Footnotes to the TV series
RORY: We talked about Fez.
LORELAI: And he thought it was a hat.
A fez is a short cylindrical felt hat or cap, usually red, and often decorated with a tassel. It is named after the Moroccan city. Worn in the Middle East since medieval times, it was popularised by the Ottomans in the 19th century.
LORELAI: OK, I need more tulle here. I need the feeling of a major tutu, OK?
A tutu is a traditional ballet dress, often made from tulle, which is a fabric made from lightweight fine netting.
Amy Sherman-Palladino herself was a ballet dancer, and had the chance to turn professional. She became a writer instead, but there are numerous references to ballet in Gilmore Girls, and her show Bunheads was based around the world of ballet.
SOOKIE: I’ve got to make strawberry shortcake for 200 people. I think I’m gonna need strawberries.
Shortcake is a dessert made from a small sweet cake, or from what Americans call a biscuit – a small quickbread similar in appearance to a scone. Recipes for strawberry shortcake can be found in English cook books as far back as the 16th century. It is a common summer dessert in the US.
SOOKIE: Oh I should make some kiwi ice cream. That would be good sometime.
Sookie means ice cream made from kiwifruit, not from the bird called the kiwi, or New Zealanders.
MICHEL (to Lorelai): Guests are checked in, baskets are given out, and 200,000 tons of Jordan almonds have been delivered.
Jordan almonds are almonds with a pastel-coloured sugar coating. They are traditionally given as wedding favours. Originating in Italy, they may not have a connection with Jordan, but the derivation of the name is uncertain.
Richard tells us that Lorelai the First was famous for her masquerade balls. These are formal dances where everyone attends wearing a costume and a mask to hide their identity. Originally they were entertainments for the aristocracy, and were traditionally held in the Carnival season before Lent.
Perhaps it is from Lorelai the First that Lorelai and Rory inherit their love of dressing up in costumes.
RICHARD: Dinner was lovely, Emily.
EMILY: Mira does make a perfect cassoulet.
Cassoulet is a rich slow-cooked casserole originating from the Languedoc in the South of France made with white beans, duck or goose, pork sauages, and sometimes other meats such as pork or mutton. It is named after the cassole it is cooked in – a deep round cooking pot.
In America, cassoulet is often used to mean any hearty bean-based meat casserole. It is unclear which type the Gilmores are eating, but I’d like to think the cosmopolitan Richard and Emily would insist upon an authentic cassoulet on their table.
Rory suggests she could make Paris her friend by learning to French braid her hair. A French braid is a plait of hair which begins from the crown of the head, making a more elaborate braid with a sophisticated look.
The French themselves identify the braid as African in origin, as the style is earliest known in North Africa.
Lane says gloomily that her mother found a website which sells tofu in bulk and bought a bigger fridge. Tofu, or bean curd, is a food made from soy milk with the curds pressed into soft white blocks. It is often used in Asian dishes, and is a common vegetarian food (as Seventh Day Adventists, the Kims have a vegetarian diet).
LORELAI: So, I brought us some coffee.
RORY: Why, I’m shocked.
LORELAI: Triple caps, easy foam.
Lorelai has bought herself and Rory two cappuccinos made with three shots of espresso (triple strength), lightly foamed on top.
The Annotated Gilmore Girls 