I think I may need to compile a postmodern
etymology. Can someone explain to me what the flavor of 'rotisserie'
is? Stainless steel perhaps? Until about 1993, the word rotisserie
meant "a small broiler with a motor-driven spit, for barbecuing
fowl, beef, etc." Then came the hey-day of Boston Market (then
called "Boston Chicken") and a wave of 'rotisserie chicken' products
appeared throughout America. By 1995 (the year I clipped the
above ad) the word 'rotisserie' was on its way to meaning so much
more. I suppose it is possible that the processed food
industry's engineers and flavorists have harnessed some chemical
compound or other that makes things taste like they were cooked
on a rotisserie (after all, natural smoke flavoring is available
in liquid form and added to products like jarred barbecue sauce),
but I remain skeptical.
