Last night I had sweetbread for the first time. I had no idea what it was, but it tasted like liver to me. According to Wikipedia, sweetbread is usually the thymus or the pancreas of a calf or lamb. Unfortunately, there was no info on the etymology on the term sweetbread.
It’s puzzling to me that so many dishes have names that don’t indicate what the actual dish is. Here are some other examples (yes, I’ve eaten most of them):
- Rocky Mountain oysters = bull calf testicles
- Goober peas = boiled peanuts
- Shit on a shingle = chipped beef on toast (with or without cream sauce)
- Black pudding = blood sausage
- Spotted Dick = a British steam suet pudding
- Frito pie = chili, cheese and Fritos
What oddly named foods have you eaten or heard of?
Tags: Rocky Mountain oysters, sweetbread
