Episode 4: Is It Squid or Calamari? | The Town Dock

 

Transcript

The Town Dock's Squid Facts

Episode 4: Is It Squid or Is It Calamari? 

Hi, I'm Dr. Brianna Hughes, welcome to this Squid Facts Short brought to you by The Town Dock.

Today, we're going to be answering a common question: is it squid or calamari? And is there really a difference?

The word squid has been around since at least the 16th century, and no one's really sure where it came from. One idea is that it came from the verb squirt and was coined by sailors who saw squid squirting ink.

The term calamari is a little more clear and came to us from the Latin calamus a writing pen or reed. It eventually evolved into the Italian calamari, still in reference to its shape, internal quill, ink, or all of the above.

Because squid is commonly associated with Italian cooking, the word calamari became a common culinary word for squid.

That is exactly what we do at The Town Dock. When we're referring to the animal, we call it squid; when we're referring to the food, we call it calamari. It's similar to how we call the animal a cow, and its meat is beef.

The reality is, both terms are completely interchangeable. One does not mean a specific species of squid or a specific preparation of calamari.

So you can call it whatever you want, and we'll all agree it can always be called delicious.

 

 

 

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