Talk:Monkey bread

Is it German?
Interesting article. I am German and spent most of my life in Germany, but I have never heard of this. Germans usually don't eat cake or treats for breakfast. Could you please doublecheck how relevant this breakfast item is? There isn't even an article about Affenbrot in the German WP. I haven't checked but I admit that it might be some regional specialty. When I found Affenbrot mentionned even in the breakfast-article, I found it kind of misleading. --Stilfehler 13:34, 14 September 2007 (UTC)


 * It will take me a while to go back and view the Good Eats episode, but you are free to verify yourself. Also, multiple trivial references equate Affenbrot with Monkey Bread in recipe sites, and the recipes for Affentbrot in German are substantially as the English-language recipes for Monkey Bread.  I don't know what occasions the German speaking people were serving their Affenbrot recipes. This article does not claim that the Germans eat it for breakfast, just that Monkey Bread has a German name.  There was an Affenbrot article in the German WP that was deleted, but I don't know what it said.  Here in America Monkey Bread has reliable sources and coverage in a nationally recognized Food Network program.  Also this is a redirect from an Affenbrot article which was a WP:COATRACK for promoting somebody's bed and breakfast, and they claimed the Germans eat Affenbrot/ Monkey Bread for breakfast all the time.  I took out the claim (because I lived in Germany, too and saw no breakfast pastries of any kind), took out the advertising, made a Monkey Bread article with reliable sources, and here we are.  Americans eat Monkey Bread as a breakfast treat.  That and the fact that it has a German name are verifiable.OfficeGirl 23:58, 14 September 2007 (UTC)


 * It appears to be a case of false friends. The German Affenbrot is the English baobab fruit, also known as monkey bread;  see Adansonia.  --Una Smith (talk) 05:29, 27 November 2009 (UTC)

Is it Polish?
Why is a dish described as "American" and being "virtually unknown" anywhere else put into the category "Polish cuisine"? The cited sources mention no connection to Poland. I'd say this category ought to be deleted until proof is provided. Textor (talk) 19:22, 15 November 2010 (UTC)

It's definitely Hungarian - at the very least
"virtually unknown outside the United States" is hardly accurate. It's a traditional Hungarian baked good known as Arany Galuska. How it came to North America I have no authority to state - but I've found web references indicating that it was introduced by Hungarian and Hungarian-Jewish bakers in the mid twentieth century - which makes sense. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Tipiloo (talk • contribs) 03:02, 22 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Found a website with history that backs this up and also has more details on the history of the name than the section below: http://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/2013/12/american-cakes-monkey-bread/ --Jamoche (talk) 20:35, 23 November 2016 (UTC)

Nomenclature.
There is a reason the naming for "Monkey bread" is so hard to pin down. That is because it is called Monkey Brains. The reason for this is obvious. It clearly resembles a brain when finished, and monkey brains are the most well known animal brains consumed.

The name "monkey bread" came about because many people are squeamish about the real name, and food product companies had to come up with a different name for it as they were not excited about calling it monkey brains on their packaging. The closest thing? Monkey bread.

The article needs serious reworking to reflect the history of the name, but I'm afraid if I apply the changes it will get reverted immediately as I have no direct sources. It has been called monkey brains for as long as I can remember. This monkey bread name is a new thing, coming about in the last decade or two.

BenFenner (talk) 18:51, 13 July 2011 (UTC)
 * Yes, it would be reverted if added without reliable sources. For one thing, it was called "Monkey bread" at least as far back as the early 1970s. That's well beyond "the last decade or two". - Sum mer PhD  (talk) 20:50, 13 July 2011 (UTC)
 * "The origin of the name is unknown, though it has been suggested that the bread resembles the monkey puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana), whose prickly branches make it difficult to climb. There is also a fruit called 'monkey bread,' from the baobab tree of Africa, but there is no evidence of any connection between it and baked bread. It is probably that the name comes from the appearance of the baked itself, which resembles a bunch of monkeys jumbled together." Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani, 1999 (p. 208). - Sum mer PhD  (talk) 21:01, 13 July 2011 (UTC)
 * It's as if no one is willing to state the obvious, and is dancing around the elephant in the room regarding the name. The ignorance abounds. BenFenner (talk) 20:34, 14 July 2011 (UTC)
 * I got bored and looked up a few references. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/sticky-monkey-brains/detail.aspx http://eastmeetswestkitchen.blogspot.com/2008/05/monkey-math-monkey-bread-monkey-brain.html http://www.ifood.tv/network/monkey_brain_bread/recipes http://therebelrouser.wordpress.com/2011/05/17/monkey-brains/ I maintain that the name monkey bread makes absolute no sense, unless you take it in context (less offensive than the original name which clearly describes the physical appearance of the desert). Monkey tree bark and the family style eating of the desert are grasping at straws. BenFenner (talk) 20:40, 14 July 2011 (UTC)
 * None of the sites you list give an origin for the name. Your speculation aside, all we have so far is the source I cited. I'm not sure what you are trying to accomplish here. If you are looking to add an origin for the name, we'll need reliable sources. So far, we can include the info I cited from the Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink. If you simply want to discuss why this bread is called "monkey bread", this is not the place for it. What is your goal? - Sum mer PhD  (talk) 21:07, 14 July 2011 (UTC)
 * Is it necessary for the sites to give the origin of the name? The name is Monkey Brains. We can talk about the origin some other day? My goal is to make the article accurate, while sticking within the normal Wikipedia guidelines. As it stands, the current naming description is inaccurate. It is at the very least devoid of one of the common names of the food, if not the original name. I've since found another handful of references to it in the "comments" sections of various food recipe sites. BenFenner (talk) 14:21, 15 July 2011 (UTC)
 * What I wasn't getting from your comments -- and the reason for my repeated questions -- was that you were trying to add the additional name. We can certainly add that and I don't personally see a need for a source. If, however, you'd like to rename the article or state that the original or more common name is "monkey brain(s)", I'd want sources.
 * For the moment, I'll add the alternate name. - Sum mer PhD  (talk) 20:53, 15 July 2011 (UTC)
 * The comment about the name Monkey Bread only being around for the last decade or two is a great example of why we need to rely on sources instead of educated guesses. Indeed, I found several Monkey Bread recipes published in the 1940's and 1950's (calling it Monkey Bread); the earliest one I found was here: "Culinary Clinic: ZaSu Pitts Just Loves to Cook," Winnepeg Free Press:Canada February 8, 1945 (p. 11). I couldn't find recipes calling it Monkey Brains, but it was nearly impossible to search for this since actual Monkey brains is a common dish in certain cultures. Adammanifold (talk) 03:13, 24 April 2012 (UTC)