An ancient 'superfood' sent from heaven
Sorry to break it to you, but black pudding isn't a chocolate dessert. It's actually a sausage that’s made of curdled pigs' blood, pig fat, onions, oats, and seasoning.
Geoduck isn't actually a duck, but a soft shell clam that's found in the Pacific Ocean. It’s considered a delicacy in China and the Korean Peninsula.
If you hear someone saying that they love munching on ladyfingers, no, they're not a cannibal! These ladyfingers are sweet sponge cake cookies.
Sources: (Insider) (Paste) (British Food: A History)
See also: Unique foods from around the world you have to try
Refried beans aren’t actually fried. The name comes from the Spanish word refritos, which just means well-cooked.
The last thing you want to eat is a cat. Good thing these biscuits don't have any part of a cat's head in them then! These sweet, buttery treats are just the size of a cat's head.
No real soldiers here! Just bread that's toasted, then cut into strips and dipped into soft-boiled eggs in Britain, or into Marmite in Australia. Apparently they meal is called soldiers because the toast strips are so straight.
These little 'oysters' are actually lamb, boar, or calf testicles, which have been halved, battered, and deep-fried.
If you're a cheese lover, be careful! If you order head cheese, you'll get cold sliced gelatinous sausage made from parts of a cow or pig's head.
Two original British dishes, devils on horseback is dried fruit, usually dates, wrapped in bacon and baked. Angels on horseback is oysters wrapped in bacon and baked.
Mincemeat is finely minced meat, right? Nope! It actually consists of chopped apples, raisins, spices, and rum or brandy, which you can find in pies and tarts. It all makes sense when you consider that "meat" used to be a term for food in general, not just what we classify as meat today.
Don't worry: grasshopper pie doesn't have any bugs in it! First made in New Orleans in the '50s, it's an open-faced chiffon pie in a graham cracker crust. The flavor is composed of crème de menthe, crème de cacao, and heavy cream. It takes its name from the grasshopper cocktail.
Dating back to medieval Europe where it was made by nuns, the recipe involves preparing a double cooked cream puff dough, which is either pan-fried in lard, double fried, or baked.
Egg hoppers are small pancakes served in Southeast Asia, as a breakfast, dinner, or snack food. Made from rice flour and coconut milk, it's served with a whole egg cooked in the center. They're named after the pan they're cooked in: a hopper.
Also known as Welsh rarebit, this doesn't contain any rabbit. It’s a simple piece of toast with a spicy béchamel cheese sauce on top, which doesn't sound so bad!
Lion's head is a Chinese meatball dish, which is steamed with napa cabbage. The shape is supposed to resemble the head of the Chinese guardian lion.
If you're looking for sweetened bread, then this isn't what you should order. Sweetbreads are the thymus gland of animals, and the one most often served is from a calf. Why the name? Because they are "sweeter compared to typical meat, and they are bread because the Old English word for flesh is bræd."
No nose here! Also called pope's nose or sultan’s nose, this is basically the butt-end of the chicken.
Celery sticks with peanut butter and raisins—this snack is pretty healthy! The only thing is that it's not packed with protein like the name might suggest...
Bombay duck is actually a fish, more specifically a lizardfish, which is considered a delicacy in some parts of India. Why the name? The fish used to be transported on the iconic Bombay Daak train (daak meaning "mail). Daak was then changed to "duck."
Eaten in many parts of the world, this cookie is light and delicately sweet. It can also be filled with buttercream or dipped in chocolate.
A bubble gum brand? No, bubble and squeak is a British dish comprised of mashed potatoes, fried with cabbage and sometimes boiled beef. The name apparently comes from the noises made while the ingredients are being fried.
Cream crackers don’t have any cream in them. Made from wheat flour, vegetable oil, and yeast, the name comes from the fact that the ingredients are "creamed together."
There's neither egg nor cream in this 1930s soda fountain drink. While the top resembles frothy egg whites, its only ingredients are chocolate syrup, milk, and seltzer.
Scotch woodcock is a British savory dish that doesn't contain woodcock, a type of bird. This dish is toast topped with scrambled eggs and anchovy paste, or actual anchovy fillets.
This little piggy part is most certainly not its derrière, but the part of his shoulder blade. It's also known as Boston butt, pork blade roast, and Boston roast.
This traditional Sichuan dish doesn't contain any ants or trees. Instead, it's made from ground meat and bean-thread noodles. The pieces of ground meat clinging to the noodles are said to resemble ants walking on twigs, hence the name.
Also known as ram’s head or sheep’s head, hen of the woods is a mushroom that grows at the base of trees. The name comes from the fact that it looks like the feathers of a hen.
No mythical creatures were harmed in the creation of this Chinese dish. It's simply standard chicken feet dim sum.
A pastry isn't the first thing you'd think of with this name. Yet a bear claw is an almond-flavored pastry, drizzled with icing and sliced almonds.
Around the globe, countless millions of people have been misled by foods with peculiar names. You'd think that the names given to dishes would pretty much always give you an idea of what they are, but that's not always the case. Imagine you order duck and get a salty dried fish instead, or you ask for oysters and you're given a plate of fried testicles!
Click on to get the story behind several baffling food names, so you don't get any unwanted surprises!
Foods with hilariously deceptive names
If your order a mince pie for your entrée and sweetbreads for dessert, you'll be disappointed
FOOD Dishes
Around the globe, countless millions of people have been misled by foods with peculiar names. You'd think that the names given to dishes would pretty much always give you an idea of what they are, but that's not always the case. Imagine you order duck and get a salty dried fish instead, or you ask for oysters and you're given a plate of fried testicles!
Click on to get the story behind several baffling food names, so you don't get any unwanted surprises!