The Proverbial Fruit

Here at Jazz Apple newsletter HQ we are very proud of the fact that the apple, obviously our favourite fruit, has been recognised for centuries as a food of wonder. So great is the legend of the humble apple that it even has its own dedicated proverb that we all know and love, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”. The phrase is thought to have originated in Wales with the first known example of the phrase published in the February 1866 edition of Notes and Queries magazine, “A Pembrokeshire Proverb: To eat an apple before going to bed, will make the doctor beg his bread”. 

The phrase we use today derives from this older phrase and whilst it may not be as snappy as it is today, the good sense it promoted stuck and apple consumption was encouraged to young and old alike. This got the Jazz apple team thinking about other famous food related phrases and we have included are favourites below. We found it amazing that often we understand the implication of the phrase without having any idea why the phrase means what it does. Here are two more of our favourites and their origins, which may surprise you!

“Bring home the bacon”- We all know what this famous phrase means but did you know the first nods to it are said to come from a tradition, which still continues every four years in Great Dunmow, Essex, known as Dunmow Flitch Trials? The story goes that a local couple in 1104, impressed the Prior of Little Dunmow with their marital devotion so much that he awarded them a side or “flitch” of bacon.

However the phrase became used main stream probably due to its use in the boxing world. On 4th September 1906 the New York newspaper The Post-Standard reported that a boxer received a telegram from his mother prior to a fight saying “You will win and bring home the bacon”. He went on to win the fight and afterwards sent his mother a telegram back saying he had “not only the bacon, but the gravy as well.” A month later another boxing correspondent predicted a win for another boxer with “he will bring home the bacon.” Following this, the phrase was used frequently in the press, nearly all boxing related.

Another of our favourite phrases is the classic, to “Sell like hot cakes”. It is a phrase deriving from the selling of hot cakes which were cooked in bear grease or pork lard, popular in America from as early as the 18th century. They were first made of cornmeal and the griddle cakes or pancakes were of course best when served piping hot and were often sold at church benefits and fairs. Their popularity reached such a height that by the beginning of the 19th century 'to sell like hot cakes' was a familiar expression for anything that sold very quickly effortlessly and in great quantities.

What is your favourite food phrase or proverb?!