# Unappetizing food names!!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unappetizing-food-names/19782>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [May 17, 2000, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unappetizing-food-names/19782 "2000-05-17T19:01:23Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**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 17, 2000, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unappetizing-food-names/19782/1 "2000-05-17T19:01:23Z")

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How many of us have seen things like this? Zatarain’s makes a product called Crab Boil! UGH!! I can’t imagine eating a _human_ boil, let alone a _crab_ boil! (Zatarain’s also makes a product called “Dirty Rice Mix,” which we jeered until we actually tried it. 🙂  
Also, in the Hispanic foods section of our supermarket, I saw a food in a jar, called “mole”! I can’t imagine anyone eating a mole!  
Post here food names that sound awful–and may not do justice to the food, as with Dirty Rice Mix.

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**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2000, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unappetizing-food-names/19782/2 "2000-05-17T19:09:15Z")

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Head Cheese

Spotted Dick

Blood Sausage

. . . and they’re just as yummy as they sound!

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**Author:** ![Gazoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ce73a5/32.png) [@Gazoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazoo)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2000, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unappetizing-food-names/19782/3 "2000-05-17T19:09:52Z")

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Chicken Mole (pronounce moe-lay) is awesome. I once won $5.00 from a Mexican-American friend of mine who didn’t believe me that there was peanut butter and/or peanuts in it. He asked his mom and I got the $5.

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**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2000, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unappetizing-food-names/19782/4 "2000-05-17T19:16:04Z")

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My grandma used to make Shit On A Shingle, which was sausage gravy on a thick peice of toast. This wasn’t something that she made up-- it was like, um, a traditional family dish. They had called it that for generations, and I’ve heard other families use the term. Maybe it’s a Southern Ohio thing.

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**Author:** ![X-files](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/76d3ee/32.png) [@X-files](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/X-files)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2000, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unappetizing-food-names/19782/5 "2000-05-17T19:24:13Z")

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The kiwifruit was formerly called Chinese Gooseberry and **Chinese Carbuncle** (Carbuncle is a smooth round gemstone, but also “a huge pus-filled boil”.

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**Author:** ![blueslady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e0b2c6/32.png) [@blueslady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blueslady)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2000, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unappetizing-food-names/19782/6 "2000-05-17T19:34:30Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*\*  
> My grandma used to make Shit On A Shingle, which was sausage gravy on a thick peice of toast. This wasn’t something that she made up-- it was like, um, a traditional family dish. They had called it that for generations, and I’ve heard other families use the term. Maybe it’s a Southern Ohio thing.  
> \*\*

Traditionaly “Shit on a Shingle” is dried chipped beef in a white sauce, served on toast.

some more yummy sounding dishes  
**Scrapple  
mush  
Menudo** (not the group, but a tripe stew)

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**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2000, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unappetizing-food-names/19782/7 "2000-05-17T19:36:06Z")

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**dougie,** you’re just, like, foolin’ around here, right? With those comments about crab boil and dirty rice and mole and stuff, right? You really know what they really are and you’re just tugging ol’ Ukulele Ike’s leg, right?

**Lissa:** _Shit on a Shingle_ was the Army term for creamed chipped beef on toast. During the Big One, creamed chipped beef was a foodstuff that was in abundant supply within the U.S. Armed Forces; it got served up a couple times a week, and the men got heartily sick of it.

How about nearly any German word for food? _Schnitzel,_ for example. It’s yummy; a cutlet dredged in seasoned flour and sauteed in butter or oil. But…schnitzel. Hey, girlie, come over here, I want you to taste my schnitzel. Give me a bite of your schnitzel. Hey waiter, there’s something wrong with my schnitzel.

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**Author:** ![jjjfishe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jjjfishe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjjfishe)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2000, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unappetizing-food-names/19782/8 "2000-05-17T19:37:52Z")

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i don’t want to drink anything called ovaltene

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**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 17, 2000, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unappetizing-food-names/19782/9 "2000-05-17T19:54:05Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> dougie, you’re just, like, foolin’ around here, right? With those comments about crab boil and dirty rice and mole and stuff, right? You really know what they really are and you’re just tugging ol’ Ukulele Ike’s leg, right?

WRONG!!  
What part of the country do you live in? I am in Los Angeles County, CA. I can attest personally to Dirty Rice Mix–we have even eaten it and it was pretty good. 🙂 I will not eat a mole or a crab boil, however. Bleccch.

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**Author:** ![struuter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9e5f3/32.png) [@struuter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/struuter)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2000, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unappetizing-food-names/19782/10 "2000-05-17T19:55:59Z")

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Anything with the word ‘log’ in it. Ugh, not appetizing.

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**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 17, 2000, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unappetizing-food-names/19782/11 "2000-05-17T20:01:12Z")

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Like “Log Cabin Syrup,” Struuter? 🙂

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**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2000, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unappetizing-food-names/19782/12 "2000-05-17T20:04:10Z")

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Anyone ever had the candy treat called Chick-o-Stick?

There is no chicken in it, although there is a picture of a chicken on the wrapper. It’s actually something like the inside of a Clark bar.

Chick-o-Stick for a candy? Ugh.

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**Author:** ![struuter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9e5f3/32.png) [@struuter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/struuter)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2000, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unappetizing-food-names/19782/13 "2000-05-17T20:06:39Z")

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Ummmm…not exactly. I mean more along the lines of meat log, cheese log or chocolate log. Not that the foods themselves are in question. But add that word to the end and…yeesh. Makes me think of Caddyshack.

