>
>Ah,, thank you Arri. I was thinking tuna, as in the fish and was wondering
>how that nickname had happened <grin>.

This raises several interesting issues The first is linguistic. The
Spanish/Mexican word "tuna" clearly meant the fruit of the cactus. The word
"atun" clearly meant the fish. The English word for tuna was "tunny," a word
that was used in the US until about 1900. How "tuna" came to mean the fish is a
mystery. It was likely a Californization of the Spanish/Mexican word. The fist
usage I can find dates to 1881. Then this spelling just replaced "tunny" within
a decade or so in the US. I understand that "tuna" is regularly used in the UK
as well now? If so, I assume it's due to the sale of canned tuna.

This raises a larger issue. Why didn't the English and the Americans eat much
tuna prior to about 1907? Prior to this date, I can't find many recipes in
English-language cookbooks (there are some in French/Spanish cookbooks
published in the UK and US, but very few in British or American cookbooks). Any
earlier recipes from Australia or New Zealand by chance?

A couple tuna species are huge (some weighed it about 1000-15000 pounds) and
they are plentiful in the North Atlantic and the Pacific. Tuna isn't that
difficult to catch and it is a very mild-tasting fish, particularly the white
meat. Tuna has been part of Mediterranean cuisine since ancient Greek/Roman
times, and there are many French/Spanish/Italian/Arab recipes for tuna. Why not
the English-speaking world until the 20th century?

Andy Smith