# Childhood food misconceptions **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 31, 2015, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823 "2015-12-31T15:46:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/61 "2016-01-05T03:39:50Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Yes … and English borrowed such terms from the French because that’s what the aristocracy ate. > > Did I fail to make this clear? 😕 You seemed to be saying that the aristocracy used the Norman French terms for the reason that the Anglo-Saxon terms made the food sound unappetizing. ---
**Author:** ![Helena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c68b51/32.png) [@Helena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/62 "2016-01-05T03:55:18Z")
In Newfoundland (and probably other places), “mince” is what they call ground beef. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/63 "2016-01-05T05:36:14Z")
My daughter thought that pretzels were made out of wood. Not that they grew on trees but instead they copied down trees to make pretzels the way they make furniture. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/64 "2016-01-05T05:37:14Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > My daughter thought that pretzels were made out of wood. Not that they grew on trees but instead they copied down trees to make pretzels the way they make furniture. …chopped down trees… rather ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/65 "2016-01-05T05:55:57Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > …chopped down trees… rather Well, I sort of like the idea of being able to duplicate trees in a photocopier. ---
**Author:** ![Totenfeier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@Totenfeier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Totenfeier)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/66 "2016-01-06T16:12:20Z")
I had a strong aversion as a child to anything associated with the word “sour”, including sour tastes (candy, etc.). So, naturally, whenever I heard about “sauerkraut”, I automatically filed it, whatever it was, as Not For Me. Nowadays, a couple kraut dogs, or a Reuben - Fuggedabouddit! Gimme! ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/67 "2016-01-07T16:46:44Z")
> [@Totenfeier](#): > > I had a strong aversion as a child to anything associated with the word “sour”, including sour tastes (candy, etc.). So, naturally, whenever I heard about “sauerkraut”, I automatically filed it, whatever it was, as Not For Me. Nowadays, a couple kraut dogs, or a Reuben - Fuggedabouddit! Gimme! I likewise assumed it was sour. And when I found out it really wasn’t, I was quite disappointed. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/68 "2016-01-07T17:10:45Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I likewise assumed it was sour. And when I found out it really wasn’t, I was quite disappointed. 😕 It’s sour. From lactic acid. The sour taste is how it gets its name. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/69 "2016-01-07T18:08:52Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I likewise assumed it was sour. And when I found out it really wasn’t, I was quite disappointed. Hmmm… The stuff in the US that I get in a jar or can is sour. Much so. I was VERY disappointed to find out that in Germany, it’s not. At least in all the places I tried it in Bavaria, it was mushy and bland. ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/70 "2016-01-07T19:34:27Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > Not mine, but apparently my Aunt, as a child, was convinced that the ‘100% beef’ stock cubes that they bought were, somehow, an entire cow compressed down to a 1 inch cube. > > The mental image of a huge herd of cattle going into a factory, and a teeny box of stock cubes popping out the other end gives me great pleasure. This gives me great pleasure too. My wife and I just switched from boxed beef stock to these cubes. Now I’ll giggle every time I pick them up at the store. ---
**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 7, 2016, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/71 "2016-01-07T19:48:59Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > I’ve never seen mincemeat with meat in it in the U.S. Only very rarely with some beef suet, but usually without even that. “Raisin pie” isn’t far off. I was kind of shocked when I discovered that See’s Mincemeat Cream candies (which I don’t think they make anymore) included beef in the ingredients. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/72 "2016-01-07T22:49:03Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I likewise assumed it was sour. And when I found out it really wasn’t, I was quite disappointed. > [@enipla](#): > > Hmmm… The stuff in the US that I get in a jar or can is sour. Much so. > > I was VERY disappointed to find out that in Germany, it’s not. At least in all the places I tried it in Bavaria, it was mushy and bland. I’ve never, to my knowledge, had sauerkraut in Germany; but always when I’ve bought sauerkraut – usually in a jar – it’s been, for sure, sour. Some recipes involving sauerkraut, tell you to rinse it in fresh water and squeeze the liquid out, before use: which would seem to me take away the whole point of the stuff, if done too thoroughly. Might it be a Bavarian quirk to be heavy-handed with the rinsing and squeezing-out? ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2016, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/73 "2016-01-08T01:44:26Z")
I refused to eat Boston butt as a kid. If Mom had just called it roast I would hae devoured it. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2016, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/74 "2016-01-08T02:36:38Z")
> [@P-man](#): > > I refused to eat Boston butt as a kid. If Mom had just called it roast I would hae devoured it. Funny thing is that Boston butt is actually from the upper part of the shoulder. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2016, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/75 "2016-01-08T02:42:36Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > Funny thing is that Boston butt is actually from the upper part of the shoulder. Mom showed me a diagram that illustrated that, but I wasn’t having it. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2016, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/76 "2016-01-08T03:25:22Z")
> [@P-man](#): > > Mom showed me a diagram that illustrated that, but I wasn’t having it. The label says, “butt,” and by God, that’s what it is! ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2016, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/77 "2016-01-08T03:34:26Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > The label says, “butt,” and by God, that’s what it is! Even as a kid one source wasn’t enough to covince me. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2016, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/78 "2016-01-08T04:46:26Z")
Not exactly a misconception since my idea that sushi is made from raw fish was completely accurate. But it turns out that my dislike of cooked fish and my dislike of raw meat does not correspond to a dislike of sushi. Took until adulthood to figure this out. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2016, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/79 "2016-01-08T04:49:00Z")
I thought that green olives grew with the red piece in the center. I also thought marshmallows grew on a plant in the form you end up eating. Oh, and the frist time I cut open a whole cantaloupe, I was mighty shocked. I thought they grew with an empty center and got sliced up into the wedges served for breakfast. The embarrassing part is I was like 14 at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2016, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/80 "2016-01-08T05:03:30Z")
> [@lalaith](#): > > I was seven years old when we moved back to the United States from overseas. Chicken of the Sea tuna really confused me. If it was tuna then why did it say “chicken” on the can?\* > > \*God knows what I would have thought if my mother had been buying Bumblebee tuna. [Jessica Simpson? Is that you?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2h72aXVP8o) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823.md?page=5)