# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/141 "2016-01-14T01:53:54Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > Did they look like any of [these](http://www.sees.com/lollipops/assorted-lollypops/296.html)? I believe so. Pricey, too! Thanks again, Jen! 🙂 ---
**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 14, 2016, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/142 "2016-01-14T04:13:54Z")
Huh, when I looked up what “beer-ox” would be, I stumbled upon a German food called “berox”, which looks to be fairly similar to bierocks. Neither one is a pierogi, though they do have some relation (all three are tasty stuff wrapped up in dough, but the b ones appear to be baked, not boiled and fried). ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/143 "2016-01-14T04:31:21Z")
Bierocks/piroks are [this kind of pirogi](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirog), not [this kind of pierogi](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierogi). ---
**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 14, 2016, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/144 "2016-01-14T04:40:18Z")
From that Wiki link: > [@](#): > > The Russian plural pirogi with the stress on the last syllable should not to be confused with pierogi (stress on “o” in Polish and English) in Polish cuisine, which are similar to the Russian pelmeni or Ukrainian varenyky. Ah, I’d been trying to remember what that word was. At a feast I threw some time ago, a Ukranian classmate excitedly exclaimed “Oh, you made varenyky!” when he saw the pierogi I had made. He explained that they had something with a similar name to pierogi, but that that was a dessert. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/145 "2016-01-14T08:00:13Z")
When I was a lad, I noticed that the boxes that our margarine came in always bore the rubric “color added.” And every time a box was opened, my heart would be filled with the hope that it would be a worthwhile color, like red, or blue. But nope. It was always boring old yellow. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/146 "2016-01-14T14:50:24Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > He explained that they had something with a similar name to pierogi, but that that was a dessert. _Pirogi_ are large pies; smaller ones are called _pirozhki_ and can be baked or deep-fried. They’re similar to Cornish pasties. The ones I like are savory, with beef, pork, and/or spinach. The word _vareniki_, AFAIK, comes from _varyat’_, “to boil.” ---
**Author:** ![MacLir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@MacLir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacLir)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/147 "2016-01-14T17:42:10Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > Bierocks/piroks are [this kind of pirogi](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirog), not [this kind of pierogi](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierogi). What Uncle Duke made were somewhere between; the shape was the turnover style, but they were baked, as I recall. Main ingredients were ground beef, cabbage and onion. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/148 "2016-01-14T20:15:22Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > _Pirogi_ are large pies; smaller ones are called _pirozhki_ and can be baked or deep-fried. They’re similar to Cornish pasties. The ones I like are savory, with beef, pork, and/or spinach. > > The word _vareniki_, AFAIK, comes from _varyat’_, “to boil.” When I lived in Moscow, I used to buy one on my way to campus every day. I can still hear the woman selling them at the metro with her spiel. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/149 "2016-01-14T20:41:56Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > When I lived in Moscow, I used to buy one on my way to campus every day. I can still hear the woman selling them at the metro with her spiel. Wonderfully greasy, aren’t they? :o ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/150 "2016-01-14T20:59:02Z")
Not a misconception about food but rather where it goes: When I was very little I thought that solid food went to your stomach but liquids (drinks) stayed in your throat. I think it was because when I had a sore throat my mom would get me to drink lots of liquid to “make your throat feel better”. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/151 "2016-01-14T21:36:12Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > When I lived in Moscow, I used to buy one on my way to campus every day. I can still hear the woman selling them at the metro with her spiel. Did she keep them in a big green can? :o ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/152 "2016-01-14T22:01:26Z")
:eek: > [@PSXer](#): > > The Simpsons always made beer look tasty and as a child I couldn’t wait to drink it. > > Then I finally did. what a complete and utter disappointment. I can’t believe willingly drink this. If you haven’t tried beer yet, do yourself a favor and don’t because it’s absolutely fucking terrible Of the billions and billions of proclamations, utterances, oaths and affirmations on the entire World Wide Web, this is the most **WRONG** that exists. ---
