Aloo by any other name

[muckefuck]

Potatoes are so ubiquitous around the world now that one frequently forgets that unless your ancestors are Andean, they were never a part of your traditional cuisine. It takes more than a little imagination to imagine Hanukkah without latkes, Thanksgiving without mashed potatoes, steak without frites, or fried fish without chips. And so it's no shame to admit that when tyrannio asked me today, "What did aloo used to refer to?" not only did I not have an answer for him, but I had to confess that the thought had never even crossed my mind before.

Actually, it's not true to say I had no answer. I am a UofC graduate, after all, and so never one to let appalling ignorance get in the way of an earnest discussion. I told him that the first place I would look for information would be Platts' Dictionary of Urdu, Classical Hindi, and English available online through the good graces of my alma mater. And, sure enough, it furnishes a solid lead:

آلو आलू ālū, आलु ālu [S. आलु], s.m. An esculent root, Arum campanulatum; potato, Solanum tuberosum

The only challenge now is tracking down what Arum campanulatum refers to. Apparently this is a disused term for Amorphophallus paeoniifolius, which goes by the lovely English common name of "elephant foot yam" and the not-so-lovely alternative "corpse flower". That last term probably gives you and idea why when Solanum tuberosum became available, the Indians dropped this root crop like a hot...

Comments

[nitouche.livejournal.com]

I think it's out of print now, but you might enjoy Raymond Sokolov's _Why We Eat What We Eat_ -- it's an exploration of the consequences of Columbus on various world cuisines, both Old World and New. It's a fascinating book -- unfortunately we lent our copy to someone ages ago, and alas I have no idea now to whom :(

[tyrannio.livejournal.com]

Thanks! The other commonly eaten Amorphophallus is Amorphophallus konjac, which is made into konnyaku.