# Foods/dishes whose name does not compute **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [April 3, 2023, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-dishes-whose-name-does-not-compute/982092 "2023-04-03T16:11:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Blindmellowjelly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindmellowjelly/32/13920_2.png) [@Blindmellowjelly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blindmellowjelly)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-dishes-whose-name-does-not-compute/982092/201 "2023-06-13T02:51:04Z")
Here"s the composite, I have never eaten once a “Chicken Steak” in America, never. Breast. tenders, filets, chunks, cuttlettes, patties… never a chicken steak! ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-dishes-whose-name-does-not-compute/982092/202 "2023-06-13T03:07:45Z")
However, there are tuna steaks, and tuna is known as chicken of the sea. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-dishes-whose-name-does-not-compute/982092/203 "2023-06-13T03:16:05Z")
> [@carnut](#): > > I’ve been eating something called Garbage Eggs for years. I don’t think the name came from Rochester. It’s basically an omelet or hopple popple made with leftovers The garbage plate is an interesting combination of meats and starch. You start with a bed of home fries and macaroni salad (baked beans optional), topped with one or more proteins (typically a burger patty with cheese, but hot dogs, sausage, ham, chicken tenders, fried eggs, fried fish, or grilled cheese sandwiches are also options), then smother the whole mess in “hot sauce”, which is actually a sort of extra fine all-beef chili, then finish with chopped onions and mustard, served with bread and butter on the side. The only time I’ve ever encountered it in the wild was at a diner in Seattle (which has sadly since gone out of business) that was run by a Rochester native, and called his version a “Ra-Cha-Cha”. I found the combination of cold mac salad and hot meat and potatoes a little weird, but it was pretty tasty and very filling to the point that I couldn’t finish the whole thing. It’s definitely late-night drunk food. He also served the chili as an omelette filling. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-dishes-whose-name-does-not-compute/982092/204 "2023-06-13T03:49:22Z")
You can buy Sugar Plums during the holiday season. [They’re made by Jelly Belly](https://www.candywarehouse.com/products/sugar-plums-gumdrops-candy-10lb-case). They look like [this](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0636/2519/9866/products/127157-01_jelly-belly-sugar-plum-gumdrops-10lb-case.jpg?v=1674627219). ---
**Author:** ![Blindmellowjelly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindmellowjelly/32/13920_2.png) [@Blindmellowjelly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blindmellowjelly)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-dishes-whose-name-does-not-compute/982092/205 "2023-06-13T04:06:35Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > However, there are tuna steaks, and tuna is known as chicken of the sea. Ahhhh… Curses!! ---
**Author:** ![Blindmellowjelly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindmellowjelly/32/13920_2.png) [@Blindmellowjelly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blindmellowjelly)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-dishes-whose-name-does-not-compute/982092/206 "2023-06-13T04:13:42Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > I wonder why it was not called Fried Chicken Steak. Maybe people would think it’s chicken meat instead of beef. Strangely, that’s what the current name sort-of gives off. I am having a bit of a problem unraveling it as a a student of German and English, but I think it is a special form of the Genitive Case. ---
**Author:** ![Blindmellowjelly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindmellowjelly/32/13920_2.png) [@Blindmellowjelly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blindmellowjelly)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-dishes-whose-name-does-not-compute/982092/207 "2023-06-13T04:38:43Z")
Q[quote=“california\_jobcase, post:183, topic:982092, full:true”] > [@Blindmellowjelly](#): > > Still no egg, in my egg roll… Isn’t it named for the eggs in the wrapper dough? [/quote] But no. In modernity. There is no egg in an egg roll or wonton wrapper. The premade current mass produced. Have no egg, more in common with tortillas. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-dishes-whose-name-does-not-compute/982092/208 "2023-06-13T04:43:44Z")
> [@Blindmellowjelly](#): > > I am having a bit of a problem unraveling it as a a student of German and English, but I think it is a special form of the Genitive Case. “Steak” is the noun. “Chicken-fried” is the adjective. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-dishes-whose-name-does-not-compute/982092/209 "2023-06-13T05:47:33Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > “Steak” is the noun. “Chicken-fried” is the adjective. Like “Kentucky-fried chicken”? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-dishes-whose-name-does-not-compute/982092/210 "2023-06-13T06:17:28Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Like “Kentucky-fried chicken”? Precisely. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-dishes-whose-name-does-not-compute/982092/211 "2023-06-13T06:20:18Z")
Nope. With apologies if I’m belaboring a whoosh here, in the case of “Kentucky fried chicken” (note absence of hyphen), “chicken” is the noun while “fried” and “Kentucky” are both adjectivally modifying the noun. It’s not chicken of a “Kentucky-fried” type, it’s fried chicken associated with Kentucky. Similarly, “Texas beef barbecue” is not barbecue of a “Texas-beef” type, it’s beef barbecue associated with Texas. “Chicken-fried” is a distinct (compound) adjective in its own right because “to fry a steak” usually means just cooking the steak on a hot surface without breading or oil. If you want to refer to steak that’s fried in the specific manner typically used for fried chicken, you call it “chicken-fried”. ---
