1

A Typology of Toponymy in Food Names with Special Reference to Kentucky

Alan R. Libert, University Of Newcastle, Australia
Alan.Libert@newcastle.edu.au

“food constructs, represents, and negotiates individual, communal, and national identities”
(Lockwood and Long 2009:94)

My work on food names started with Libert (2000-2001), originally given at a conference of the Canadian
Society for the Study of Names, later published in Greece, originally probably tongue-in-cheek, but it has
led to various other things. The sequel was Libert (1997), written later but published earlier.
Much of my other research is on Turkic languages (e.g. Turkish and Uzbek), and while on sabbatical in
Ankara in 1999 I noticed an apparent error in a menu (involving izafet), and searched for similar errors.

I. Classification in Terms of Type of Place Named After

A. Toponyms
i. Planets
ii. Continents
iii. Supranational Regions
iv. Countries
v. Subnational Regions
vi. States/Provinces/Counties (England)
vii. Counties (US)
viii. Cities
ix. Divisions of Cities (Buroughs, Suburbs, Neighborhoods)
x. Streets
xi. Islands
xii. Bodies of Water
xiii. Mountains
xiv. Private Establishments (Restaurants)
B. Unclear whether Toponym or Ethnonym

II. Classfication in Terms of Form of Toponym/Ethonym

A. Noun
i. Noun before Basic Food Term
ii. Noun after Basic Food Term
iii. Only Noun Appears (basic food term does not)
B. (English) Adjective
i. Adjective before Basic Food Term
ii. Adjective after Basic Food Term
C. French Adjective
D. x style [x could be noun or adjective, and could be before or after style]
E. à la x

Examples

I.A.i, II.A.iii: the Mercury, the Venus, the Mars [burgers available at Fries Me to the Moon, Bangkok]

I.A.ii, II.B: abalone with Asian omelette (Snow 2008:23), South American omelette (Janericco 1993:127)
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I.A.iv, II.A.i: Ceylon love cake (Ady 1968:119), New Zealand omelette (Newman 1983:32)
I.A.iv, II.B: Brazilian omelet (Janericco 1993:120), Burmese semolina cake (Ady 1968:116)
I.A.iv, II.C: omelette suisse (Senn 1972:201)
I.A.iv, II.D: scrambled eggs, Ceylon style (Ady 1968:101); hamburgers – Indian style (Ady 1968:44);
Spanish style halibut (Nibeck 1989:136)

I.A.v, II. A.i: New England clam chowder

I.A.v, II. B: Siberian stew (Nibeck 1989:15)

I.A.vi, II.A.i: Kentucky Watermelon,1 Kentucky Gingerbread2

The Kentucky Burger3
Old Kentucky Green Tomatoes And Cheese4
Old Fashioned Kentucky Nut Cake5
I.A.vi, II.A.ii: eggs Yorkshire (Culinary Arts Institute, eds. 1970:31), halibut Hawaii (Nibeck 1989:74)
I.A.vi, II.Bi: Kentuckian chicken wrap6
I.A.vi, II.Bii: Chicken Kentuckian7
I.A.vi, II.D: Kentucky Style Marinade8

Region within a state, II.A.i.: Western Kentucky Pork BBQ Sauce9

Region within a state, II.D: Central Kentucky Style Sweet Chocolate Gravy10
Western Kentucky-Style Barbecue Sauce11

