Beware Of These Misleading Food Names

Some food names can be misleading. These strange foods are said to have misleading names because their names do not indicate what they really are. To give you very simple and common example lets discuss the food called French fries. This is no exotic food that comes from middle China. It is available in all fast food joints. But these deep fried potato strips have nothing to do with France.

Foods with misleading names often point to the wrong country or ingredient. Just because some strange foods have the name of any country or ingredient in them, it does not mean that the food actually comes from that part of world or has a particular ingredient in it. For instance, hamburgers are actually often made with beef. But the word 'ham' specifically refers to pork or pig meat.

Here are some of the most common foods with misleading names.

French Fries

The French would cringe at the idea of eating oily and deep fried potatoes. They are more that happy with their wine, cheese and salads. French fries possibly have a Belgian origin.

Bombay Duck

Actually, the Bombay duck is not a bird but a fish. The local fishermen of Bombay (now Mumbai) calls this fish Bombil. This food was given a misleading name by the Britishers who settled in Bombay.

Cream Crackers

Cream cracker is a kind of biscuit but it has absolutely no cream. In fact, cream crackers are high fibre biscuits that are good for dieters and diabetics.

Hot Dog

Can imagine having a heated dog for snacks. A hot dog is actually a loaf of bread cut into half and a fried sausage inserted in it with lots of sauces. Why we call it hot dog is mystery that has not yet been solved.

Sweetmeat

Sweetmeat is certainly sweet but there is no semblance of meat in it. This word was coined at time when 'meat' meant anything to eat in Old English.

Gunpowder

You cannot possibly eat raw gunpowder because it is toxic. But a mix of special South Indian spices is called gun powder because it has the same burnt red colour and it actually adds fire to your belly when you eat it.

Fried Buffalo Wings

Buffaloes do not have wings so we obviously cannot fry them. However, this special variety of deep fried wings hails from the state of Buffalo in Southern USA.

Caesar Salad

Unlike the caesarian delivery, the Caesar salad has nothing to do with the Roman emperor Julius Caesar. This dish is named after its inventor, the less illustrious Caesar Cardini.

Colonial Goose

Colonial goose is not poultry meat at all. It is a lamb cooked with red wine and dry fruits. It was a speciality on the table of Britisher's in India and therefore the strange name.

These are some of the foods that have very misleading names. Do you know of any strange foods that have names that are not congruous with their preparation?