24.1.08

Chargerine

Pronounced "care-a-geen" by the Australian Aborigines and rhymed with "margarine" in American English, chargerine is a spice derived from certain coral rocks found predominantly in the Pacific Rim, off the shores of Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Australia, and in the Caribbean. Lately fallen into fashion among the eco-hungry crowd, chargerine is purchased as small rocks and then ground. Added to seafood - especially Creole cuisine - it is a potent, spicy, salty mineral. According to Aboriginal legend, the eldest son of a dead patriarch eats, at the occasion of the latter's funeral, a meal heavily seasoned with chargerine, and in so doing channels the best parts of the departed soul. In Aboriginal lore, the souls of men wade into the sea, while women's congregate under trees.

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