Have you ever dug into a plate of food with a really tasty-sounding name, expecting one thing and biting into something else altogether? Same. A lot of it happened when I was a kid, and while I discovered some really tasty foods, they weren't exactly what I was expecting, given the name.
In cases of delicious deception, sometimes a food's name just doesn't quite match up with the actual food itself. These are some of the biggest gastronomic gaslighters we've come across.
Sweetbreads
Who doesn't love sweet bread? Sweet, fragrant, earthy, spicy pumpkin bread. Moist banana bread. Hmmm... what's that? They're what now? Thymus or pancreas of calves or lambs? Okaaaaay.
Welsh Rabbit
For lovers of fluffy bunnies, this is good news. You are not about to eat Thumper. Instead, you'll enjoy a gooey, cheesy, toasty bread, also called Welsh rarebit. Also, the dish isn't actually Welsh, so it's pretty much a double liar. It's English, and the name's origins are a bit murky. It possibly boils down to the English making fun of the Welsh way back in the 1700s.
Rocky Mountain Oysters
Expecting a briny sea treat? You can stop right there with that, mister. It's testicles.
Mincemeat
If you're a Gordon Ramsay fan, then you know that our culinary friends in the UK refer to finely chopped meat as "mince." So it's totally understandable that, if you never grew up in a household that had mincemeat pies at the holidays, you'd naturally assume this is what mincemeat is. When I was a kid, even as I was eating it, I thought that's what I was eating. Sweet, spicy minced meat. Surprise, it's actually a spicy and sweet blend of chopped dried fruits and nuts.
Mincemeat hasn't always been a liar, though. Originally, the sweet and spicy pie and tart filling did contain finely chopped meats and suet. But somewhere along the way, that stopped happening. And by the time it made its way to my dessert plate at Christmas? Not a scrap of meat to be found.
Boston Cream Pie
Y'all — it's cake.
Head Cheese
This one is part truth and part lie. Yeah — it does contain head (cheeks, tongues, or ears from calves or sheep). But it is far from a cheesy snack. Instead, it's meat encased in gelatin. No cheese.
Peanuts
The nut poster child contains no peas and no nuts. Peanuts, like peas, are legumes, but they are not nuts.
Spotted Dick
I'm just gonna leave this riiiight here and let you draw your own conclusions.
Eggplant
We know you probably already know this, but that doesn't make the name any less misleading. There's nothing eggy about this veggie, called aubergine in the UK and France. So, which came first, the color or the eggplant? It seems that the color aubergine is named after the vegetable. The more you know!
Pork Butt
My sisters and I always thought it was hilarious when mom was making pork butt... or as we called it... pig's (redacted). (We were similarly amused by rump roast.) So imagine my surprise when I realized the whole pork butt thing was a good news/bad news situation. First, the good news. It's pork! Now for the bad news: no butts were harmed in the making of pork butt. It comes from the pig's shoulder. Years of childhood jokes down the drain on that one.
Hamburgers & Hot Dogs
I'm sure I don't even need to tell you why the names of these summer BBQ faves are filled with lies.
Related: Smoke Show Side Dishes That'll Kick Your Summer BBQ Up a Notch
Black Pudding
Boy oh boy, do I like pudding! And I'm also kinda a fan of licorice or maybe dark chocolate, so put it all together and it's a yummy flavor in a yummy texture, right? Wait, it's what? Pig's blood sausage? Ummm......
Gentleman's Relish
Relish the idea of a nice pickle relish on a hamburger or hot dog? You're not alone. And gentleman's relish sounds so refined, just like the Brits it came from. But spread this relish on your hot dog, and you'll notice something is fishy. Sardine-y, to be exact. Yes, gentleman's relish is a spiced sardine and caper paste.
Fruitcake
This one cuts deep for me personally. When I was pretty young, I was so excited because my grandmother said she'd be bringing fruitcake to our house for the holidays. Loved fruit. Loved cake. How could I not love the two together?
Now, maybe it was just Grandma's fruitcake, but one bite of that hard, heavy, dry, chewy, sticky-sweet confection she brought that Christmas, and I was forever off the stuff. I know many people love it, but I refuse to believe it's cake.
Hen-of-the-Woods
You're not about to sit down to a poultry dinner. But if you love mushrooms, you're in for a treat, because that's what hen-of-the-woods are — they're tasty maitake mushrooms.
Duck Sauce
Nope. Not even .0000000000000001% duck in it.
Need to Know
While it's clearly a pack of lies, the name duck sauce actually does make sense because it was originally served as a sauce for Peking duck.
Delicious Deception
Did they mean to lie to us? Are these names an attempt to mislead? Maybe... but here's what we do know for sure. While the names may be filled with lies, the foods are filled with lots of tasty flavors. And anything that misleads to a yummy bite of food may actually be a case of delicious deception.
