A teaser...

[nattydread]

Why is orange jam called Marmalade?

So children would think it was some kind of cool fizzy drink like lemon-ade or apple-ade, and not just plain orange jam?

[moggy]

According to one story, the name originates from Marie malade ('Mary's ill'). This is a reference to Mary, Queen of Scots, who supposedly ate orange jam when she was unwell. The bitter orange - the skin in particular - was used medicinally as an aid to digestion.

Yet it is the quince that is marmelo and quince conserve marmelada. The root of the name of this fruit appears to be from the Latin melimelum, or honey apple. Quince was widely used as root stock for different varieties of apple and pear, which graft on to it well.

In the Oxford English Dictionary the etymology of 'marmalade' states its origins as Portuguese and French - which could possibly be why it was associated with Mary Queen of Scots, whose preferred language was French.

The word 'marmalade' is first referred to in English documents of around 1480, which well predates Mary, Queen of Scots. This probably refers to the import of the Portuguese product, which had reached such proportions by 1495 that it was assessed for customs duty. In French etymology it is not found until 1573

:icon_eek: icon_exclaim.gif

[moggy]

[quote:6624750b02="Taffy"]:icon_eek: icon_exclaim.gif[/quote:6624750b02]

well he did ask :icon_biggrin:

I knew some of the answer, but that is just a copy and past from a web page - I'm not that much of a nerd :icon_biggrin:

[saraian]

Ok you lost me on.'According to one story' He He, only joking Mogs.. I like the cow burp info better though! :icon_wink:

It wasnt a suggestion of nerdyness.. it was my brain exploding at information overload! I didnt realise there was such a history to orangy goo!

I dont like the stuff either, which probably contributed a hell of a lot to my ignorance :icon_wink:

[nattydread]

When I was in the navy, one of instructors told us he'd been teaching a load of feoreign navy chaps.. Sultan of Oman or somwhere like that...

He;d done his bit about the relative merits of Rolls Royce gas turbines or whatever it was and asked the class if they had any questions..

anything at all he says..

to which one shy little hand popped up and said..

"Why is orange jam called maramalade..?"

This was pre information superhighway days, and it took me years to find the answer..
I like to pose the question now and again..
The world wide web has spoiled little things like that..

ho hum..!!

Here's something the info SH cant answer... why exactly does Tony Blair do that motion with his hand whenever he speaks??

[nattydread]

He's a cybernetic organism..

He's not a very good one though, and he gets his power from one of those Sekonda Kinetic watches that you need to shake now and again to keep the juices flowing.

It's trrue I tell you!!