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Glite Dictionary
Boston brown bread

Boston brown bread

6.8
A dark steamed bread made from cornmeal and molasses, often served warm
  • noun
  • /ˈbɔstən braʊn brɛd/
translation icon : pan marrón de Boston
  • Steaming instead of baking gives Boston brown bread its distinctive moist texture.

Examples

  • You can find delicious Boston brown bread at many traditional New England bakeries.

  • I love to eat Boston brown bread with butter.

  • My grandmother used to serve Boston brown bread with baked beans every Sunday.

  • Have you tried Boston brown bread at the new bakery?

  • I ordered a meal that included a slice of warm Boston brown bread with my soup.

  • During our family gathering, we enjoyed freshly baked Boston brown bread served with butter.

  • At the restaurant, the chef recommended the Boston brown bread as a traditional side dish.

Synonyms

brown bread
vsBoston brown bread
  • UK
1 1.0

A type of bread made from whole wheat flour that is darker and denser than white bread

is a specific steamed molasses and cornmeal loaf with fixed ingredients

Surface Forms

Boston brown bread singular
Boston brown breads plural

Morphology

Boston + brown + bread

The phrase transparently denotes a type of bread: 'Boston' (place) + 'brown' (dark color) + 'bread' (food) signals a regional variety of brown bread. A B1 learner who knows the constituents will understand it refers to a dark bread associated with Boston, even if they would not infer the exact ingredients or steaming method.

Etymology

Boston brown bread comes from early New England cooks who steamed a mix of cornmeal, rye and molasses in a can or mold, which made the brown bread moist and very dark. That's why the term now means 'a dark, steamed bread from Boston and New England'.