There are some foods that are such a part of our culinary fabric – and so well-loved – that their names pass our lips as easily as they do. But many of our favourite and everyday foods are hiding fascinating tales behind their monikers. From chop suey to Spam and spaghetti bolognese, here are some of the most surprising stories about how our favourite foods got their names.
For such a well-known (and divisive) food, the truth about how Spam got its name is actually something of a mystery. One theory suggests it’s an acronym for Scientifically Processed Animal Matter, with Spam obviously being a little snappier. Jay Hormel, who invented the iconic canned pork in 1937, has apparently claimed it’s an amalgamation of ‘pork’ and ‘spice’, though the only seasoning used is salt. And the official company story is that Spam was simply the winning suggestion from a naming contest during a staff party.
The origins of the name 'French fries' might seem self-explanatory, but it’s debatable whether they’re French at all. It’s believed that president Thomas Jefferson’s French chef whipped up “potatoes served in the French manner” – chipped potatoes – and a new term was coined. However, some food historians believe they were originally invented in Belgium in the 17th century. US soldiers, on trying them in southern Belgium during the First World War, dubbed them French fries because French was the dominant language there.
These famous grazing dishes are named for the Spanish verb ‘tapar’, meaning ‘to cover’, because the food was placed on top of drinks by innkeepers. How and when they were invented is less clear, though one theory is that they came about to cater for 13th-century King Alfonso X, who was recuperating and could only eat and drink small amounts. Another story is that slices of bread or cured ham made useful lids to keep flies out of drinks – until people started to eat the edible covers.
The name hummus has simple origins: it means ‘chickpea’ in Arabic. The first known mention of it is in 13th-century documents that refer to a mashed chickpea dish being consumed in Cairo, Egypt. It gives weight to the widely-held belief that hummus comes from the Middle Eastern Shami region, today comprised of Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Jordan. But there are various counter-claims, including that the dip originated in Turkey, where it’s believed chickpeas were first cultivated.
There’s nothing straightforward about whoopie pies. First of all, these sweet treats – two rounds of chocolate cake or soft cookies sandwiched around a thick marshmallow filling – aren’t really pies. Secondly, it’s not known for sure how the ‘whoopie’ part came about, or where. Some claim the pillowy cakes were invented in Maine, with the name inspired by 1920s show tune Makin’ Whoopee. A counter-claim is that Pennsylvanian Amish communities invented them as a way to use up cake batter, creating something so delicious that, upon tasting them, kids exclaimed: “Whoopee!”.
Chop suey is believed to be an Americanisation of the Chinese dish ‘tsap seui’ – in both name and substance. Tsap seui is a similar dish of stir-fried meat, eggs and vegetables (the name translates as ‘miscellaneous leftovers’), so that theory makes perfect sense. But that hasn’t prevented conflicting theories. The most popular of which is that it was invented in New York in 1896 during a visit by Chinese ambassador Li Hung Chang. His chefs, the story goes, desperately whipped up a dish they thought would please Chinese and American dignitaries.
Cape Cod turkey contains not a single scrap of poultry. Instead, this popular New England dish is actually salt cod served in a creamy white sauce and topped with boiled eggs and potatoes. It’s believed the name is a nod and a wink to the fact early New England settlers served the dish at Thanksgiving, at a time when they had little else available but fish.
Oreos, launched in 1912 and sold as part of a luxury biscuit selection, went on to become a stratospheric success. Yet its name is a deliberate mystery, with makes Nabisco reticent to reveal the truth. There are, of course, several theories. The most popular is that Oreo comes from the French word for gold, ‘or’, referring to the original packaging. Another is that it was a sneaky dig at rival biscuits Hydrox, which are stamped with a mountain laurel – the Latin name for which is ‘Oreodaphne’.
Few foods are as iconic, or as versatile, as the humble sandwich which is named after John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich. The story goes that he wanted something he could eat while gambling so had sliced meat and bread bought to him at the gaming table. Another variation is that he ate what became known as sandwiches while working at his desk. It’s less plausible that he was the first to eat food between bread – but regardless of how and when this style of eating began, Sandwich made it stylish and the name, obviously, stuck.
How do you improve on the sandwich? Make it bigger, of course. The club (or clubhouse) sandwich, with chicken, bacon, lettuce and tomato tucked between three layers of toast, took a classic and super-sized it. Like the original, it was born in the world of gambling, apparently invented at a private gaming club in the late 19th century. The Saratoga Club House in New York has long claimed authorship, though it seems that a similar sandwich existed a few years earlier at the Union Club, also in NYC.
