# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/61 "2010-03-07T04:03:44Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > There’s good old Brazil nuts, which many people used to call “nigger toes”. Completely off-topic, but funny anyway: Zyada and I found a couple of those in a booth at a wap meet, painted to resemble slices of watermelon. Somehow appropriate, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/62 "2010-03-07T04:09:13Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > **Avocados** were originally called **Alligator Pears** due to the shape and skin texture. Which is more appetizing than “avocado,” once you know the Aztec word it’s based on (ahuacatl) means “testicle.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Baggins111](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@Baggins111](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baggins111)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/63 "2010-03-07T05:18:54Z")
Any foods that I cook are translated into a new language by my soon-to-be-ex-wife. Bacon, eggs, and hash browns translates to: “Why the hell did you make that? I don’t like that! Don’t you know me? You never knew me!” Bacon, eggs, and hash browns is her favorite breakfast. I know this from from experimentation and various sources. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/64 "2010-03-07T05:30:36Z")
> [@Chef\_Troy](#): > > Which is more appetizing than “avocado,” once you know the Aztec word it’s based on (ahuacatl) means “testicle.” 🙂 Don’t the French uses the same word for avocado as for they do lawyer? ---
**Author:** ![aerodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@aerodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerodave)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/65 "2010-03-07T05:41:22Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > you will be distressed to find your ham and cheese sandwich has become hot and melted - ick). Hot, melty ham and cheese doesn’t sound all that bad. But the method of preparation may have something to do with it. And to **Baggins111** … huh? ---
**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 7, 2010, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/66 "2010-03-07T05:43:27Z")
> [@aerodave](#): > > Hot, melty ham and cheese doesn’t sound all that bad. But the method of preparation may have something to do with it. What he’s not telling you is that the HAM’s what melted, not the cheese. \>\_\> ---
**Author:** ![Baggins111](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@Baggins111](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baggins111)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/67 "2010-03-07T06:35:10Z")
> [@aerodave](#): > > And to **Baggins111** … huh? Sorry. Snarky. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/68 "2010-03-07T07:14:46Z")
Jerusalem artichokes —\> sunchokes ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/69 "2010-03-07T07:47:56Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Help me out here-- London Broil and Tri Tip… invented names for something new, or re-branding of an old cut to make it sound more upscale? I think it’s just rebranding. London broil is just flank steak, but London sounds classy and cosmopolitan. And of course, in London/England, they have no friggin’ clue what London broil is. (But I do want to say I loves me some flank steak/London broil. You can often find it on sale for like $3 a pound, and as long as you slice it on the bias, it’s very tender, moreso than sirloin to be sure, and like half the price.) ---
**Author:** ![Claude\_Remains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Claude\_Remains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claude_Remains)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/70 "2010-03-07T07:48:44Z")
“Shit on a shingle” was chipped beef on toast before world war two. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/71 "2010-03-07T08:15:39Z")
> [@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.” “Pasta” is a level above “noodles.” In other words, all noodles are pasta (well, not exactly, but bear with me here), but not all pasta is noodles. For instance, ravioli, bowtie pasta, etc = not noodles. I’m guessing the latin root is the same . . . in Spanish, pasta just means “paste,” which is what pasta starts out as. There’s logical consistency here. It’s not a marketing thing, or (I think), an attempt to sound trendy. > [@mbh](#): > > “rolled tacos” + guacamole = “flautas” Maybe it’s different where you’re at, but around here, rolled tacos (aka taquitos) are in a corn tortilla, and flautas are in a flour tortilla. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/72 "2010-03-07T11:49:30Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Well, “Kentucky Fried Chicken” became KFC, because they wanted to play down the word “fried.” Heck, for a while they referred to KFC as “Kitchen Fresh Chicken.” ---
**Author:** ![maplekiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@maplekiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maplekiwi)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/73 "2010-03-07T21:11:47Z")
It wasn’t as successful as kiwifruit, but tamarillos used to be called tree tomatoes. I don’t don’t like them as a raw fruit - but they make the best chutney! ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/74 "2010-03-07T21:52:21Z")
“Corn” used to be any grain. Now it’s that giant grass native to the Americas. ---
**Author:** ![Fleetwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fleetwood/32/271_2.png) [@Fleetwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fleetwood)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/75 "2010-03-07T21:55:52Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Back to the OP: > > Bait became much more popular when they renamed it “sushi.” More expensive, too! ---
**Author:** ![Philliam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/philliam/32/3011_2.png) [@Philliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philliam)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/76 "2010-03-07T21:59:31Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Well, “Kentucky Fried Chicken” became KFC, because they wanted to play down the word “fried.” > > The fish long known as “dolphin” was renamed “mahi-mahi” so that diners wouldn’t freak out, thinking they were eating Flipper. The fish (Dolphin or Dorado) wasn’t really renamed - the traditional Hawai’ian name Mahimahi is a euphonious substitute helping to prevent “Flipper Syndrome”. By the way, the Mahimahi is a simply gorgeous fish in the wild and it’s somewhat of a shame we eat so many of them. ---
**Author:** ![Fleetwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fleetwood/32/271_2.png) [@Fleetwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fleetwood)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/77 "2010-03-07T22:06:03Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Cold cuts are usually called lunch meat these days. Not at my house. ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/78 "2010-03-07T22:07:43Z")
When I lived for a brief period of time in Nebraska I was surprised to learn that _sloppy joes_ and _maid-rites_ did not exist. Instead they were _taverns._ In Eastern Iowa I think they call them _loosemeat sandwiches._ Couldn’t eat them under that appellation. Argh! ---
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/79 "2010-03-08T01:41:58Z")
I thought loosemeat was what we in the south call 'barbecue." To me, sloppy joes are hamburger meat cooked with a tomato sauce and served on a bun. ---
**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:** [March 8, 2010, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412/80 "2010-03-08T02:59:48Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > 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 🙂 We are not going to get into this argument again .. in the US they are called Kiwis, outside the US they are kiwifruit. You can call them what you want, our groceries are going to call them kiwis =) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-whose-names-have-changed/531412.md?page=5)