The Grocer’s Encyclopedia
Artemas Ward’s Encyclopedia of Foods and Beverages — New York, 1911
Green SweetGreen SweetBaconBaconNeufchatelNeufchatelPomegranatePomegranateTomatoesTomatoesPumpernickelPumpernickel

A Dictionary of the Grocer’s Trade

Artemas Ward’s encyclopedia of 1911 gathers everything that once crossed the counter of the general store — the fruits and fish, spices and staples, cheeses, wines and wonders of the old grocery — here arranged from A to Z.

1,556 entries · from abalone to zwieback · A to Z
❧ Play “Mind the Store” ❧ Twenty questions from the book — are you a green hand or a merchant prince?

Browse A to Z

A
72 terms
B
143 terms
C
208 terms
D
34 terms
E
17 terms
F
64 terms
G
91 terms
H
40 terms
I
18 terms
J
21 terms
K
29 terms
L
69 terms
M
125 terms
N
17 terms
O
33 terms
P
163 terms
Q
6 terms
R
56 terms
S
205 terms
T
62 terms
U
4 terms
V
22 terms
W
49 terms
Y
3 terms
Z
5 terms

A Taste of the Shelves

ALLIGATOR PEAR, or Avocado

a tropical fruit, native to Mexico and northern South America but now widely grown also in the…

PEMMICAN

an invention of the American Indian, is lean beef, or venison, dried hard, pounded to a powder…

ZWIEBACH, or Zwieback

is a product whose name describes its manufacture, the word (in German) signifying "twice…

ABALONE

an immense uni-valve shellfish common on the Pacific Coast. It some-what resembles the eastern…

TABASCO

a long-podded red pepper cultivated chiefly in southern Louisiana. It is best known to commerce…

SAFFRON

Genuine saffron is a coloring material obtained from the dried flower-pistils of a species of…

WELSH RABBIT, or "Rarebit"

is made of dry cheese, melted with a little old ale and poured over slices of hot buttered…

MAYONNAISE

a sauce or salad dressing composed of raw egg yolks beaten up with olive oil to the consistence…

The Curiosity Counter

❧ Visit the Curiosity Counter ❧ Muskrats sold under other names, pickled unicorn plant, Holy Ghost wine and the crankiest entry in the book — ten strange finds from the shelves of 1911.

About the Book

This Encyclopedia covers all articles ordinarily handled by Fancy and General Grocers, and, in addition, a wide range of information on other subjects more or less closely allied to their trade, or to that of the General Storekeeper. The text has been made as concise as possible, while retaining the most interesting points on the cultivation, manufacturing, marketing, etc., of the principal staples. As it is designed chiefly for trade and public reference, purely technical terms--chemical, botanical, etc.--have been avoided, except where they are needed to evade the confusion which would result from the employment of contradictory popular titles or terms.

Rights & ReuseThe complete text of The Grocer’s Encyclopedia (1911) is in the public domain in the United States — like all works published before 1928 — and is free to read, download, quote, teach from, and reuse. This digital edition (its transcription, restored images, and site design) is © 2026 PhotoOpAI, and any editorial commentary we add is clearly marked as ours; the underlying public-domain text carries no such restriction.