Sep 1, 2009

Lagniappe… Give a Little Something Extra!By Mary K. MorganJavaJournalOnline.com

Recently, I stopped at my favorite candy store for some of its special vanilla fudge. Little did I know that I had a pleasant surprise waiting for me in my shopping bag. When I reached in for my fudge, there was a beautiful little gold-mesh bag of colorful candies placed there as a “lagniappe” by the shop owner. What a nice surprise!

“Lagniappe,” a commonly used word in the South, was discovered by Mark Twain on a visit to New Orleans in the mid-nineteenth Century. A wordsmith, he quickly placed it in his personal vocabulary and gave it a mention in his Life on the Mississippi (1883), referring to it as “a word worth travelling (sic) to New Orleans to get.”

He was right. It’s an excellent, expressive word with a circuitous history. A lagniappe — a little gift thrown in for free with a purchase — has its roots in the Incan Empire among the native Quechuan people where “yapay” meant to increase or add. The Spanish conquistadors put their own spin on the word, changed the verb to a noun, and came up with “la n~apa” to refer to a little something that is added and usually unexpected.

The Creole French in Louisiana, who were quite accustomed to adding new words and phrases to their repertoire, blended the Spanish with their French and came up with the current spelling. Usually pronounced “lan-nap,” this quaint custom is still alive and well in twenty-first century commerce.

A lagniappe may range from the simple addition of a thirteenth cookie in a dozen, to a well-thought-out giveaway for an executive — as a little bonus for doing business or for simply lending an ear. An entire industry is built around producing such unexpected little gifts that serve as reminders of a business, a candidate or a brand.

An old concept with a thoroughly modern commercial twist, the giving of a lagniappe has come full circle. In yesteryear, it was a simple little extra that a merchant threw in the bag with a purchase. Today, often branded, inscribed tokens of appreciation have taken the place of the simple gifts of yesteryear.

Some restaurants have gone the lagniappe route and give you more than you order. Slay’s on Hampton used to bring out an elaborate appetizer tray with fresh hummus, relishes, cheese, olives and bread. Never ordered, it was just a nice gesture from the owners given to customers to nibble on while they waited for their meal. And what a treat it was to the hungry diner!

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