Words we use (and eat)

[Note:  Vegans may want to take the day off from treppenwitz]

Once upon a time before supermarkets and neatly cellophaned meat in Styrofoam trays, we humans had a close relationship with someone called a 'butcher'.  Through this important relationship we acquired an incredible vocabulary and depth of knowledge regarding the butcher's trade and wares. 

Looking back on my typical American Jewish upbringing, it never occurred to me to ask any of the grown-ups what exactly 'tenderloin', 'skirt steak', 'flanken' or 'brisket' were.  Likewise, I knew terms like 'roaster', 'fryer', 'pullet', and 'capon' described various sorts of chicken... but if you put a gun to my head I couldn't possibly be more specific than that. 

Since my few outings to the butcher (Benny Levine's on State Street in Bridgeport CT), were usually spent 'skating' through ankle-deep sawdust (didn't all butchers have sawdust on the floor?) and staring longingly at the candy display near the big, old-fashioned cash register, I was never in a position to question where these exotic names had come from or how to identify them.  I simply assumed you asked the butcher and he gave you what you wanted.

When we moved to Israel I was delighted to note that even in supermarkets consumers typically had a face-to-face relationship with a knowledgeable butcher and frequently held extended discussions about cuts of beef and make specific requests regarding the quantity and type of chicken.

The only problem is that if in the states I only had the vaguest idea of what to call the mind-numbing array of meats and poultry... here in Israel I've been reduced to pointing like a Neanderthal at likely selections in the meat display and hoping for the best.

I bring this up because my ignorance of local nomenclature has me a little gun shy about ordering meat products here.

A perfect case in point would be the time I went to a popular shwarma joint in central Jerusalem and saw that they had 3 different rotisseries of roasting meat (shwarma).  One was lamb, one was turkey and the third seemed to be a combination of the two.  The guy ahead of me in line ordered 'Me'urav' (mixed), so I naturally assumed that he had requested some shwarma from the third 'mixed' rotisserie.  It sounded like a good idea so when it came my turn I ordered the same.

When I bit into my pita stuffed with 'me'urav' I was nonplussed because it didn't taste like either lamb or turkey.  In fact it didn't taste like shwarma!  However, not wanting to look like an idiot I finished my portion and made a mental note to ask someone what I'd eaten.

As all you laughing Israelis already know, I found out soon enough that 'me'urav' is a Jerusalem mixed grill delicacy consisting of all the tripe and organs from inside the chicken that any civilized person would discard while cleaning the bird.

[~shudder~]

This culinary mishap caused by not knowing what the hell I was ordering had me deeply worried because one of the things I've fallen in love with here is something called 'Pargiyot'.  For the longest time I didn't want to ask anyone what it was because I was secretly afraid that these tender morsels of grilled poultry would turn out to be the ass, feet and brains of the chicken!

I eventually went to a reliable friend and asked him what 'pargiyot' was.  He explained that some restaurants mistranslated 'pargiyot' as 'Cornish Hen', but that this fallacy was based on bad information someone had given them that Cornish Hens were simply tiny chickens.  He explained (and you can correct me if I've been misinformed), that 'pargiyot' are, in fact, very young chickens... basically what used to be called 'spring chickens' in yesteryear.

So, this begs two questions:

1.  Was I given good information about the definition of pargiyot?

2.  If so, is there anything comparable in the US or Europe?  I mean, other than an expression for someone who is young, is there an American equivalent of a 'spring chicken' any more?

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