# Foods whose names have changed **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 5, 2010, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412 "2010-03-05T14:45:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/21 "2010-03-05T16:29:25Z")
I’m not 100% sure of this, but I believe that coriander ended up being known by the Spanish, cilantro, in the US because it mainly entered the market by way of Mexican cooking. (That is, I suspect 40 years ago if you could find it in a mainly Anglo store, it would be called “coriander” whereas today it’s universally “cilantro”.) ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/22 "2010-03-05T16:31:08Z")
Well… I guess I will have to be the first then, to say the change from Kiwifruit to Zespri… There was a little bit of engineering and breeding in there, but it is substanially the same fruit. And to **Silenus** , I may well be fighting a losing battle on this, but please - I really hope that your mum’s friend wasn’t growing Kiwis. What - did he have a womb farm and was growing people from seeds? The little furry thing with green flesh is a Kiwifruit, the people that talk funny and love rugby are Kiwis - unless of course you are acutally referring to the little flightless birds 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/23 "2010-03-05T16:35:39Z")
I did start a campaign to change the name of eggs to “bum nuts” but that didn’t quite take off. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/24 "2010-03-05T17:01:36Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Know any OTHER English words or phrases that have been replaced by equivalent Hawaiian terms? > … Ahi, ono, and poi in the food realm; lanai, kahuna, mumu, wiki, and lei for non-food items. I’m just saying the new name for dolphinfish wasn’t just made up whole-cloth, like, say, canola oil. It still fits the thread. ---
**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:** [March 5, 2010, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/25 "2010-03-05T17:04:57Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > (That is, I suspect 40 years ago if you could find it in a mainly Anglo store, it would be called “coriander” whereas today it’s universally “cilantro”.) Only the leaves. The seeds are always marketed as coriander. I’ve never heard the dolphin referred to as a dolphinfish before–I’ve always seen it as dolphin, same as the mammal. I suspect that’s a modern revision, too. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/26 "2010-03-05T17:07:34Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > I’m not 100% sure of this, but I believe that coriander ended up being known by the Spanish, cilantro, in the US because it mainly entered the market by way of Mexican cooking. > > (That is, I suspect 40 years ago if you could find it in a mainly Anglo store, it would be called “coriander” whereas today it’s universally “cilantro”.) My understanding is that coriander refers to the seed parts, which look like peppercorns and can be ground. Usually used as a spice. Cilantro refers to the entire plant, usually the leafy parts used in cooking, which is used like an herb and can be dried. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/27 "2010-03-05T17:10:09Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > And to **Silenus** , I may well be fighting a losing battle on this, but please - I really hope that your mum’s friend wasn’t growing Kiwis. What - did he have a womb farm and was growing people from seeds? The little furry thing with green flesh is a Kiwifruit, the people that talk funny and love rugby are Kiwis - unless of course you are acutally referring to the little flightless birds 🙂 Hmmmm…the last time I saw him, he **was** wearing an All Blacks jersey… ---
**Author:** ![beatlejuice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a8b319/32.png) [@beatlejuice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beatlejuice)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/28 "2010-03-05T17:13:15Z")
100 Grand formerly known as the $100,000 bar. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/29 "2010-03-05T17:20:23Z")
Brazil nuts are no longer called “nigger toes”. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/30 "2010-03-05T17:25:49Z")
freedom fries. ---
**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:** [March 5, 2010, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/31 "2010-03-05T17:31:05Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > poi What’s the English word for Poi? (Other than ‘taro goo’.) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/32 "2010-03-05T17:35:13Z")
In candy: (vanilla half of) Milky Way --\> Forever Yours --\> Milky Way Dark --\> Milky Way Midnight. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/33 "2010-03-05T17:42:30Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Brazil nuts are no longer called “nigger toes”. Tell that to some of my relatives… I don’t know what they used to be called, but “Rocky Mountain Oysters” must’ve had some other name at some time. ---
**Author:** ![kath94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/67e7ee/32.png) [@kath94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kath94)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/34 "2010-03-05T17:51:33Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > It was difficult to sell “rapeseed oil”, so it became “canola oil” (short for **Can** adian **O** il, **L** ow **A** cid) in 1978. Cool. I did not know this. I’ve seen “rapeseed oil” references but never knew that it and “canola oil” were one-in-the-same. Thanks for this info! ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/35 "2010-03-05T17:54:45Z")
I don’t know how generalizable this is, but according to my uncle, the use of the Italian word “pasta” by the masses is a recent development as everyone tries to become more cosmopolitan. He says the closest thing middle-class average-Joe Americans had to a general term for it when he was growing up in the 50’s and 60’s was “noodles.” ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/36 "2010-03-05T17:57:34Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > I’ve never heard the dolphin referred to as a dolphinfish before–I’ve always seen it as dolphin, same as the mammal. I suspect that’s a modern revision, too. Years ago, I used to see the fish referred to as “dolphin” quite frequently. I think “dolphinfish” was another attempt to distinguish it from the mammal. The Spanish name “dorado” is also sometimes used, besides mahi-mahi. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/37 "2010-03-05T19:38:31Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > I don’t know how generalizable this is, but according to my uncle, the use of the Italian word “pasta” by the masses is a recent development as everyone tries to become more cosmopolitan. He says the closest thing middle-class average-Joe Americans had to a general term for it when he was growing up in the 50’s and 60’s was “noodles.” Noodle Roni got renamed Pasta Roni in 1995. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/38 "2010-03-05T19:48:09Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > I don’t know how generalizable this is, but according to my uncle, the use of the Italian word “pasta” by the masses is a recent development as everyone tries to become more cosmopolitan. He says the closest thing middle-class average-Joe Americans had to a general term for it when he was growing up in the 50’s and 60’s was “noodles.” Yes. So can I now say “pasta and cheese” instead of “macaroni and cheese”? ---
**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:** [March 5, 2010, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/39 "2010-03-05T19:51:47Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I think “dolphinfish” was another attempt to distinguish it from the mammal. Which is what I meant to say, but I phrased it so badly it may look like I’m saying the opposite. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/40 "2010-03-05T19:59:57Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > I don’t know how generalizable this is, but according to my uncle, the use of the Italian word “pasta” by the masses is a recent development as everyone tries to become more cosmopolitan. He says the closest thing middle-class average-Joe Americans had to a general term for it when he was growing up in the 50’s and 60’s was “noodles.” I was going to mention this too, but I didn’t know how generalizable it was either. When I was kid in the 60s, we just called it “spaghetti”. “Pasta” seems to have entered the general vocabulary sometime in the 80s. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412.md?page=3)