Ever wonder why food is named the way it is? The Commons has some answers…
| Queen Margherita turned up in this week’s Library of Congress uploads to Flickr Commons. She’s the eponym of the “margherita pizza,” a standard combination of toppings (mozzarella, tomato, basil). Margherita pizza was served to the Queen Consort in 1889, in Naples, as an edible representation of the Italian flag (red/white/green). The name stuck. |  Library of Congress |
| Another famous Italian woman of the late 19th/early 20th century, coloratura soprano Luisa Tetrazzini, inspired a San Francisco chef to create “tetrazzini,” a dish with pasta, almonds, mushrooms, and parmesan sauce. |  Library of Congress |
| Staying in the music world, we find Dame Nellie Melba, Australian opera singer, who was honored with several namesake dishes, including Peach Melba (ice cream with peaches and raspberry sauce), and melba toast (a dry flat cracker). |  State Library of New South Wales |
| Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova had a meringue dessert named for her, because it was said to be as “light as Pavlova.” |  State Library of New South Wales |
Want more? Wikipedia has a List of Foods Names after People, and a List of Foods and Drinks Named for Places, for your all edible history needs.
Here’s a fine Flickr Commons tale. The National Library of Ireland has developed an extraordinarily committed (and funny!) group of commenters who are tenacious when there’s a mystery to solve. Headlines, automobile models, even clock faces are studied and analyzed to identify the unidentified. Last November, a group of early 20c. images from the Fergus O’Connor Collection were uploaded to Flickr Commons, and one was only called “Large house, with a clock tower and crenellated rooftop, in an unknown location.” For ten months, the location remained unknown, but comments and guesses kept arriving–two pages worth! Was it in Cork? A film set, perhaps, or a convent?
This week, Flickr user zetetic2006 finally had the answer: Sandymount Castle, near Dublin. Here’s the comment left:
I recognised it immediately! It’s Sandymount Castle on Sandymount Green in Dublin, the crenellated clock-tower is a giveaway. The rear of the castle backs onto the southern side of the Green where you can still see the clock tower, check out Google Maps. The view in this photo is no more, Castle Park was built in these grounds, sometime in the 50’s or 60’s I think.
Fellow Flickr user Niall McAuley confirmed this identification promptly, from Google Streetview, maps, and Bing’s bird’s-eye view, and the National Library of Ireland confessed speechlessness at the mystery’s solution. “I live under a mile from this building,” noted the amazed librarian, “and pass by Sandymount Green at least once a week!”