Food Names Can Be Deceiving

When I was still in culinary school, our instructor would normally arrange ingredients in one long table and he would ask us to name each of the ingredients. During our Japanese-theme cook-off, the only ingredients can identify quickly are wasabi, nori, and shitake. It's a bit tough to cook when you don't know half of the ingredients, but even more so if you can't pronounce the name of the recipe. While reminiscing about the experience, I began to think of food names that had nothing to do with what they actually are. There are those that have nice sounding names but in reality, they might just gross you out. It's important to know some of these food to avoid any future embarrasment while at the table.

Here is a list of food names that are not what they seem.

Sweetbreads
This is not sweet and definitely not a bread. Sweetbreads is the two-lobed thymus gland of a beef or calf. The said organ is surrounded by a shiny membrane. Not everyone likes to eat sweetbread, but you might actually be eating one without knowing. They are usuall served breaded, fried, sauteed, or baked.

Fries
Okay, this is not the French Fries. If some foodie tells you to try the Beef or veal fries, don't say "yes" right away, unless you're into eating testicles.

Beavertail
This is not a beaver's tail. It's a dough that had been fried and sprinkled with sugar (or other toppings). This is quite popular in Canada, particularly in Ottawa.

Buffalo Wings
The wings are from the chicken and not buffalo. Silly, the buffalo has no wings. It was named as such because it originated in BUffalo, New York. The wings are deep fried and then coated with chili sauce made up of vinegar, cayenne pepper hot sauce and butter (or margarine).

Caesar Salad
This popular salad was not made in honor of Julius Caesar of Rome. It was named after its creator, Caesar Cardini.

French Fries
The French are getting the credit for the food that might have originated from Belgium. It was said to have been called "French" because the Belgian army who introduced the fries to the British and Americans have French as their official language.

Rocky Mountain Oysters
They are not oysters and they did not originate from Rocky Mountain. They are bull testicles which are considered a delicacy in some parts of the American West. They are usually served breaded.

Egg Cream
The essential ingredients of an egg cream are milk, soda water, and chocolate syrup. No eggs and no cream. It tastes similarly to ice cream soda.

Refried Beans
This dish is made up of raw beans that have been soaked, stewed, drained and then made into paste. It is then fried in lard. Contrary to its name, the beans are only fried once.

Long Island Iced Tea
This cocktail drink is a mix of gin, tequila, run and vodka. This was an invention during the Prohibition. It was named as such because it resembles the appearance of an iced tea. While it has a very wholesome name, it has a really high alcohol contentration.

Puppy Chow
This is a chocolae snack that is not intended for puppies. It is for humans. It is made up of peanut butter and chocolate covered cereal with powdered sugar.

Elephant Ear
This can mean fried dough or a large cookie. Alternate names include: Whale tails, pizza frita, frying saucers, and doughboys. They are similar to the Beaver Tails.

Toad in the Hole
This is a traditional English dish made up of sausages in Yorkshire pudding batter. The dish got its name due to its resemblance to a toad sticking its hear out of a hole. In the United States, the ingredients vary in that fried egg and sliced bread are used instead of the batter and sausages.

Norwegian Omelette
No eggs were hurt in the making of this omelette and they were not made in Norway. It is a French dessert made up of frozen ice cream on top of sponge cake covered with uncooked merengue.

Colonial Goose
No goose, but lamb coated with breadcrumbs and bacon. It originated in Australia during the 19th century. The supply of goose were scarce that the Australians had to improvise and make use of the readily available meat.

There are a whole lot of food names that are quite misleading so you got to do some research before actually buying food, especially when you are in another country. It's always good to know what you put in your mouth.