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The Color Purple vocabulary
4 food related vocabulary
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kola nut
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tags: [food]
► definition
Definition:the fruit of the kola tree, a genus (Cola) of trees that are native to the tropical rainforests of Africa. The caffeine-containing fruit of the tree is used as a flavoring ingredient in beverages, and is the origin of the term "cola".[...]The trees have yellow flowers with purple spots, and star-shaped fruit. Inside the fruit, about a dozen round or square seeds develop in a white seed-shell. The nut’s aroma is sweet and rose-like. The first taste is bitter, but it sweetens upon chewing. The nut can be boiled to extract the caffeine.[...]The kola nut has a bitter flavor and contains caffeine. It is chewed in many West African countries, in both private and social settings. It is often used ceremonially, presented to chiefs or guests.In folk medicine, kola nuts are considered useful for aiding digestion when ground and mixed with honey, and are used for coughs.Kola nuts are perhaps best known to Western culture as a flavoring ingredient and one of the sources of caffeine in cola and other similarly flavored beverages, although the use of kola (or kola flavoring) in commercial cola drinks has become uncommontext from Wikipedia, licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike
photo: by Di PGskot - Opera propria, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64433102
► uses
Uses:
"I have kola," he announced when he sat down, and passed the disc over to his guest.
"Thank you. He who brings kola brings life. But I think you ought to break it," replied Okoye passing back the disc.
"No, it is for you, I think," and they argued like this for a few moments before Unoka accepted the honour of breaking the kola.
Chinua Achebe. Things Fall Apart, p.6 (1958)
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This aunt refused to marry the man chosen for her. Refused to bow down to the chief. Did nothing but lay up, crack cola nuts between her teeth and giggle.Alice Walker. The Color Purple, p.161 (1982)
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