SC - Re: Galantine

[Terry Nutter]

Hi, Katerine here.  Susan, you say you bought galantine at an oriental grocery.
Are you sure that what you got isn't galangale (also sometimes called
galingale, or galanga)?  That is a spice, used in medieval cuisine and in
modern Thai cuisine, and frequently available in oriental food stores either
fresh as a root or as a dry ground powder.

No, galentine isn't derived etymologically from galangale, though there's a
false folk etymology claiming that it was that can be documented back to
the late 15th century or early 16th (I forget which at the moment, but can
look it up if anyone cares).  No, most medieval galentines did not contain
galangale, though about a third of the English ones did.

Cheers,

- -- Katerine/Terry