Casein, Cysteine, and Cytosine opus 924
| 15 August 2026 1241 Hours | | Linguistics, Biology, Food, Medical, Science |
I receive a visit now and then from Paul, who picks up Endowment donations,
Which support our Quail Ridge Wilderness Conservancy land trust programs.
He had previously called to enquire about my gustatory choice for our visit.
I normally request a burrito, especially with lengua (tongue).
Mexican food names are always so interesting and burrito is no exception.
To digress, a burro means a donkey. Burrito (ito) means a little donkey.
There are two theories regarding how 'burrito' was derived.
The 'bedroll version' suggests the wrapped tortilla resembles
The rolled blankets and packs strapped onto a donkey's back.
Otherwise, during the Mexican Revolution of the 1910s, Juan Mendez,
A vendor in Chihuahua, supposedly wrapped his food in a large flour tortilla
To keep it warm and to carry it on a small donkey.
When the food became popular, customers called it "Food of the little donkey."
Back to my story, I decided not to order a burrito,
But rather, new to me, a Quesadilla: meat and cheese wrapped in a tortilla.
Here is another picturesque Mexican food name.
'Queso' means cheese. 'Ada' means made with cheese.
The diminutive is 'illa,' so we have 'little cheesy thing.'
In English, a close word-cousin to Queso is Cas-ein,
The phospho-protein (80%) in cow's milk from which cheese is made.
A similar-sounding word is Cys-te-ine, a semi-essential,
Sulphur-containing amino acid; a fundamental building block for body proteins.
Its sources are poultry, eggs, oats, and beef.
Cy-to-sine has nothing to do with, although confused with the above two.
It acts as a partial agonist of nicotine's acetylcholine reception in the brain.
It tricks the brain into thinking it has received nicotine,
Thus, it blunts cigarette cravings.
It is a toxic plant alkaloid found in the Golden Rain tree (Laburnum anagyroides).
From these linguistic discoveries, at least the two food items
Burrito and Quesadilla will never taste the same!
So now, returning to my food choices, this has been an interesting adventure.
The origin of naming things is never disappointing
And this is one more wonderful excursion to prove it.