Plural of alamode; lightweight fabrics or items made in a fashionable style, or dishes prepared with a particular cooking method involving braising.
From French 'à la mode' meaning 'in the fashion,' which entered English in the 17th century. The term originally referred to fashionable garments and later extended to cooking methods.
The same French phrase gave us both a type of fabric AND a cooking technique—'à la mode' literally means 'in fashion,' so cooks used trendy ingredients and methods that wealthy people wanted, then the name stuck!
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