Food Phrases.

Famous Food Phrases, and new ones.

We are all constantly trying to improve our knowledge of our craft. Since my craft is food and beverage I thought it would be a fun examination of terms used to describe food, phrases about food and specifically words that conjur up clever thoughts about eating in general!

 

As far back as 350 BC we know of writings about food when Archestratus writes 'Hedypatheia'; one of the earliest cookbooks, mentioned by Athenaeus in his writings.  Not only were the early cookbooks filled with the knowledge of the day but also about the culture of that time.  Culture and the natural trend of language to evoke pleasure from and to allure people to new foods has been going on since man created fire and someone needed to say how specifically AWESOME that was.  I wonder how that conversation went … “Uggg …. SEEE, ouchchchchch!”

Other fun phrases from the ‘early years include in 255 BC the term 'don't upset the apple cart' was first used by Roman playwright Plautus in 255 B.C. in his play 'Epiducus'.  Doesn’t really apply today in literal terms but certain in irony!  Now we say “leave the door closed”.  In 100 AD The world's oldest surviving cookbook, De Re Coquinaria ("On Cookery"), is attributed to the 1st century Roman, Apicius.  Who was also the first to say “the first taste is with the eyes”.  Now, he must have had a restaurant and wanted to make food pretty.  In 408 AD the Visigoths attacked Rome and demanded 3,000 pounds of pepper as part of the city's ransom; and Alaric I said “with this spice the world is better”.  Really? Come on, they didn’t have any pepper in Germania?  Now the phrase is “variety is the spice of life".

 

A good meal ought to begin with hunger.
French Proverb

Choose rather to punish your appetites than be punished by them.
Tyrius Maximus

Coffee should be black as Hell, strong as death, and sweet as love.
Turkish Proverb

For its merit I will knight it, and then it will be Sir-Loin. Charles II