The German name has largely ousted the original English name marchpane with the same apparent derivation: "March bread." Marzapane is documented earlier in Italian than in any other language, and the sense "bread" for pan is Romance. The origin could be from the Latin term "martius panis", which means bread of march. However, the ultimate etymology is unclear; for example, the Italian word derives from the Latin words "Massa" (itself from Greek Μάζα "Maza") meaning pastry and "Panem" meaning bread, this can be particularly seen in the Provençal massapan, the Portuguese maçapão (where 'ç' is an alternative form for the phoneme 'ss') and old Spanish mazapan - the change from 'ss' to 'z' in Latin words was common in old Spanish and the 'r' appeared later.

Rosh Hashanah translates to “head of the year" or "first of the year." This year the celebration will mark the Jewish Year 5771 and begins at sunset on September 8th, 2010 and ends at nightfall on September 10th, 2010.

A near universal condiment on tables in Chilean restaurants and homes is pebre, which is made of herbs, olive oil, vinegar, chili and chives. Unlike salsas, which are served on the side, pebre is introduced to stews and hearty soups to provide extra kick as well as spooned over steaks and seafood. Contrary to what the country's spicy name might suggest, chili peppers are not consumed with the same frequency or used in as many applications as they are throughout Mexico. Chilean desserts often employ a variety of fruits or manjar, a very sweet spread made from boiled milk and sugar and similar in taste to caramel. Desserts in the south have a distinct German influence, for example, kuchen, a fruit flan.

The Humboldt Current causes a dizzying array of seafood and shellfish to amass off the coast. Popular dishes that take advantage of this bounty include caldillo de congrio, a stew made of conger eel and vegetables, as well as ostiones a la parmesana, scallops on the shell in melted butter and grilled Parmesan. Ceviches from the fresh catch of the day and seafood empanadas are often the tasty starters in many Chilean restaurants. Abalone, sea urchin, squid, swordfish and tuna regularly are on the menu, served in a wide range of presentations from raw to grilled.

Made from grain cooked in water, Polenta served as a Pre-Columbian Northern Italy staple. Sometimes made from chick-peas or chestnut grain, the porridge-like substance is also known as “Italian Grits.”