I.A.vii, II.A.i: Woodford Pudding12

I.A.viii, II.A.i: Louisville Chili,13 Louisville Rice Salad14

Owensboro Barbecued Mutton15

1
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Kentucky-Watermelon-235815, originally from Bon Appétit
July/Aug. 1959, uses bourbon.
2
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Kentucky-Gingerbread-100646, originally from Gourmet Jan.
1999.
3
http://www.yelp.com/menu/stellas-kentucky-deli-lexington.
4
http://www.ifood.tv/recipe/old-kentucky-green-tomatoes-and-cheese.
5
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Old-Fashioned-Kentucky-Nut-Cake/Detail.aspx?evt19=1.
6
http://www.appetise.com/mexican-takeaway/leicester/amigos.
7
http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/282/Chicken-Kentuckian86257.shtml.
8
http://www.ifood.tv/recipe/kentucky-style-marinade; contains bourbon.
9
http://www.jurassicpork.com/Recipes/AR/R843.htm.
10
http://www.ifood.tv/recipe/central-kentucky-chocolate-gravy.
11
http://www.jurassicpork.com/Recipes/AR/R1789.htm.
12
http://southernfood.about.com/od/puddingrecipes/r/blbb519.htm; “This recipe was from a friend of my mother's -
always a favorite in my family. The recipe for Woodford Pudding found in Southern Cuisine section is the closest to
mine, of any I've found. Always curious about the name, I was delighted to find that it originated in Woodford
County, KY”.
13
http://www.grouprecipes.com/2807/louisville-chili.html; “Louisville Chili is a variant on Cincinnati Chili. Chili is
a regional food, evey place you go it is different”.
14
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Louisville-Rice-Salad/Detail.aspx?evt19=1; “A delicious cold rice salad recipe given
to me by my sister who lived in Louisville, Kentucky for many years”.
15
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/owensboro-barbecued-mutton-recipe/index.html; originally from BBQ USA:
425 Fiery Recipes from All Across America by Steven Raichlen; “Owensboro, Kentucky, is unique in the national
pantheon of barbecue-mutton is the preferred meat here, and it’s slow roasted over a smoky hickory fire in an old-
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I.A.viii, II.A.ii: eggs New Orleans (Culinary Arts Institute, eds. 1970:20), halibut Monterey (Nibeck
1989:175), ground beef kebab Tashkent (kijma kabob Toshkent) (Visson 119:114)
I.A.viii, II.B: Bukharan flatbread (non) (Visson 1999:23), Genoese frittata (Chamberlain 1955:108)
I.A.viii, II.C: omelette parisienne (Senn 1972:201)
I.A.viii, II.D: Lou-a-vul Style Brisket16
Ham Frankfort Style17
Beef Barbecue Lexington-Style18

I.A.ix, II.A.i: Brooklyn omelette (Randolph Diner, Randolph, NJ; http://therandolphdiner.com/browse-

menu/)

I.A.x, II.A.~i: J Street Club19

I.A.xi, II.A.i: Long Island clam chowder, Muck omelette (anon. n.d.:7)

I.A.xii: (Mediterranean seafood chowder20 (Nibeck 1989:44))

I.A.xiv, II.A.i: White Gull hash browns (from the White Gull Inn, Fish Creek, MI;
http://www.whitegullinn.com/dining/breakfast.htm))

I.B, II.B: Catalan eggs (Culinary Arts Institute, eds. 1970:8)

Double Toponyms
Kentucky Brunswick Stew21
Kentucky Glazed Canadian Bacon (However, Canandian here refers to the type of bacon, and is not
really part of the recipe naming)22
Louisville Hot Brown (a double toponym as Brown is from the Brown Hotel)23

Toponym and Anthroponym

Jonathan's Kentucky Hot Slaw (but is Jonathan’s really part of name?)24

fashioned pit the way it's been done for nearly two centuries. If you're not from Owensboro, mutton can be
intimidating, and hard to find. So here you'll also find instructions for barbecuing a more benign leg of lamb”.
16
http://www.frankfortavenuebeerdepot.com/menu.html.
17
http://civilwartalk.com/threads/bourbon-gourmet-recipes.84203/, “from The Bourbon Book published by Old
Taylor Distillery Co., which was located in Frankfort, Ky.
18
http://www.grouprecipes.com/79218/beef-barbecue-lexington-style.html; “One year a tad back, this recipe
traveled from Lexington, Kentucky IN a slow cooker ON the back floor of our friend's car to State College, Pa.”
19
http://www.yelp.com/menu/stellas-kentucky-deli-lexington/item/j-street-club; I would guess that “J street” stands
for ‘Jefferson St.’, which is where the restaurant is located.
20
Does Mediterranean refer to the sea, or the region around the sea? I suspect the latter in this case. There is also a
bracketing question: Mediterranean [seafood chowder] or [Mediterranean seafood] chowder? Given the source, I
would say the former, but in other sources it could be the latter, or unclear. If it were the latter, then Mediterranean
would probably refer to the sea itself.
21
http://www.ifood.tv/recipe/kentucky_brunswick_stew; there is debate about the source of the Brunswick part of
Brunswick stew.
22
http://www.atasteofkentucky.com/shop/kitchen/kentucky-kentucky-glazed-canadian-bacon-recipe.html?
atokID=bc597f052d53378635dc8c24c9b88e0b.
23
http://www.countryliving.com/recipefinder/louisville-hot-brown-3983; ‘The Louisville Hot Brown was first
served at the Brown Hotel, in Louisville, Ky., in the 1930s”.
24
http://www.atasteofkentucky.com/shop/kitchen/kentucky-jonathans-kentucky-hot-slaw-recipe.html?
atokID=bc597f052d53378635dc8c24c9b88e0b.
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Part of Description, not Name

