MEMOIR MEROIR MERROIR DEFINED
ˈmerˌwär/
noun
- a historical account or biography written from personal knowledge or special sources.
“in 1924 she published a short memoir of her husband”
| synonyms: | account, history, record, chronicle, narrative, story, portrayal,depiction, sketch, portrait, profile, biography, monograph
“a touching memoir of her childhood” autobiography, life story, memories, recollections, reminiscences; journal, diary “he published his memoirs in 1955” |
- an essay on a learned subject.
“an important memoir on Carboniferous crustacea”
Oh, you wanted a definition of meroir not memoir! But how perfect is it that memoir is the closest word to meroir one can find in a dictionary? Those synonyms could all be applied to the the study of terroir/meroir. Some notes on the word meroir:
1. Meroir is not recognized by my computer and is the only word on this page with a red line underneath it. We get to define it!
2. It seems that people only use it with oysters. What about uni, trout, salmon, shrimp, kelp, and barnacles? Of course they have their own stories!
3. Some people find it worthless or pretentious.
4. Some (I believe rightfully) argue that it should be spelled with a single r, but some spell it with two, like Merroir restaurant in Virginia and a blogger.
5. If you google meroir or merroir mostly blog posts from our class pop up. If you google meroir google asks if you meant merroir.
6.Greg Atkinson, a chef who helped pioneer Pacific Northwest cuisine is given credit for coining the term:
Greg Atkinson in the Seattle Times on March 14, 2003:
“Pacific oysters reflect the taste of the waters in which they are grown. Pondering this phenomenon, Rowley and I coined the term ‘merroir,’ after the French ‘terroir,’ which describes the way certain foods and wine grapes bear the detectable flavors of their home soil.”
7. It’s spelled there with two with two r’s. I typed “with two” twice by accident, but I find the typo appropriate.
8. Ironically, the same people who write the word off understand the power of coining and defining words such as these:
Brian Staffield writing for Chowhound on April 30, 2014:
“Maybe as ridiculous as the word is, it could do some good and help bring better aquaculture practices to our ever-dwindling sea populations.”
