# Foods with the most unappetizing names **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 9, 2015, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-the-most-unappetizing-names/719600 "2015-05-09T03:21:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-the-most-unappetizing-names/719600/81 "2015-05-10T21:17:32Z")
Did aspic get mentioned yet? An actual food with a name even less appetizing than what it really is. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-the-most-unappetizing-names/719600/82 "2015-05-10T21:29:14Z")
Blancmange. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-the-most-unappetizing-names/719600/83 "2015-05-10T21:40:32Z")
> [@CheshireKat](#): > > British Mushy Peas. > > I hate peas, but I love the smoky flavor of these. US-style fish and chips doesn’t usually come with this, and I avoided trying it for a long time. Theoretically, it sounds like something awful: I don’t like peas, and “mushy” is one of the most unappetizing adjectives to pair with it, until they invent human fleshlike peas. But I do enjoy them. > [@Sangahyando](#): > > Not being American, I was vaguely aware that scrod was some kind of seafood, but knew no more than that. Having recourse to Google fetched up an article with the sub-heading “All Cod are Scrod, but Not All Scrod are Cod. How Odd.” This piece is no doubt meant to enlighten; but for me, its effect was rather to confuse. > > [Scrod: Exploring the Origins and Distinctions of this Unique Fish](http://www.reluctantgourmet.com/cod-or-scrod-whats-the-difference/) Being American doesn’t help, as I just learned that. It’s a New England thing. Since they’re talking about common parlance and not scientific categories, does scrod cover “black cod,” aka sablefish, which is not a cod? Speaking of fish, they found “Patagonian toothfish” hard to sell, until they renamed it “Chilean sea bass.” > [@stillownedbysetters](#): > > Geoduck clams. Looks innocent enough, albeit confusing - what do ducks and the root word of georaphy have to do with clams? But then we move on to the pronunciation - gooey duck. Blerrgh. And then just LOOK at the dang things! Ugly times 100. > > If you can get past all the reasons not to eat them, though, they are kinda tasty. The only reason the mention of it doesn’t give me “good username/post combo” comments is that there is nothing hiding in geoduck: all the horrors are exposed on first look. If they look innocent to you, you must’ve seen some horrors in Vietnam or something! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-the-most-unappetizing-names/719600/84 "2015-05-10T22:25:59Z")
> [@Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](#): > > Yeah, I was in Boston one time and I asked this taxi driver, since I was new in town, if he could tell me where I could get scrod. And he said “There are several excellent fishmongers I could recommend, but if you have the time and want the proper experience, I can drive you straight to the fish dock and you can get your own that’s only been off the boat for ten minutes” Well played. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-the-most-unappetizing-names/719600/85 "2015-05-11T14:47:24Z")
The only reason the mention of it doesn’t give me “good username/post combo” comments is that there is nothing hiding in geoduck: all the horrors are exposed on first look. If they look innocent to you, you must’ve seen some horrors in Vietnam or something! 😃 [/QUOTE] Aaak, you are so right. I meant to convey that the NAME wasn’t too weird looking. The creature itself? Hideous! ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-the-most-unappetizing-names/719600/86 "2015-05-11T15:04:14Z")
Succotash - sounds even worse when you describe the ingredients (to me, anyway). > [@El\_Kabong](#): > > … > > Poutine (cause it’s got, you know, pou in it) > > … Or as Jay Pritchett said, “Well it looks like vomit, so I’m not \*poutine \*it in my mouth.” ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-the-most-unappetizing-names/719600/87 "2015-05-11T15:37:13Z")
[Mannish water](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mannish_water) ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-the-most-unappetizing-names/719600/88 "2015-05-11T15:38:39Z")
Niños envueltos (wrapped kids) Ropa vieja (old clothes) Olla podrida (rotten pot) ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-the-most-unappetizing-names/719600/89 "2015-05-11T17:52:29Z")
Ají just reminded me of another one: Spaghetti alla puttanesca (“spaghetti as if made by a whore”) ---
**Author:** ![Gothic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Gothic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gothic)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-the-most-unappetizing-names/719600/90 "2015-05-11T18:33:43Z")
Pigeon Pie or meat pie. I saw Sweeny Todd on Broadway at an impressionable age. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-the-most-unappetizing-names/719600/91 "2015-05-11T18:38:11Z")
> [@Mixolydian](#): > > [Mannish water](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mannish_water) From the “See Also” part: cow cod soup. Sounds gross, which means it must be good, right? Rum + banana + hot hot peppers + bull penis. YMMV… ---
**Author:** ![Kelevra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/97f17d/32.png) [@Kelevra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelevra)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-the-most-unappetizing-names/719600/92 "2015-05-11T19:07:42Z")
I was just looking up a recipe for Cajun Dirty Rice. The one from Emeril calls for a spice mix called _Emeril’s Essence_. Sounds like a fart joke. No thanks. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-the-most-unappetizing-names/719600/93 "2015-05-11T19:25:05Z")
You ain’t seen nothing yet! In French, \* essence \* means "gasoline. " :eek: ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-the-most-unappetizing-names/719600/94 "2015-05-11T20:39:18Z")
These still haven’t been mentioned (unless I missed them): Burgoo Sauerkraut Liver cheese Monkey bread ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-the-most-unappetizing-names/719600/95 "2015-05-11T21:59:48Z")
Patagonia Tooth Fish…AKA: Chilean Sea Bass ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-the-most-unappetizing-names/719600/96 "2015-05-11T23:08:54Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > These still haven’t been mentioned (unless I missed them): > > Burgoo > > Sauerkraut > > Liver cheese > > Monkey bread You been hangin’ out in eastern Kentucky/SE Ohio/West Virginia? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-the-most-unappetizing-names/719600/97 "2015-05-11T23:30:09Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > From the “See Also” part: cow cod soup. Sounds gross, which means it must be good, right? Rum + banana + hot hot peppers + bull penis. YMMV… You can buy bull penises as dog treats. Really. The package says “beef pizzles” but I know what they’re talking about. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-the-most-unappetizing-names/719600/98 "2015-05-12T00:22:09Z")
Grits. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-the-most-unappetizing-names/719600/99 "2015-05-12T00:57:59Z")
> [@missred](#): > > You been hangin’ out in eastern Kentucky/SE Ohio/West Virginia? 😛 Almost. I lived in Northern Kentucky, traveled all over Ohio, and have a friend who lives in WV. I thought about putting goetta on the list before deciding the name wasn’t that bad. ---
**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:** [May 12, 2015, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-the-most-unappetizing-names/719600/100 "2015-05-12T01:01:22Z")
Someone on these boards once flipped out about the name “buckeye” for those chocolate and peanut butter balls. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-the-most-unappetizing-names/719600.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-the-most-unappetizing-names/719600.md?page=6)