Our Word for Wednesday theme for August is condiments. A condiment is added to food to enhance its flavour. The word has been used in English since the mid-fifteenth century and comes from the Latin ‘condire’ meaning ‘to pickle’. Over August we’ve looked at the words mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise, and sriracha. Our final condiment for the month is chutney. Chutney is a spicy condiment of Indian origin that has been eaten since 500 BCE. It is made from fruits or vegetables cooked in vinegar, spices, and sugar. Unlike pickles – known in India as ‘achar’ – chutneys are often freshly prepared. C...
Happy December! This month’s Word for Wednesday theme is festive food and drink. Our first choice of the month is a seasonal favourite—mulled wine. Mulled wine is wine that is heated with sugar, spices, and often citrus fruit. Other popular mulled drinks include mulled cider, mulled apple juice, and hot toddy. The word ‘mull’ has been used to describe the process of heating a drink with sweeteners and spices since the 1600s. While the origin of this word is unknown, there may be a link with the Dutch word ‘mol’ which was used to describe a sweet beer. ‘Mull’ has also been used in English to mean ‘...
Sugar, sukere, zucchero, all originate from the Arabic word sukkar, as it was Arabic traders who introduced Europe to this substance. Throughout the medieval period, sugar was considered a luxury, in the same realm as gold. Despite its status as a ‘treasure’, the rise of this sweet, soluble, crystalline, carbohydrate has associations that are not so appetising; it was through slave labour in plantations that sugar became readily available and affordable. ‘Sugar’ is now a word frequently heard in the western world, usually in the context of excessive consumption and resultant health risks. Sugar is an addictive substance, which initiates a pleasurable dopamine relea...
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