SC - introduction OOPS

[Barbara Sall]

david friedman wrote:
> 
> Puzzle:
> 
> How many different things (in and out of period) are called "Harisa,"
> and what is the connection?

Or, to put it another way, sometimes a cigar is just not a cigar.  It
might be better to speak of differences, rather than similarities,
between the known definitions of harissa. I'm only aware of two, one
being a meat, vegetable, and, I think, grain stew, the other being a
chili pepper sauce. Possibilities for why these two different items
share a name might include:

1. Corruption and equivocation of names (as with the goulash that is
really nothing more than a freshly-made, and hopefully higher-quality,
version of the canned product, Beef-a-Roni)

2. Similarity of names from different languages

3. The possibility (understand that I speak neither Persian nor Arabic)
that the name means "stew", and that the chili sauce is derived from a
chili pepper stew (such dishes do exist in Spain, Portugal, Italy,
France, and the Basque country, so perhaps the modern sauce is descended
from a North African original)

4. The harissa sauce may be intended to be served with the stew, and has
taken its name from it, although then I wonder why it isn't called couscous.

These are off the top of my head, there may be more esoteric reasons, as well.
  
Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com