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Cute names to cover up what it is

Daniel

By Daniel
in Food Traditions & Culture

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Daniel

Daniel

Posted
Posted

I was driving through the midwest when i saw something on a menu that called bull balls, swinging steak.. I was wondering if there were any other names people use to hide the names of what some people might consider gross..

Things i know are :

!)Sweet Breads

2)Rocky Mountain Oysters

I know there must be tons.. Please share.

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jsolomon

jsolomon

Posted
Posted (edited)

<insert animal> fries... lamb fries, turkey fries, bull fries...

edit to add: I thought sweet breads were pancreas, not testicle

Edited by jsolomon (log)

I always attempt to have the ratio of my intelligence to weight ratio be greater than one. But, I am from the midwest. I am sure you can now understand my life's conundrum.

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ludja

ludja

Posted
Posted (edited)

Another quaint term for the aforementioned "prairie oysters" is one I've seen given by Olney: "frivolities". He has a recipe for "frivolity fritters" in his "Simple French Foods".

Another old-fashioned terminology for hearts and kidneys is: "variety meats".

If all else fails, in the US anyway, one can just use the French or other foreign language terminology to create an air of mystery, at least for your non-French or [insert other language] speaking guests! Cervelles au Beurre Noir anyone?

p.s. I love the "hanging steak" description; never heard that before!

Edited by ludja (log)

"Under the dusty almond trees, ... stalls were set up which sold banana liquor, rolls, blood puddings, chopped fried meat, meat pies, sausage, yucca breads, crullers, buns, corn breads, puff pastes, longanizas, tripes, coconut nougats, rum toddies, along with all sorts of trifles, gewgaws, trinkets, and knickknacks, and cockfights and lottery tickets."

-- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1962 "Big Mama's Funeral"

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ludja

ludja

Posted
Posted (edited)
...

edit to add: I thought sweet breads were pancreas, not testicle

True, but I think Daniel was asking for any food 'euphemisms". Sweetbreads can be both pancreas and thymus by the way.

Edited by ludja (log)

"Under the dusty almond trees, ... stalls were set up which sold banana liquor, rolls, blood puddings, chopped fried meat, meat pies, sausage, yucca breads, crullers, buns, corn breads, puff pastes, longanizas, tripes, coconut nougats, rum toddies, along with all sorts of trifles, gewgaws, trinkets, and knickknacks, and cockfights and lottery tickets."

-- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1962 "Big Mama's Funeral"

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ludja

ludja

Posted
Posted

Found another funny one googling 'frog legs' here.

The great French chef Auguste Escoffier, while working in England, changed the name from frogs' legs to nymph legs and found that a creative name could get even a Brit to chow down on these tasty "gams."

"Under the dusty almond trees, ... stalls were set up which sold banana liquor, rolls, blood puddings, chopped fried meat, meat pies, sausage, yucca breads, crullers, buns, corn breads, puff pastes, longanizas, tripes, coconut nougats, rum toddies, along with all sorts of trifles, gewgaws, trinkets, and knickknacks, and cockfights and lottery tickets."

-- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1962 "Big Mama's Funeral"

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winesonoma

winesonoma

Posted
Posted
Yeah, a sweetbread is in the neck, not the nards. It disappears when a calf's voice changes.

But with regard to the testicles, cajones works for me. But do not knock them if you haven't tried them.

Sweetbreads are the Thymus gland of young animals. In some species it disappears with age. :biggrin:

Bruce Frigard

Quality control Taster, Château D'Eau Winery

"Free time is the engine of ingenuity, creativity and innovation"

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

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Daniel

Daniel

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

Yes this post is not confined to Testa klez, it is any part of an animal or any dish for that matter..

I think the marketing people screwed up when they tried to cover up innards and ended up calling it offal.. hehe

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Peachpie9

Peachpie9

Posted
Posted

Hi Daniel,

As an example of what you are talking about, Patagonian Toothfish, which are ugly suckers but delicious to eat, are more palatably known as Chilean Sea Bass. On another food site, one person insisted that Chilean Sea Bass "do not exist," because, he said, the name was invented to cover up the fact that they are really ugly fish. Well, they do exist (and are threatened, so don't eat them!). The common name Chilean Sea Bass was coined because Chilean fisherman were the first to bring this wildly popular but slow-growing fish to American markets, 15 years before the fish became threatened.

