I am constantly wishing we could find new words to describe food. I mean, how many dishes out there taste delicious, yummy or scrumptious, are served on a bed of… or are tossed, smashed, splashed or soaked? The new descriptor that’s been popping up lately (even on some menus) is unctuous, which a lot of the TV chefs are using. I think it’s a tad pretentious – but then I did have to look it up when I first heard it. To me it has quite negative connotations, of something being oily, greasy or overly cloying.

A new book arrived from family in New York yesterday called Smoke & Spice, which shares the genuine way to do a smoke-cooked barbecue with all the trimmings. What excited me the most – apart from discovering this new trend and loads of recipes – were the two words that stood out: sop and mop. Both are used instead of the word basting, with hundreds of different variations, some with beer, some with cider vinegar, and most with jalapeños for pork ribs or Texan brisket. The word mop comes from a cotton-string tool that looks like a miniature floor mop and is used instead of a basting brush. Meats that have little fat need to be mopped quite often to make sure they stay juicy whilst being smoked.

This barbeque culture is full of humour. Drunk and dirty tenderloin, great boars of fire, unholy Swiss cheese and Cinderella sauce were just a few phrases that caught my eye and imagination. A word that also struck me was pandemonium, which described a whole lot of flavours in an Asian dish with serious pizzazz. That’s exactly what those flavours sometimes do when I eat them – create a pandemonium of different tastes.

Now I just need to try the Pop Mop, made with Coca-Cola and Wild Willy’s Number One-derful Rub in true Southern fashion.

Abigail