Corned Beef

[phatch]

I understand the origin of this term to be referring to the rock salt used in the brine and such. The rocks were referred to as similar to kernels of corn. This makes the name a New World type of thing, at least as currently named. Seems the ingredients and techniques are all fairly old and likely to have been around a long time.

Any one know if it had a name before corned beef and when the new appellation came into use?

Phil

[Jim]

Phil,
I did a bit of reading in some of my older resource books and couldn't find any other name for corned beef. Below is some from information from The Oakridger newspaper:

In the "old country", pickled or smoked meats were a favorite for Sunday dinners and other special occasions. That's probably part of the reason corned beef has come to be associated with St. Pat's Day. The origin of corned beef dates back to the 16th century. At that time, the English used the words "corn" and "grain" interchangeably. As time passed, the term "corned" came to explain their beef curing process. In this process, they sprinkled the beef with coarse grains (or corns) of salt.

[phatch]

Dating back to the 16th century is still after the discovery of the Americas and about the time maize would have been entering Europe.

Interesting, but not conclusive one way or the other. Using your info, I checked Dictionary.com which gives this: Note: In Scotland, corn is generally restricted to oats, in the United States, to maize

I didn't know the usage varied so.

Phil

[Mezzaluna]

Yes, the British used the term at one time for any grain crop. It always seemed odd to me that, when I read a novel set in Britain, they would talk about cold and wet days in summer, yet speak of fields of corn. Later, I read somewhere that "corn" is a general term for grain. Makes sense, because you need lots of hot summer weather for growing corn/maize, but can grow rye, wheat and oats in the cooler growing season. as in Britain.

I guess salt grains could look like wheat grains, too!