Nowadays, unctuous usually has a negative connotation, but it originated as a term describing a positive act, that of healing. The word comes from the Latin verb unguere ("to anoint"), a root that also gave rise to the words unguent ("a soothing or healing salve") and ointment.

Is unctuous good or bad?

Watch any cooking show lately and it's likely you'll hear someone describe a dish as “unctuous,” as if that's a good thing. Many celebrity chefs seem to now use the word to suggest a dish is rich, smooth, or maybe even creamy.” ... Unctuous derives from a Latin word meaning ointment.

What are unctuous foods?

If you describe food or drink as unctuous, you mean that it is creamy or oily. [formal] Goose fat gives the most unctuous flavour but you can use chicken fat. Synonyms: oily, creamy, greasy, oleaginous More Synonyms of unctuous.