**Author:** ![Blindmellowjelly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindmellowjelly/32/13920_2.png) [@Blindmellowjelly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blindmellowjelly)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-dishes-whose-name-does-not-compute/982092/212 "2023-06-13T06:20:54Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > > [@Smapti](#): > > > > “Steak” is the noun. “Chicken-fried” is the adjective. > > Like “Kentucky-fried chicken”? Let me say, they were frying many more chickens in Ohio at the time the Colonel was getting on the Band Wagon. In Kentucky, he really got his recipe from “Fried Rabbit”. How abbout Wabbit fried Chicken?👍 ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-dishes-whose-name-does-not-compute/982092/213 "2023-06-13T06:24:14Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Nope. With apologies if I’m belaboring a whoosh here, in the case of “Kentucky fried chicken” (note absence of hyphen), “chicken” is the noun while “fried” and “Kentucky” are both adjectivally modifying the noun. There’s no hyphen in “chicken fried steak”, either. > [@Kimstu](#): > > It’s not chicken of a “Kentucky-fried” type, it’s fried chicken associated with Kentucky. Do we know that for a fact? ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-dishes-whose-name-does-not-compute/982092/214 "2023-06-13T06:28:53Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > There’s no hyphen in “chicken fried steak”, either. Merriam-Webster says there is. > **[Definition of CHICKEN-FRIED STEAK](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chicken-fried%20steak)** > > steak coated with batter, fried, and served with gravy… See the full definition ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-dishes-whose-name-does-not-compute/982092/215 "2023-06-13T06:37:39Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > There’s no hyphen in “chicken fried steak”, either. Often a hyphen is in fact used in “chicken-fried” [ETA: ninja’d by alovem]. But it isn’t really necessary to avoid ambiguity, because “chicken fried steak” has no meaning except in the sense of “steak fried in a particular way usually applied to fried chicken”. > [@Alessan](#): > > > [@Kimstu](#): > > > > It’s not chicken of a “Kentucky-fried” type, it’s fried chicken associated with Kentucky. > > Do we know that for a fact? Yup. The original Colonel Sanders sold fried chicken in Kentucky, first at a small eatery in a filling station and then at a cafe named for himself. It was just called “fried chicken”, not attributed to any technique known as “Kentucky frying”. AFAICT there isn’t and never has been a specific cooking technique called “Kentucky frying”, so nothing is specifically “Kentucky-fried”. The name “Kentucky Fried Chicken” was suggested to Sanders when he started franchising his chicken restaurants elsewhere in the US. I.e., the fried chicken famous in Kentucky. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-dishes-whose-name-does-not-compute/982092/216 "2023-06-13T06:43:40Z")
I recall reading that what made/makes KFC special is the process of frying the chicken in a specially designed pressure cooker. IIRC, that bit of information was often accompanied by a dire warning NOT to try it at home with a normal pressure cooker. I use one all the time, and I’d never try that experiment, although I’m curious about the specific results. ---
**Author:** ![Blindmellowjelly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindmellowjelly/32/13920_2.png) [@Blindmellowjelly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blindmellowjelly)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-dishes-whose-name-does-not-compute/982092/217 "2023-06-13T06:49:43Z")
I hear the same spice blend was formulated for Rodents, Squirrels… Rabbits. All good for poultry… 11 herbs and spices. ---
**Author:** ![Orville\_mogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/aeb1de/32.png) [@Orville\_mogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orville_mogul)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-dishes-whose-name-does-not-compute/982092/218 "2023-06-13T06:55:55Z")
wow, the exact same thing happened with my wife (also Indian) at a BBQ place near Seattle. And why she proposed going to the BBQ place when she wanted to eat veggie was beyond me… ---
**Author:** ![Blindmellowjelly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindmellowjelly/32/13920_2.png) [@Blindmellowjelly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blindmellowjelly)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-dishes-whose-name-does-not-compute/982092/219 "2023-06-13T07:40:54Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > I recall reading that what made/makes KFC special is the process of frying the chicken in a specially designed pressure cooker. IIRC, that bit of information was often accompanied by a dire warning NOT to try it at home with a normal pressure cooker. I use one all the time, and I’d never try that experiment, although I’m curious about the specific results. Yes, that was the technology, the new pressurefried or broasted chicken that the Colonel adopted and developed his franchise. But the tech and the colonel’s integrity…and loss of Quality Control is a cautionary tale. He didn’t like his name on kentucky fried chicken, attsced t o this impure shit that has not ome iota todo with his original intention and Revolution… ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-dishes-whose-name-does-not-compute/982092/220 "2023-06-13T07:49:59Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > I recall reading that what made/makes KFC special is the process of frying the chicken in a specially designed pressure cooker. Very true, this process was indeed breakthrough culinary tech for the Colonel’s chicken. My point was just that the process is not called “Kentucky frying”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-dishes-whose-name-does-not-compute/982092.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-dishes-whose-name-does-not-compute/982092.md?page=12)