Lasagna, Casserole, and other Food Names from Pots and Pans

I found a wonderful book at the library a few weeks ago called “Word Mysteries & Histories,” which was written in the ‘80s by the editors of The American Heritage Dictionaries, and as I was leafing through the book, I came across the kind of information I imagine you could only know if you spend most of your time looking at etymologies. The entry was for the word “caldron,” which can be traced back to the Late Latin word for “kettle,” but then it gets interesting because the word “chowder” also goes back to the Late Latin word for “kettle.” 

Chowder

“Caldron” makes sense because it’s kind of like a kettle, but “chowder,” while it still makes sense because you make chowder in a kettle, is more of a stretch. The fish stew gets its name from the pot you use to make it. 

Lasagna and Casserole

It turns out it’s not the only food that gets its name from a pot or pan. The American Heritage Editors write that “lasagna” comes from a Latin word for “cooking pot,” and “casserole” comes from a French word for “saucepan.”

Cassoulet

I tried to find more foods that got their names from the names of pots or pans and found only one: “cassoulet.” This is a French casserole made from white beans and meat (often pork, lamb, sausage, goose, or duck). The word comes from an Occitan word that means an “earthenware dish.” (Occitan is a Romance language spoken in a few countries or regions including the south of France, Monaco, Catalonia, and the Occitan Valleys of Italy.)

I did find two other foods with interesting origins though.

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Tetrazzini

There are various recipes, but in general, a Tetrazzini is a dish with a white sauce, maybe with mushrooms, served with cheese on top and over pasta. The only two I’ve ever tried are chicken Tetrazzini and turkey Tetrazzini, but people also make tuna Tetrazzini. The dish is named after the Italian opera singer Luisa Tetrazzini, for whom it was first made. The most popular story is that it was invented by the chef at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco where “Tetrazzini was a long-time resident.”

It’s always tricky to know when to capitalize the names of foods that are derived from people or places, and it’s usually best to check a dictionary or style guide. For example, the cocktail name “manhattan” usually isn’t capitalized even though it’s named after the city, but the cocktail called a Bellini (probably named after the painter) usually is capitalized. In most examples I found of the dish chicken Tetrazzini, the word “Tetrazzini” was capitalized.

Stew

Finally, the word “stew” has an interesting, and maybe a little disgusting, origin.

The food we call stew gets its name from the verb “to stew,” as in to take a bath. Meat cooking slowly in liquid comes from the idea of person sitting in a hot bath. Hmm. Ick.

If you know of any other foods that got their names from the pots or pans in which they're cooked, please leave a comment below.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.

Mignon Fogarty is Grammar Girl and the founder of Quick and Dirty Tips. Check out her New York Times best-seller, “Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.”