“I was happy to finally try Dixie Chili, and they have a very good chili and cheese coney. 3-way
shortcomings aside, I highly recommend crossing the river every once in a while for some Northern-
Kentucky-style chili!”25

“Chopped Steak
A‌ half pound of chopped steak, broiled. served with your choice of potato. we can make this Louisville
style by smothering it with cheese, sauteed mushrooms, tomatoes, and scallions or we could blackened
your chopped steak and top it with bleu cheese crumbles to make it black and bleu style.” 26

A Complicated Example
Deconstructed Egg Rolls ... or Eastern Kentucky Style Chinese Food 27

III. Classification in Terms of Reason for Name

This is more difficult, as usually sources don’t explain names, meaning that one must often guess. In the
case of names involving style, the (supposed) reason is clear. Possible other reasons include the
(supposed) origin of a dish, or origin of a major ingredient in a dish. The latter is true of Kentucky
Watermelon, as it contains bourbon, the former of Louisville Hot Brown.
I believe that the reason for Muck in the Muck omelette may be simply to call it something and not
just “omelette”.
Finally, consider Kentucky Fried Haddock..28

References
Anonymous (no date) Isle of Muck Cookery Book. West Highland Publishing Co., Breakish, Isle of Skye.
Ady, D. M. (1968) Curries from the Sultan’s Kitchen. A. H. & A. W. Reed, Sydney.
Chamberlain, N. (1955) The Omelette Book. McGraw-Hill, New York.
Culinary Arts Institute, eds. (1970) 250 Ways to Serve Eggs. Consolidated Book Publishers, Chicago.
Janericco, T. (1993) The Book of Great Breakfasts and Brunches. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York
Libert, A. (1997) “Beyond French Onion Soup and Scotch Broth: Soups Named After Countries, Nationalities, and
Ethnic Groups”. Onomastica Canadiana 79.1:1-34.
Libert, A. (2000-2001) “Ethnonymic and Toponymic Words in the Names of Omelettes”. Onomata 16, 255-272.
Lockwood, Y. R. and L. M. Long (2009) Review of exhibition Key Ingredients: America by Food. Journal of
American Folklore 122, No. 483: 92-95.
Nibeck, C. (1989) Alaskan Halibut Recipes. AK Enterprises, Anchorage, AK.
Senn, C. H. (1972) The Menu Book (compeletely revised by R. L. Gower, G. l. Dodd and P. H. Blaaser). Ward
Lock, London.
Snow, S. (2008) Byron: Cooking and Eating. Murdoch Books, Millers Point, NSW.
Visson, L. (1999) The Art of Uzbek Cooking. Hippocrene Books, New York.

25
http://chilinati.tumblr.com/post/19573721281/stop-11-dixie-chili-newport.
26
https://foursquare.com/v/fifth-quarter/4b636b6af964a52071782ae3/menu; from a restauranr in WV.
27
http://sarahfusallen.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/deconstructed-egg-rollsor-eastern.html; “On the menu for tonight
was a spin-off of the Eastern Kentucky favorite fried cabbage.”
28
http://potato2paleo.blogspot.ca/2011/11/kentucky-fried-haddock.html; “Today something awesome happened. I
accidentally discovered the secret recipe for KFC's chicken batter (ish). […] Today, I decided to try the recipe again,
this time ‘breading’ (really, it’s ‘almonding’) my haddock. And when I tasted it, I could have sworn I was eating
KFC....except with fish instead of chicken, obviously”.