2 Jun /16

Calamari

Calamari - Word of the day - EVS Translations
Calamari – Word of the day – EVS Translations

It is easy to go on the Internet and find a multitude of stories about food bringing people together and the love of a certain dish bridging the gap between individuals. Unfortunately, that dish probably wasn’t calamari. Being the culinary name for squid, calamari is a dish that people either love or hate: there seems to be no middle ground, and that is without going into the dreaded tentacle issue. While there is no promise that you will like calamari more by the time you have finished reading today’s word of the day, at least you will be more knowledgeable about the word itself.

First, let us address one of the obvious questions: if squid and calamari are the same thing, why do they have different names? In short, nobody really knows. Squid is a word of unknown origin that is thought to come from a sailor’s variation of the word ‘squirt,’ due to the ink-like discharge that a squid uses as a defence mechanism. On the other hand, calamari is comparatively quite sensible: coming directly from the Spanish calamar and the Italian calamaro, they are derivatives of the Latin calamarius, which means ‘pertaining to a pen.’ This pen reference comes from the fact that the inedible internal structure of the squid looks like a writing instrument, and the addition of the “ink” produced by the animal completes the reference.

As a source of food, calamari has long been enjoyed by humans, sharks, and sperm whales, among others. Though there is no data on how much calamari sharks consume (sharks are very secretive), human consumption of calamari is approximately 3 million tons annually.

Aside from being considered a readily-available food in coastal areas and a staple of seafood restaurants, there are strong nutritional reasons for consuming calamari. They are relatively high in sodium and cholesterol and can match foods such as beef or pork in protein content, while adding B-vitamins, essential trace minerals, and omega fatty acids.

Squid or Calamari

Stretching back to the 1560’s, it is rather surprising that the first known usage of the word in English only occurred in 1826, in Irish singer and composer Michael Kelly’s Reminiscences, where, likely writing of his time spent in Naples, he speaks of: “Stewed veal, fried calamari, a roasted chicken.” Demonstrating a broadened appeal, works such as Elizabeth David’s French Country Cooking (1951) and Maurice Duggan’s Immanuel’s Land (1956) began to further introduce the English-speaking world to calamari, not to mention exposure with Eastern/Pacific sources as well.

Since then, we have discovered more about the different flavours, tastes, and textures that the world uses to enjoy calamari, so, even if you still do not like it, there is always hope of finding that one good dish of calamari.