Hunger is the best sauce
Meaning: Food tastes better when you're truly hungry.
Origin: Cicero reports in De Finibus that Socrates said hunger is the best seasoning for food. Cervantes has Sancho Panza repeat it in Don Quixote — la mejor salsa del mundo es el hambre — and it has been proverbial across Europe ever since.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, German, and Italian
- French: L'appétit est le meilleur cuisinier (literally: Appetite is the best cook)
- Spanish: A buen hambre, no hay mal pan (literally: With good hunger, there's no bad bread)
- Japanese: 空腹は最高の調味料 (Kūfuku wa saikō no chōmiryō) (literally: Hunger is the best seasoning)
- German: Hunger ist der beste Koch (literally: Hunger is the best cook)
- Italian: La fame è il meglior intingolo (literally: Hunger is the best sauce)
More proverbs about Human Nature
- The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world — Mothers have profound influence on society.
- No news is good news — The absence of bad news is itself good news.
- Every man for himself — In crisis, everyone must look after their own interests.
- No man is an island — Humans need connection with others.
- Beggars on horseback — Those given power abuse it worst.
- Familiarity breeds contempt — Being too close to something can reduce appreciation for it.
From our untranslatable words
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