# 4 Foods Renamed So That You might eat them. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 27, 2013, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-foods-renamed-so-that-you-might-eat-them/648507 "2013-01-27T02:54:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-foods-renamed-so-that-you-might-eat-them/648507/21 "2013-01-27T18:20:58Z")
Sweetbread sounds a lot tastier than cow pancreas. Though I’m still on the fence as to whether or not “headcheese” actually sounds more appetizing than “hodge-podge of congealed meat-byproduct” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-foods-renamed-so-that-you-might-eat-them/648507/22 "2013-01-27T18:26:35Z")
[Groundskeeper Willie] Och, I sure could go for a pancreas pie! [/GW] ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-foods-renamed-so-that-you-might-eat-them/648507/23 "2013-01-27T18:31:03Z")
Hotdogs…basically ground up offal (organ meats) with fillers. People joke about haggis-a hot dog is almost the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-foods-renamed-so-that-you-might-eat-them/648507/24 "2013-01-27T18:33:43Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > Though I’m still on the fence as to whether or not “headcheese” actually sounds more appetizing than “hodge-podge of congealed meat-byproduct” _Brawn_ is better than either. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-foods-renamed-so-that-you-might-eat-them/648507/25 "2013-01-27T18:39:25Z")
It’s rare, but there’s cases where food is given a disgusting name as a joke. Sort of the reverse of this thread. The most famous is shit on a shingle meaning creamed chipped beef on toast. One of my cookbooks has a recipe for a stew called Hunter’s Vomit. Thanks Latvia. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-foods-renamed-so-that-you-might-eat-them/648507/26 "2013-01-27T18:40:20Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > I already knew the story about prunes/dried plums. I would usually roll my eyes at the name change, but in this case, the name change is actually more consistent with food terminology. There’s no separate name for dried apricots or dried apples or dried cranberries. > > Now if we could change raisins to dried grapes, all us nitpickers will be happy. But what of those of us who need to distinguish between raisins, [sultanas](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultana_%28grape%29) and [currants?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zante_currant) ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-foods-renamed-so-that-you-might-eat-them/648507/27 "2013-01-27T18:47:28Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Anyone other Californians remember this circa-1980s commercial (sung to the tune of _Okie From Muskogee_)? Not only do I remember it, the lyrics are still in my head. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-foods-renamed-so-that-you-might-eat-them/648507/28 "2013-01-27T18:50:00Z")
If you hear “pot cheese” from an Italian American, do you know what food they’re most likely talking about? It may be a NJ thing, not sure. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-foods-renamed-so-that-you-might-eat-them/648507/29 "2013-01-27T19:00:37Z")
Whore’s eggs: the only think I can think of that comes remotely close would be eggs _purgatorio_, which doesn’t exactly translate well. Now I’ll go look. Okay, that was way-y-y-y off. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-foods-renamed-so-that-you-might-eat-them/648507/30 "2013-01-27T19:16:16Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Hotdogs..basically ground up offal (organ meats) with fillers. People joke about haggis-a hot dog is almost the same thing. They very rarely use organ meats, they just use the little tad ends that aren’t big enough for a 'cut". _Whore’s eggs_ is a bit of a misnomer as that was never commonly used and is a slang term anyway. Sea urchin roe. _Mahi-Mahi is the Hawaiian word, and Dorado_ is the Spanish. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-foods-renamed-so-that-you-might-eat-them/648507/31 "2013-01-27T19:24:11Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Hotdogs..basically ground up offal (organ meats) with fillers. People joke about haggis-a hot dog is almost the same thing. [From here.](http://chefsblade.monster.com/news/articles/1976-frank-facts-about-hot-dogs?print=true) > [@](#): > > Sticker Sleuthing The USDA requires meat packers to disclose hot dogs’ ingredients right on the label, so a quick glance will tell you exactly what’s in your frank. If you’re looking for the purest hot dogs available, select ones that are labeled “all beef” or “all pork.” These are required to contain meat from a single species, without variety meats or by-products. **If the hot dog does contain organ meats, the label should specify it, along with what animal the organs came from.** Also, hot dogs that are produced in traditional animal casings, such as those obtained from sheep or pigs, should be labeled as such. ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-foods-renamed-so-that-you-might-eat-them/648507/32 "2013-01-27T20:53:44Z")
