What Else Can It Be Called?

[Bobbisox1]

https://news.sky.com/story/food-bloggers-call-for-word-curry-to-be-cancelled-over-claims-it-is-rooted-in-british-colonialism-12376985

What a load of crap!!

[andy-hughes]

rowanwitch - // It's just a generic catch all for a spicy stew or casserole, as has been said by other posters like pie, stew, I rarely refer to curry, as dishes have their own names. //

Absolutely.

I remember Gordon Ramsey, who has probably forgotten more about Asian cuisine that this 'influencer' would ever know, being asked what he thought the ultimate food is.

"Curry." was his instant response.

I am sure he knows every single variant of curry that there is, and how to cook it to perfection, but using a generic term to convey something to a listening audience is simply how we communicate.

[royfromaus]

I am sure he knows every single variant of curry that there is
__________

I'm sure he hasn't

[royfromaus]

Doesn't

[youngmafbog]

//And I suspect there aren't too many Asian restaurants with the word "curry" in the name: //

I see you dont get out much then!

Lets not forget many Curry houses are run by people of Indian, Bangladeshi or pakistani decent, they are in essence English. I have known many of them and they all use the term 'Curry' and many do use the term 'curry' in their name. e.g. the many 'Curry Kitchens' for a start.

[youngmafbog]

And its a good Vindaloo or Jalfrezi for me, maybe the odd Dhansak.

I cook many myself thanks to the local Asian shop.

[Gromit]

Even if it is a misheard British name, it has stuck and everyone knows what it means. You cannot uninvent any words.
English is probably the most diverse, inclusive and rich language. We are happy to take words from anywhere and incorporate it into our lexicon.

[ichkeria]

“I see you dont get out much then! “

I only go to the posh ones :-)

[Gromit]

ichkeria

Have you never heard of Curry Cafes ?
I regularly go to several.

[Gromit]

// The first known appearance in its anglicised form (spelled currey) appears in a 1747 book of recipes published by Hannah Glasse. //

Curry has been used for over 270 years. I don’t think a Californian ‘influencer’ will change that.

[ichkeria]

“ Have you never heard of Curry Cafes ? ”

Nope.

I don’t as a matter of fact it is true ever eat out much these days.
In fact I never do.
But I’ve just remembered that the nearest place to here is in fact the Curry something or other :-) And it used to be very good. Probably still is

[jno]

blimey, last week people were getting upset about something a woman in Toronto said a year earlier; now it's something someone in California said a couple of months ago?

Waaaay down the bottom of the story it says "Ms Bansal says the word does not need to be 'cancelled' completely." Nor have any of the other people it quotes used the word "cancel". So perhaps the headline is a teensy bit misleading.

[andy-hughes]

jno - // Ms Bansal says the word does not need to be 'cancelled' completely." //

The day some chippy cook gets a say on which words do or do not stay in usage will be a day when societyhas finally lost itself in a welter of pointless self-importance.

People who use the word 'cancel' in this context should not be put in charge or anything, ever, they are too self-important and stupid to be allowed to influence (ha ha!) anything beyond feeding and dressing themselves.

[jno]

people do get words changed, andy. I can remember when the N word was still in use and "Ms" hadn't been invented. One departed, the other arrived, after popular campaigns. No doubt proponents were called "chippy" in their day.

[Ellipsis]

Chippy is where you get your chips. Sometimes with curry sauce ...

[jno]

a serious insult to South East Asian chefs and no way to curry* favour.

*etymological note: that usage comes from currying a horse, in a non-cooking sense. "Favel" was a default horse's name, like Reynard for a fox and Bruin for a bear.

[barry1010]

I have fabulous cookery books by Madhur Jaffrey - Curry Easy and Ultimate Curry Bible.
If 'curry' is good enough for her, it's good enough for me.

[andy-hughes]

jno - // people do get words changed, andy. I can remember when the N word was still in use and "Ms" hadn't been invented. //

Of course they do - but you can hardly stand those two up as comparable examples - one is a universally derided label of oppression, and the other signalled a change where women decided not to be defined by their marital status.

That hardly stands up next to a common label for a food type, does it.

[Mamyalynne]

It's a bit of a shrug story really.

[barry1010]

Meat/poultry/fish/game cooked in liquid with vegetables is called a stew in this house. The recipe book may call it coq au vin, boeuf bourguignon, Minervois lapin or lamb tagine it is still a stew.

[naomi24]

She says the word does not need to be cancelled completely. How kind. I think we should all be very grateful to her. Who is she anyway?