Word of the Day

Macédoine is the French word for Macedonia (birthplace of both Aristotle and Alexander the Great). It's also used to refer to a salad of mixed fruits or vegetables. According to the Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary, "Historically, this area [Macedonia] has been home to a richly varied population encompassing many ethnic groups. Etymologists believe that the cultural heterogeneity of the region may have inspired people to use its name as a generic term for any kind of wildly jumbled mixture. English speakers borrowed "macédoine" early in the 19th century. The word took on its more specific "salad" sense later in the century."

Food writer Renée Kaplan writes at thefoodsection.com, "So where the hell is Macedonia? And how it is that chopped carrots and peas and pears and peaches can all somehow claim to be Macedonian? It turns out Macedonia is actually wedged way down in Southeastern Europe between Serbia, Albania and Greece, that the national diet tends massively toward barbecued meat, and that there wasn’t a single Macedonian salad on any of the menus in the many restaurants I sampled there." She concludes that a Macedonian salad is simply a mixed salad, and offers a recipe for Macédoine de Légumes.