Food named after people

04 Sep 06 | by Lorraine in: Food and Drink

After my recent encounter with Cherry Garcia, I became curious about what other foods have been named after- or inspired by- people. Here’s some interestingness:

The Bing Cherry (which I’m mentioning first because it’s a major ingredient in Cherry Garcia, and therefore sort of appropriate) was developed by Oregon horticulturist Seth Luelling around 1875, with the help of his Manchurian foreman Bing, after whom he named it.

I was surprised to discover that Melba Toast and Peach Melba are both named for the same woman, Dame Nellie Melba (1859-1931). A famous Australian soprano from Melbourne, she was living at the Savoy in London when she took ill, and could only manage to eat extremely dry toast. It was also at the hotel that the dessert Peach Melba was created in her honour by Chef Auguste Escoffier.

Then there’s the Salisbury Steak, created by Dr. James H. Salisbury (1823-1905), an early health food advocate who advised his patients to eat the dish three times a day and limit their intake of “poisonous” vegetables and starches.

If, like me, you find all this fascinating, you can read more on Answer.com’s list of foods named after people.