Ke-tchup is a fermented anchovy sauce from China that originated over 500 years ago. In Dan Jurafsky’s “The Language of Food: A Linguist Reads the Menu”, he explains why we refer to our national condiment as “tomato ketchup” rather than just ketchup. It started with the migration of ke-tchup to Europe, where anchovies were substituted for tomatoes. All that was left was the addition of sugar when it reached the New World and voilà, tomato ketchup. I appreciate the thought process of the author. Seeing the word “linguist” was a bit intimidating, I must admit. However, the author was able to incorporate the historical past with the present day in a refreshing way. In this example alone, there are cultural, historical and political aspects that …show more content…
The addition of tomato in front of ketchup, creating tomato ketchup, is due to the westernization of the recipe. That is America though. We take a good idea, tweak it a bit to make it great and then call it our own. Throughout this book, I found myself stepping back to re-evaluate my food experiences. I found it interesting when Jurafsky mentioned that the most expensive restaurants rely on foreign terminology, extremely long words and the origins of ingredients. When I worked at the Binghamton Club, an exclusive members-only club in Binghamton with members including Mayor David, they were thorough in making sure the servers knew where each ingredient of the specialty dishes was from. Servers would come in thirty minutes early for their shift just so that they could go over the ingredients with the chef. I think that knowing where each ingredient comes from gives the dish a sense of freshness and possibly authenticity. It was interesting to read that prestigious restaurants offer little to no variety, almost as if someone is presenting you their idea of fine dining and you have no choice but to eat it. I think that goes for most aspects of life. Meaning, there is typically a superior or prestigious variety of that aspect, but the guidelines