supreme v. to remove the skin, pith, membranes, and seeds of a citrus fruit and separate its wedges. Also as noun, a wedge of citrus fruit. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
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I HAVE ONLY HEARD OF THE CLEANING AND PEELING OF CITRUS AS – BOOKING THE FRUIT.
Any idea about the etymology of this?
No, but I suspect it’s French in origin. The clue is in the 2006 citation, where a pronunciation is explained. If, in fact, the word is pronounced with a short E (making it something like “su-PREMM”) then it might be spelled “suprême.” However, none of my French dictionaries have anything food-related under “suprême” or “supreme.”
Merriam-Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, available here for free if you watch a short advertisement, has the following food-related definitions:
1. suprême: a rich white sauce made of chicken stock and cream—called also sauce suprême.
2. also supreme: a tall footed sherbet glass with a large bowl.
3a.: a made dish (as an entree) dressed with a sauce suprême <a >suprême</i> of sole> b also supreme: a dessert served in a suprême.
So a completely speculative and unreliable theory I have is that a citrus fruit, when cut in half and relieved of its slices, might leave a bowl of fruit skin that looks a bit like the suprême in sense 2, influenced perhaps by the citrusy nature of many sorbets.
In French cooking, a suprême de volaille is a boneless and skinless breast of chicken; the term “suprême” is used to describe the same cut of duck (“suprême de canard”) or other birds. By extension—meaning something from which all skin, bones, & other impediments to eating have been removed, it has long been applied to a skinless fish fillet. Now it has apparently been extended to a citrus section from which skin & membrane are removed. See Larousse Gastronomique, Julia Childs’ first cookbook (Mastering the Art of French Cooking) or the ever-reliable Marling Menu Master.
A-ha! That’s very interesting, Bill. It seems like a very good theory.