It has always intrigued me how new words creep into our vocabulary. Certainly, in the period when I worked in the original Covent Garden, it took time to learn that individual cauliflowers were called “heads” and anything tropical was universally nicknamed “queer gear” - a phrase that the media of the time latched on to with great delight.
Perhaps the greatest mystery was how the term “cotchel” was derived. Every Friday it was the undisputed habit for everyone - with the approval of his employer - to be given a sample of whatever we were selling. I am still looking for confirmation from anyone who can tell me the correct spelling, and how the word for this seasonal doggy bag of samples originated.
Some terms are lost in the mists of time, but others are still fresh on growers’, wholesalers’, importers’ and retailers’ lips.
One of the most bizarre in the 1960s was the description created by the government, which in an effort to encourage wholesalers - who had yet to feel the warm breath of the multiples on their neck - encouraged them to set up central collection points in the countryside to support a fragmented English tomato industry. Dubbed RMUs, the sophistication of the regional marketing units’ name belied the fact that those I saw were located in anything from a tin shed in a field to a dis-used pub.
A decade later, when there was a surge to establish co-operative marketing, but some growers were still not sure about total commitment to the cause, the term “federals” was widely used as offering an alternative.
Traditional descriptions also seem to have taken on new meanings, which adds to the confusion. As an example I am much indebted to Paul Willgros from Marks & Spencer for his contribution to the letters column in a recent edition of the Daily Mail, explaining the reality of the use of the word “wild” when applied to products such as rocket.
To paraphrase the conundrum, in the case of wild rocket, the word refers to the origin of the variety rather than the method of production. There are more than 20 types of salad rocket bred to enhance certain qualities. Although wild rocket has never been bred, it is cultivated by farmers in the same way as those varieties that have.
Sticking with the retail sector, no-one would have known what a category manager was in the 1980s. And scrutinising the current retail feeding frenzy, which has become part of the arrival of the English apple and pear season, there has been much emphasis in the last couple of years placed on the term “concept orchard”.
I can understand the idea well enough, but surely they have in some way been around for a long time, be it on research stations or tucked away by passionate individuals.
Perhaps the greatest difference is that the retailers, and there are several following the same path, are now involved. I do not doubt their commitment, but it will be interesting to see how long the description itself lasts.
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