Arugula (1960)

[Wendalyn Nichols]

Possibly the omission is due to the fact that they call it "rocket" in England.

At 07:02 PM 1/20/03 -0500, you wrote:
>    OED doesn't have "arugula"?  Add it right now!
>    Merriam-Webster has 1967.
>    The library closes in seven minutes; last one.
>
>    24 May 1960, NEW YORK TIMES, pg. 33:
>_Food News: A Green by Any Name_
>
>_Pungent Ingredient Is_
>_Cause of Confusion_
>_for City Shopper_
>By CRAIG CLAIBORNE
>
>_Arugula--or Rocket--_
>_is the Secret of_
>_Experts' Salads_
>
>(...)  Ask Italian greengrocers for arugula, rucola or ruccoli; ask other
>markets for rouquette, rocket salad or, simply, rocket.
>    The phrase "secret ingredient" is a slightly ludicrous thing since it
> conjures up images of Mephistophelian brews.  Most Italian chefs know,
> however, that arugula or rocket--call it what you will--is the secret
> ingredient of many of their salads-about-town.
>(...)
>    Arugula, or rocket salad as it were, is almost in the same league with
> spinach concerning the sand that clings to its leaves.  When purchased
> the green should be washed thoroughly in several changes of water, then
> dried gingerly.
>    New York does not have a corner on the vegetable's availability in the
> United States.  Rocket salad is tremendously popular in the Creole
> country of Louisiana.  Here is an adaptation of a recipe that is
> frequently served in the home of Mrs. Edward McIlhenny, a superb young
> hostess of Avery Island, La.  It is for a canape that is almost
> insidiously beguiling to the palate.
>    ROCKET CANAPES
>(...)
>
>(OED has got to add "arugula"!  I'll bet they serve it in Tukwila!--ed.)