A question of lentils

It should also be considered that color words, while normally having a fairly well-defined "central" meaning, have boundaries that are extremely fuzzy and quite variable (both between languages and over time in a language). So while the color of cooked lentils may not be as central an example of the concept/word "red" as uncooked red lentils are, it's quite plausible that cooked-lentil-color might be included in the larger conceptual space labelled as "red" within a particular language at a particular time. And, as the evolution of color language in Western society has generally tended towards more color terms with finer distinctions between them, it's also quite plausible that the conceptual space covered by a word for "red" at the time this story was formulated was significantly larger than that covered by the same word today.

Mind you, I'm not at all proposing this as "the" answer, or even necessarily arguing for it at all. Simply pointing out that an objected based on the claim "lentil soup is not red" has some inherent weaknesses and that lentil evolution needn't be our only option.

Good call.

There's also the whole issue of comparative colurs -- "red" lentil stew as distinct from "brown" lentil stew.

And just to muddy the waters further, there's a fine tradition of calling things by their major ingredient, so it could have been called "red lentil stew" not because the stew itself was red, but because the main ingredient was red lentils.

FWIW, I've always thought red lentils were more of an orange than a true red.

Biblical Word Play

When I first saw your post I was set to send you to some cooking laurel in the SCA, but then I noticed your post was _from_ SCA. Duh. Baroness needs more coffee.

Ahem. I suspect more of a Biblical word play on "Red." Esau was red when born. He sells his birthright for red stew. He founds Edom (a red land) which translates to red. The Bible has many word plays that mean little to us when we read any translation but Hebrew.

Another example would be Simon called Peter. Peter in Greek is essentially "Rocky." Jesus says, "I call you Peter, and on this rock I build my church."

Re: Biblical Word Play

It should be pointed out that the original poster speaks Hebrew quite well.

Hebrew

Then you've (he/she's) got a great advantage! I tried to learn to read Koine(Biblical)Greek last year. Correction: I tried to teach myself Koine Greek last year. I didn't get very far.
It's so wonderful to be able to read something in its original language. I was trying to learn Koine for the purpose of reading the Bible in its original language. I've come to the point in study where I need to know if the original said "and," "or," or "but."
Good luck with your studies!

Re: Hebrew

Yea, my wife kmelion and the kids speak Hebrew pretty well. Me after 5 years in Israel I can more or less ask for directions.

Israel

I visited Israel 7 years ago. Our guide was multi-lingual (English, Hebrew, Arabic and I'm sure a few others.) His family had lived in Nazareth for over 800 years. We had a fabulous trip. I'd visit again. How did you come to move to Israel and from where? I knew there was SCA there. Did you find it there or somewhere else?

Re: Israel

I started in the Barony of Carolingia (Boston) many years ago. I moved here 5 years ago, kmelion was trying to start a SCA group right around when I got here. We met when she sent an email to a mailing list here. (I had been in Israel 3 weeks at that point)

My mom Always thought I would get married via the SCA,I just had to found my own shire to do it.

Re: Hebrew

Koine is a lovely language - I've only got 2 years of study myself, but it was well worth it.

Er, masoor dal stay reddish in colour after being cooked. (Well, depending on how you cook them of course.)

As a trained Chef

I can state that additives like Salt Peter and MSG in natural form, or ascorbic acid (vitamin C) can also retain the colour of many things (like lentils and corned beef or similar cuts of meat, fruit and potatoes).

Pending on what else was IN the soup, a natural form of something similar to this (like a cured meat base) could have kept the soup "red"-ish and kept the lentils from oxidizing to brownish colour.

Just an opinion, not for anything but my 2 cents.

Lady LaurelHelena of The Barony of An Dubhaigeainn, in service to The East.