Eat Your Words. Paul Convery

many alleged health benefits for consumers

      manzo * beef, in gastronomic parlance

      margarine * a substitute butter spread prepared from vegetable oils and animal fats

      marsoline * historically, a Florentine cheese esteemed the best in all Italy in its day

      mascarpone * a mild and easy-to-spread Italian cream cheese

      mashonzha * gourmet edible caterpillars widely enjoyed across southern Africa

      matambre * an Argentinian speciality beef cut, thinner than the American flanksteak

      matjesherring * young herring, salted and soused

      medallions * small, flat, usually round cuts or servings of either meat or fish

      megapodes * Australasian scrubfowl; their eggs and meat serve human consumers

      merguez * a heavily spiced Maghrebi sausage made with beef or mutton

      merrythought * the wishbone of a chicken

      micklewame * in cookery and butchery, the stomach or “big belly” of an ox

      milkfat * the natural fatty portion of milk from which butter is chiefly made

      milt * the seminal fluid and ripe testes of a male fish, prepared as a culinary resource

      miltz * in Jewish cuisine, animal spleen prepared as an item of food

      Mimolette * a French cheese notable for being intentionally exposed to mites

      monkfish * the angel shark as food; only the meaty white tail flesh is edible

      Monterey Jack * a Californian cow’s milk cheese, widely used in Mexican cuisine

      morcilla * Spanish black pudding

      moretum * a herb cheese spread eaten in classical Roman times with bread

      mort * pig fat, or lard; rendered and clarified, it is a useful cooking product

      mortadella * authentic Bologna sausage

      morwong * an Australian perch-like marine fish, commercially harvested for food

      moscardino * baby white octopus, commonly used as food in Italian cuisine

      mozzarella * a traditional Italian buffalo milk cheese, often used in pizzas

      muktuk * frozen whale skin and blubber—a staple of Inuit cuisine

      mullet * any of various small sea fish widely cooked and eaten

      mulloway * a well-regarded Antipodean table fish

      mussels * edible bivalve molluscs; they can be cooked first or eaten from their shells

      mutton * the flesh of mature domestic sheep eaten as food; also, in India, goat meat

      mysost * a Norwegian whey cheese product, originally made from goat’s milk

      myzithra * a Cretan ricotta-style unpasteurized cheese

      nerka * sockeye salmon

      Neufchâtel * an ancient French soft cow’s milk cheese, similar to cream cheese

      noisette * a small, usually round, portion of lamb loin or beef cut from the rib

      nostrano * an appellation accorded to any homemade Italian cheese

      onglet * a prime French beef cut, or hanger steak

      Orloff * a long-established chicken breed primarily suited to meat production

      ortolan * the flesh of a small songbird once prized as a delicacy, but now protected

      oxtail * a beef cut taken from the beast’s tail, used for making stew or meat soup

      oxygala * literally “sour milk,” the original, classical-era Greek yoghurt

      paillard * a boneless portion of meat pounded thin before rapid grilling at high heat

      pancetta * Italian cured pork belly

      paneer * Indian milk curd cheese

      pastrami * spicy, smoked brisket of beef, thinly sliced and eaten cold

      pâté * a cold savoury meat paste prepared from offal, notably liver, or fish flesh

      pecorino * a family of traditional Italian ewe’s milk cheeses

      pemmican * a highly concentrated and calorific dried bison meat product, traditionally carried by Native Americans as iron rations

      pepperette * a spicy mixed meat product resembling sausage that may be eaten cold

      pepperoni * strongly peppered Italian salami

      percoid * any edible fish of a group including the perch, bass, snapper, and bream

      pettitoes * pig’s trotters as an article of food

      pickerel * in cookery, the meat of a young pike

      picorocos * edible giant barnacles, as featured in Chilean cuisine

      piddocks * gourmet edible molluscs, also known as angelwings or rock oysters

      pilchards * small, oily, shoaling food fish; essentially sardines, but older and larger

      pinjane * Manx curds and whey, or cottage cheese

      pismo * a large North American coastal clam exploited extensively for food

      pluck * the major internal organs—heart, liver and lungs—of an animal as food

      pollock * a commercially significant North Atlantic food fish of the cod family

      polpettone * Italian meatloaf

      pomfret * a family of open seas fishes, valued as a food resource

      pompano * a common name given to a number of food fishes and edible clams

      porterhouse * a large, choice beefsteak cut taken from the short loin, or sirloin

      Port-Salut * a mild whole-milk cheese, originally produced by Trappist monks

      poussin * a chicken specially raised for eating at around six weeks

      prosciutto * a generic term in Italian cuisine for dry-cured salted ham, sliced thin

      provolone * a mild cheese from southern Italy, moulded in the shape of a pear

      pufferfish * a.k.a. fugu; a fish whose prized flesh can prove fatally toxic for some

      pullet * in cookery, the flesh of a young hen

      pulpo * octopus meat or octopus as an item appearing on a menu

      qaymaq * Afghani clotted or sour cream

      quail * the flesh of any of several genera of galliform game birds, cooked and eaten

      quark * a fresh German soft cheese product made with skimmed milk but no rennet

      quarter-pounder * any standard hamburger weighing four ounces prior to cooking

      rabbitfish * a commercially significant marine food fish

      reblochon * a variety of soft cow’s milk cheese from Savoy

      rib-eye * a large cut of tender beefsteak taken from the outer side of the rib

      riblets * processed strips of boneless rib-end meat

      ricotta * a soft white unsalted and unripened Italian cheese; often used as a filling

      rillettes * a highly seasoned potted meat product; prepared in a similar way to pâté

      roaster * any animal suitable for roasting, especially chicken

      rollmops * uncooked herring fillets pickled in brine

      Romadur * a smear-ripened German cheese somewhat similar to Limburger

      Roquefort * a strong French ewe’s milk blue cheese, matured in limestone caves