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**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:** [May 17, 2000, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unappetizing-food-names/19782/14 "2000-05-17T20:07:01Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*\*
> 
> > [@](#):
> >
> > dougie, you’re just, like, foolin’ around here, right? With those comments about crab boil and dirty rice and mole and stuff, right? You really know what they really are and you’re just tugging ol’ Ukulele Ike’s leg, right?
> 
> WRONG!!  
> What part of the country do you live in? I am in Los Angeles County, CA. I can attest personally to Dirty Rice Mix–we have even eaten it and it was pretty good. 🙂 I will not eat a mole or a crab boil, however. Bleccch.  
> \*\*

I know you have to be pretending not to understand the true nature of the foods you mentioned, but just in case someone takes you seriously, as a culinary guardian I must intervene and stomp on the punchline.

1. Dirty rice is so called because it _looks_ like it has dirt mixed into it; however, it’s actually ground chicken livers and spices that make it look that way.

2. it’s not “mole,” as in “small blind animal.” It’s “molé” (prounounced “MOH-lay”), and it’s a complicated sauce that is usually served over chicken or turkey.

3. “Crab boil” is etymologically similar to “fish fry” (i.e., “let’s boil a bunch of crabs”). The Zatarain’s product is a mix of spices that are added to the water when boiling crabs.

I’m sure you know all this and are just having some fun, but I can’t risk allowing culinary ignorance to flourish.

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**Author:** ![red\_dragon60](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@red\_dragon60](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/red_dragon60)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2000, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unappetizing-food-names/19782/15 "2000-05-17T20:08:01Z")

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Hormel, the maker of spam, also has Potted Meat Food Product. Ewwwww!

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**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2000, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unappetizing-food-names/19782/16 "2000-05-17T20:08:08Z")

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_sigh_

**Crab boil** is a packaged mix of herbs and spices meant to be added to the water in which crabs, shrimp, or lobsters are to be boiled. You generally see it around the Chesapeake Bay area (where boiled crabs a a specialty), but it’s available all up and down the east coast. Sometimes it’s sold as “fish boil” or “shrimp boil.”

**Dirty rice** is rice cooked with ground pork, ground chicken livers and gizzards, onions, chicken broth, bacon drippings, green pepper, and garlic. It’s a Cajun specialty, and it gets its name from the fact that the ground meat makes the white rice look “dirty.”

**Mole** is a smooth, cooked blend of onion, garlic, chiles, ground seeds (usually pumpkin or sesame) and a small amount of bitter Mexican chocolate. It’s a rich, dark reddish-brown sauce usually served with poultry, and gets its name from the Nahuatl word _molli,_ meaning “concoction.”

I love you, man, but you have _got_ to get out more.

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**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2000, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unappetizing-food-names/19782/17 "2000-05-17T20:10:24Z")

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Thank god **Chef Troy** got roped in, too. I ain’t the ONLY Margaret Dumont around here.

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**Author:** ![Inky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7feea3/32.png) [@Inky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inky_1)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2000, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unappetizing-food-names/19782/18 "2000-05-17T20:11:42Z")

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Potted Meat.  
Grelm (German breakfast cereal made from post-beer production barley).

My friends grandmother used to make a traditional mexican meal using a whole head of a sheep (and I do mean WHOLE), I recall it had an equally hideous name that slips my mind…

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**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:** [May 17, 2000, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unappetizing-food-names/19782/19 "2000-05-17T20:14:51Z")

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Nice simulpost, Ike; thanks for helping stamp out ignorance.

That said, I must mention a few items that have gag-inducing names:

there is a stew served in the American South (especially Kentucky) called **burgoo** that I am unwilling to try, no matter what’s actually in it, just because the name sounds so gross. (“Hey Cletus, what’s that stinky white stuff splattered all over the hood of yore truck – and what should I call this stew?” “Bird goo.” “Which question didja answer?”)

And I’m sure they probably taste good, but I can’t stop giggling long enough to eat **kumquats.**

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**Author:** ![KP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a9adbd/32.png) [@KP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KP)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2000, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unappetizing-food-names/19782/20 "2000-05-17T20:17:14Z")

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\>\> I can’t imagine anyone eating a mole \<\<

Actually, it’s a Mexican sauce pronounced mo-lay, so I thought it had an accent over the e, as in “Olé!”, but I have seen it both ways. The most famous molé is chocolate molé which might tempt you a little (though it isn’t sweet). If not, I don’t want to see you biting the heads (or butts) off any chocolate bunnies.

Then again, I wouldn’t hesitate to eat the animal mole - I mean is it really worse than frog or escargo? I imagine it’s like quail - all those tiny bones.

A mole of table sugar is about 12 ounces, which is a lot, but not unthinkable. As any kid on Halloween. C’mon, admit it, you’ve done worse.

Hrulka (Hungarian blood sausage) is one of the few foods I couldn’t bring myself to finish (the thing basically exploded when I bit the end, coating me in black clotted blood – I should know better than to by food on the Budapest subway) but blood sausage in general isn’t bad.

The food that always made me laugh was **Strange Flavored Beef** (or chicken, pork, etc.) found in many Chinese restaurants. Mmmm… just like momma used to make: “Does the beef taste funny to you?”

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