What about _amourettes_ which the dictionaries define as “spinal marrow” but originally were (beef) testicles. I’ve ordered that dish once in a restaurant because I found the name attractive though I didn’t know what it was. I agree with the dictionaries definition. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-foods-renamed-so-that-you-might-eat-them/648507/33 "2013-01-27T22:52:49Z")
Nowadays, testicles are more often called “prairie oysters”. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-foods-renamed-so-that-you-might-eat-them/648507/34 "2013-01-27T23:07:10Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > _Whore’s eggs_ is a bit of a misnomer as that was never commonly used and is a slang term anyway. Sea urchin roe. I don’t think ‘misnomer’ is quite the word you’re looking for here. But, yeah, it doesn’t fit the list, because it’s a slang term (I’d thought it restricted to Newfoundland, and a quick google seems to bear that out, so I’m not sure how the heck it got into the article), and it’s about 300 years _younger_ then ‘sea urchin’ as a name for the damned thing. (The same quick google gives the 1560s as the origin of ‘urchin’ for the animal, and the 19th century for ‘whore’s egg’.) ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-foods-renamed-so-that-you-might-eat-them/648507/35 "2013-01-27T23:08:16Z")
I hear Rocky Mountain oysters. My SO was telling me about an oyster fest. I read about it and asked if she were absolutely sure that they meant shellfish, especially in the middle of the desert. Orange roughy tops the list of fish you shouldn’t eat for sustainability reasons, so maybe the euphemism was a bad thing. Patagonian toothfish and mahi-mahi are almost certainly intentional euphemisms. Not quite the same thing because the original name was gross, but langoustines are called names like Norway lobster to associate them with their much more expensive cousin. They are also called scampi, although in the US this is often used in an even cheaper dish, the shrimp scampi (with no scampi). > [@China\_Guy](#): > > Spider crab aka Alaskan King Crab May be a regional thing, but king crabs are properly stone crabs. They look similar to spider crabs (more spikes), but I believe aren’t closely related beyond decapoda. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-foods-renamed-so-that-you-might-eat-them/648507/36 "2013-01-27T23:21:40Z")
On some cooking show – I think maybe “Chopped,” they referred to “white kidneys,” which were actually the testicles of a duck or something. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-foods-renamed-so-that-you-might-eat-them/648507/37 "2013-01-28T07:46:06Z")
Heh, in Britain we still have rapeseed oil and prunes. I think a Patagonian Toothfish sounds sort of interesting, more so than Chilean Sea Bass. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-foods-renamed-so-that-you-might-eat-them/648507/38 "2013-01-28T08:06:34Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > It’s rare, but there’s cases where food is given a disgusting name as a joke. Sort of the reverse of this thread. The most famous is shit on a shingle meaning creamed chipped beef on toast. > > One of my cookbooks has a recipe for a stew called Hunter’s Vomit. Thanks Latvia. I saw a recipe today for a lumpy, white confection called pigeon poop. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-foods-renamed-so-that-you-might-eat-them/648507/39 "2013-01-28T09:47:00Z")
> [@Celyn](#): > > Heh, in Britain we still have rapeseed oil and prunes. I think a Patagonian Toothfish sounds sort of interesting, more so than Chilean Sea Bass. 99% of the US population refers to them as prunes. Many people may buy them, and the container may either say “prunes” or “dried plums,” but there’s no confusion about what your getting. In the US and UK, “currants” (post 26) may be a stupid name for zante currants, a type of grape. Although true black/red currants are way more common in the UK. Sultanas are of course called golden raisins in the US. Rapeseed is unknown. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-foods-renamed-so-that-you-might-eat-them/648507/40 "2013-01-28T20:51:40Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Rapeseed used to be potentially toxic. Newer varieties from Canada aren’t but the name still had that old, dangerous stigma. So Canada called it Canola oil. Pam was introduced in the 70’s and the first canola oil I tasted. > > [The rise of rapeseed oil | Food | The Guardian](http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2012/jun/12/rise-of-rapeseed-oil) Hm, could that be why pretty much anything with canola sends me running for the bathroom with gastric dumping? When growing up my mom didn’t use pam - she cooked with mazola or butter. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-foods-renamed-so-that-you-might-eat-them/648507.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-foods-renamed-so-that-you-might-eat-them/648507.md?page=3)