Bergamot
[BER-gə-mot]
Part of speech: noun
Origin: Italian, late 17th century
1.
An oily substance extracted from the rind of the fruit of a dwarf variety of the Seville orange tree. It is used in cosmetics and as flavoring in tea.
2.
A dessert pear of a rich and sweet variety.
Examples of Bergamot in a sentence
"The house tea blend has strong notes of bergamot."
"We're serving poached bergamot for dessert."
About Bergamot
In Northern Italy there's a city and province called Bergamo. But there's also a Turkish word — "begarmudu" — that means "prince's pear." Between the orange extract and the pear, bergamot is likely a mix of these origins.
Did you Know?
So many versions of bergamot, so little time! A Seville orange tree produces the fruit from which bergamot is extracted for Earl Grey tea. Then there's also a variety of herb in the mint family called bergamot, and finally we have a type of pear called bergamot.
