cover image Words to Eat By: Five Foods and the Culinary History of the English Language

Words to Eat By: Five Foods and the Culinary History of the English Language

Ina Lipkowitz. St. Martin's, $25.99 (288p) ISBN 978-0-312-66218-9

In this winsome, delightful, and appetizing romp through the development of our language regarding food, Lipkowitz demonstrates that we often prefer to use words to describe food that will either help us forget exactly what we are eating ("foie gras" helps diners distance themselves from the fatted liver of a goose) or seduce us into thinking that the very exotic name of the food or brand will deliver a better product than a less exotic name. Focusing on five foods%E2%80%94apples, leeks, milk, meat, and bread%E2%80%94she harvests with gustatory delight the crops of words for each that have grown up over the years to sow in our minds the meaning of what we eat. For example, the ancestors of modern apples likely grew in the primeval forests of Kazakhstan and were hard little sour fruits (Malus sieversii). Lipkowitz, who teaches English at MIT, traces the cultivation and growth of apples up through the present day as well as the ways that language has grown and shifted to describe the sweet, tart fruit now found in local markets or grocery stores. Lipkowitz reminds us as well that the Latin word for fruit%E2%80%94fructus%E2%80%94means "to have pleasure" or "to enjoy," and throughout her splendid book, she encourages us to enjoy and to take pleasure in our food, in its simplest forms and in simplest terms. (July)