from the breast of the animal

      brisling * the Norwegian sprat, an abundant and versatile food fish

      brynza * a feta-like cheese produced throughout Eastern Europe and Asia Minor

      bucheron * a semi-aged goat’s cheese from the Loire

      buckling * smoked and salted herring, gutted and throated but leaving the roe

      bummalow * the “Bombay duck,” a lizardfish whose dried flesh is eaten as a relish

      burrata * an Italian buffalo milk cheese, essentially a creamed mozzarella

      busycon * a genus of edible sea snail; the term originally denoted a large fig

      butterine * an artificial butter manufactured from animal fat with milk intermixed

      caciocavallo * a semisoft, stretched-curd cheese made historically from mare’s milk

      calamari * meaning “inkpot,” squid considered as a culinary resource

      calico * a type of edible scallop harvested in open Atlantic waters

      calipash * turtle meat, specifically the gelatinous green upper-shell portion