Catherine

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Mabelline

Mabelline

Posted
Posted

I have a very old cookbook from Pioneer families in Washington State and in a recipe for Haggis (yep!) it says: "Procure the large stomach bag of a sheep, as well as one of the smaller bags, known as "King's Hood",together with the pluck,which is the lights, liver, and heart."

Farther down:"You will now boil the small bag along with the pluck; in boiling,leave the windpipe attached and let the end of it hang over the edge of the pot,so that impurities pass out."

Haggis anyone? Cajones are sounding pretty good right about now.

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ludja

ludja

Posted
Posted

The current "Charlie Trotter" thread just reminded me of "trotters" or the English "crubeens" for pig's feet...

I guess there is also "chitlins" for pig's small intestines...

"Under the dusty almond trees, ... stalls were set up which sold banana liquor, rolls, blood puddings, chopped fried meat, meat pies, sausage, yucca breads, crullers, buns, corn breads, puff pastes, longanizas, tripes, coconut nougats, rum toddies, along with all sorts of trifles, gewgaws, trinkets, and knickknacks, and cockfights and lottery tickets."

-- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1962 "Big Mama's Funeral"

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jgm

jgm

Posted
Posted

When I lived in Dodge City, Kansas, where enormous numbers of cattle are raised and slaughtered, we called 'em "calf fries." They were served cut in french-fry shape and deep fried.

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Susan G

Susan G

Posted
Posted (edited)
Jello definitely runs and catches and scores!

:biggrin:

Do translations count? Ten years ago, hiking in the Tai Shan area of China, one of my friends ordered "Mountain Chicken" off a menu........when the dish came, and she asked for clarification, she learned she had ordered toad.

Tasty, though, with lots of garlic.

Edited by Susan G (log)

I'm a canning clean freak because there's no sorry large enough to cover the, "Oops! I gave you botulism" regrets.

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Mabelline

Mabelline

Posted
Posted

I wish I could remember what the Africans call those those big ole skewered rats they sell. And the Indian thread had quite a few euphemisms for liquor and beef. Salve, salve, salve to the conscience, I reckon.

I love Mountain chicken for toad, though. I'll bet Ellen Shapiro could tell 100's of those. Check out her excellent threads about Mongolia, Tibet< China, WHEREVER.

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ludja

ludja

Posted
Posted

head "cheese"...

"Under the dusty almond trees, ... stalls were set up which sold banana liquor, rolls, blood puddings, chopped fried meat, meat pies, sausage, yucca breads, crullers, buns, corn breads, puff pastes, longanizas, tripes, coconut nougats, rum toddies, along with all sorts of trifles, gewgaws, trinkets, and knickknacks, and cockfights and lottery tickets."

-- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1962 "Big Mama's Funeral"

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My Confusing Horoscope

My Confusing Horoscope

Posted
Posted (edited)

Before they turned it into a soft drink, I liked the name Mountain Dew for Moonshine, i.e. illegally privately made "whiskey"

There's a famous song going back to Ireland, popularized in the US by Bascom Lamar Lunsford and Scotty Stoneman in the 20s

They call it that old mountain dew

And them that refuse it are few

Edited by My Confusing Horoscope (log)

Scorpio

You'll be surprised to find out that Congress is empowered to forcibly sublet your apartment for the summer.

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Pan

Pan

Posted
Posted

I don't remember the name of the place at the moment, but there's a restaurant specializing in unusual game (elk, yak, etc.) that has "floppy-eared chicken" on the menu.

Kiwi used to be called Chinese gooseberry.

I understand that Nova lox doesn't use salmon from Nova Scotia.

Michael aka "Pan"

 

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Daniel

Daniel

Posted
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Posted
I don't remember the name of the place at the moment, but there's a restaurant specializing in unusual game (elk, yak, etc.) that has "floppy-eared chicken" on the menu.

Kiwi used to be called Chinese gooseberry.

I understand that Nova lox doesn't use salmon from Nova Scotia.

Wildflower.. hehe. i was just going to add that..

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