A while ago I was happily chomping down on a spring roll while absentmindedly reading the back of a container of so-called plum sauce when I discovered that plum sauce is actually made up primarily of pumpkins! Now I’m not sure if this has always been the case but since this first discovery I’ve checked several brands and all seem to be made of pumpkins with plums way down on the list of ingredients. Makes you wonder what other misnomer foods are out there.
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Daniel Burka
I'm the creative director at Digg and I'm a partner at silverorange. I've also helped found Pownce where I design the UI.
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Comments
Steven Garrity - December 8, 2003 11:57 am
I discovered this a while back too - very weird.
Another one: hot dogs (they are usually hot, at least).
filmgoerjuan - December 8, 2003 12:20 pm
Hamburgers spring immediately to mind.
An egg cream has (perhaps suprisingly, perhaps not) neither egg nor cream in it [though a Google search indicates that at least at one point it did].
Daniel Burka - December 8, 2003 12:23 pm
I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure hamburgers were originally referenced to the German city Hamburg and had nothing to do with pigs or their products.
Rob Fletcher - December 8, 2003 12:29 pm
Since somebody is going to make this joke anyway: Baby food.
Also, in French, Egg Nog is called "Lait de Poulle". A rough translation is "Chicken Milk".
Steven Garrity - December 8, 2003 2:05 pm
If you want to bring in translations, apparently Shepherds Pie (another good one) is "Pate Chinois" in French...
Alan - December 8, 2003 5:23 pm
Russian Dressing and Danish pastries are unknown to their respective cultures.
You might want to celebrate the pumpkin - makes beer, bread, cake, soup, pie, roasted seeds and homefries in a pinch...and the only scaaary pagan icon left to us.
Alan - December 8, 2003 5:24 pm
...and a very easy yet bitchin' cheesecake with a crushed pantry cookie ginger base.
Matt - December 8, 2003 10:56 pm
I'm sick of the pumpkin getting so much attention. Sick of it! Next year, my family carves a plum on Halloween. Take that, egocentric pumpkin!