**Author:** ![MacLir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@MacLir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacLir)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/153 "2016-01-14T22:33:26Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > The Simpsons always made beer look tasty and as a child I couldn’t wait to drink it. > > Then I finally did. what a complete and utter disappointment. I can’t believe willingly drink this. If you haven’t tried beer yet, do yourself a favor and don’t because it’s absolutely fucking terrible > [@Gatopescado](#): > > :eek: > > Of the billions and billions of proclamations, utterances, oaths and affirmations on the entire World Wide Web, this is the most **WRONG** that exists. Well, … If someone who had never tried beer started off with an IPA or something of that ilk, that would be a reasonable reaction. A nice bock, brown ale, or shandy on the other hand … I’ve been drinking beer for years, and I still describe an IPA as “Everything I dislike in a beer, all in one place.” 😉 ---
**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 14, 2016, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/154 "2016-01-14T23:37:57Z")
I can understand that beer might be an acquired taste. But I still don’t understand how anyone would get started. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/155 "2016-01-15T15:31:11Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I can understand that beer might be an acquired taste. But I still don’t understand how anyone would get started. Right. I had had a couple of other kinds of alcohol by the time I tasted beer. I thought everyone drinks it, it must be pretty good. No. Not at all. The closest I’ve gotten since was Not Your Father’s Root Beer and even that it a little too beer-y for me. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/156 "2016-01-15T16:27:07Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Did she keep them in a big green can? :o Oh yeah: “goriyachi pirozhki, pirozhki goriyachi,” over and over. When I was there, they arrested on of the sellers for making them from murdered homeless people. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/157 "2016-01-15T17:20:39Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > When I was there, they arrested on of the sellers for making them from murdered homeless people. **EW!** :eek: What Metro station was this??? ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/158 "2016-01-15T18:07:18Z")
Welsh Rarebit or Welsh Rabbit always mystified me. I couldn’t imagine anyone shooting poor Bugs Bunny and eating him. But as it turned out, it’s some kind of melted cheese served on toast and has nothing to do with rabbits or Wales. I didn’t figure that out till I was about 25. The names of lots of English dishes sounded really bizarre. There is some Christmas thing - not plum pudding - but something else that sounds very bizarre. Sorry, I can’t remember what it is now. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/159 "2016-01-15T18:09:05Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > … . There is some Christmas thing - not plum pudding - but something else that sounds very bizarre. Sorry, I can’t remember what it is now. Figgy pudding. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823/160 "2016-01-15T18:13:06Z")
> [@SageGrouse](#): > > When I was a small child, we lived in Southern California. One local (at the time) delicacy was See’s Candy. Every Christmas, and every anniversary etc, my folks would buy a box of assorted chocolates. Now, in the two pound box there are two square candies that are unlike any of the others. They are simply DELICIOUS! Better, by far, than all of the other delicious chocolates in the box, but… there are only two. One for Mama… one for Daddy. None for lil me! > > I was told “These two pices are for _us_… they’re adult candy! You can have whatever you like of the others.” It hardly seemed fair, but _shrug_ if they were adult candy… what’s a little kid to do? When we moved to Missouri, our California relatives would visit and bring boxes of See’s chocolates to us poor isolated exiled folk, and, again… the “adult candy” was not for me! by now, I had actually tasted one (when one of the 'rents was off on a trip or something, I disremember) and I knew that they were utterly RAVISHING! The best candies in the whole box! Adult candies. I would just have to bide my time and grow. > > Finally, when I was old enough to have graduated and gotten out on my own, I decided what I would do with my first real paycheck! I was going to See’s Candy factory in Los Angeles and I was gonna BUY me some of that luscious “adult candy” And so IN I went. The saleslady behind that white counter smiled “What would you like, today?” > > “Uhm… I want some adult candy, please.” (I was amazed to discover you could actually buy individual kinds of candies, instead of a mix!) I’d like a quarter pound, please." > > “Adult… candy?..” she asked, looking mystified. > > It was in that second that I realized the sheer DUPLICITY of my parents! Here I stood, surrounded by luscious candy… and each one had a NAME… Tipperary Bonbons, Nut Crunch, Chocolate Covered Nugat, Orange Cremes… but, as I carefully studied the menu… NO “adult candy” What WERE they?!! > > Stammeringly, I explained my predicament to the saleslady. “They’re SQUARE!” was the only thing I could offer by way of identification. “Well… you can try a few…” she said, realizing that I was NOT some mooch trying to cadge free candies from the store. “I’ll pay for the ones I try!” I added, trying my best to sound like the new adult I was, instead of the uncertain child the store was turning me back into! > > It took several (somewhat expensive) tries before I found the one I wanted. With slightly sharper corners than other candies, it was finally identified, discerned from the chocolate covered caramel it resembled… I tasted, and joyfully bought, my quarter pound of **Butterscotch Squares.** > > I exited the store with my little white bag of deliciousness, trying hard NOT to hear the laughter behind me. I knew full well that my experience would, in short order, no longer be between me and the saleslady… who knows, it could have become Company Legend in a few weeks’ time! What I had to do now was to go home and confront my sneaky PARENTS! > > Adult candy INDEED!! What a lovely story. Thanks for sharing. One question though. If I was you, and made a special trip to southern California, I would have bought ten pounds of that candy. Why only a quarter pound? Could you get more where you were living? Or did you have to come back to Southern California to get more? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childhood-food-misconceptions/741823.md?page=9)