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Gumbo’s origins are as soupy and spicy as the dish itself. The best-known versions are Creole-style – characterised by its tomato base – and Cajun-style, which usually has either meat or seafood and is made with a darker roux. Its name is equally complex. It’s widely accepted it derives from 'ki ngombo', a West African term for the okra commonly used to thicken the rice-laden stew. Others suggest it might have indigenous American origins, bolstered by the occasional use of ground sassafras – 'kombo' in Choctaw – as a thickening agent.
The origins of this pie – and its name – are clear as mud. Most theories suggest it does come from the state of Mississippi, perhaps going back to the early 20th century. And most agree it takes its name from its resemblance to the gooey, chocolate-brown banks of the Mississippi River. It’s also been claimed the dessert, which has layers of brownie, chocolate custard and sometimes whipped cream, was invented by a San Franciscan chef who named them ‘mud pies’ because of the colour.
It makes sense that this favourite brunch – and hair of the dog – cocktail is named after the original bloody Mary, Queen Mary I of England, who earned her nickname due to her penchant for execution during her rule in the mid-16th century. But most cocktail historians agree that probably isn’t true and that, in fact, it was Fernand “Pete” Petiot who came up with the tomato-based drink while working at Harry’s New York Bar in 1920s Paris, possibly naming it after film star Mary Pickford.
Numerous Benedicts have laid claim to this brunch classic. One story suggests that, in the 18th century, Pope Benedict XIII was on a strict eggs and toast diet and requested a lemon sauce to jazz up his meal. The most plausible claim is Lemuel Benedict’s. The New York stockbroker and regular diner at the Waldorf Hotel, said a hangover inspired his 1894 order of toast topped with bacon, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce. The maître d’ apparently added it to the menu, switching to muffins and Canadian bacon.
Heinz Ketchup, launched in 1876, is probably the most famous brand today but ketchup – or something like it – has been around for millennia. The name comes from the Chinese ke-tsiap, an ancient sauce made with fermented fish and used primarily for seasoning. The recipe and name changed on its travels, eventually becoming known as catsup or ketchup. English sailors brought the recipe home in the 17th century and also added oysters, anchovies, walnuts and mushrooms to the mix, while tomatoes were added in America.
The word curry is used as a blanket term to describe all manner of fragrant and spiced stews – and it originates in a misunderstanding. Portuguese traders, after landing in southern India and sampling some of the dishes there, took to calling them ‘carel’ – based on the Tamil word ‘kari’, which means ‘spiced sauce’. It became ‘curry’ in the UK and has stuck as a catch-all term for a complex and varied range of dishes and cuisines.
This delicious breakfast or brunch treat has a suitably sweet and romantic backstory. Its origins have been traced back to the Roman Empire, though it’s most closely associated with France – where it’s charmingly known as ‘pain perdu’ or ‘lost bread’. The Gallic name comes from the fact that the recipe was created as a way to use up stale bread that had to be rescued. This was done by dipping it in eggs, milk and sugar and frying it.
Everyone, it seems, wants a bite of the hamburger’s origins. There are at least half a dozen claims to its invention in the US alone. It’s likely that a snack of brötchen (bread roll) stuffed with ground meat was brought over by German immigrants, who were nicknamed hamburgers after the Hamburger America Line they sailed on. Another variation on the story is that the ground beef patties were already named hamburgers before coming to America.
The story of this US favourite begins with some flour and a fight against vice in the 19th century. The man behind it was Reverend Sylvester Graham, a vegetarian and devout follower of the Temperance Movement. He was an early advocate of wholemeal flour and adapted it to make Graham flour, the main ingredient in Graham crackers, with the intention of inspiring people to follow a wholesome, healthy lifestyle. He probably didn’t intend it to become a mainstay of sweet treats and indulgence.
Discover the surprising reasons why your favourite foods were invented
Graham crackers are the go-to for sandwiching s’mores, the favourite campfire snack made with toasted marshmallows and squares of chocolate (usually Hershey’s, another US classic). Its creation is thought to stretch back to the 19th century but the first printed recipe was in a 1927 Girl Scout guidebook. The name then was simply ‘some more’, based on the idea that one is never enough. It’s not known exactly when (or by whom) it was shortened but the original name stuck until at least the 1970s.
Contrary to popular (and understandable) belief, this crunchy, creamy dressing-drenched salad wasn’t a favourite of Roman emperor Julius Caesar. Well, it’s unlikely, anyway. The salad we know is believed to have been created much more recently by Italian restaurateur Caesar Cardini, who had originally moved to the US but went to Mexico in the 1920s. Legend has it he rustled up what he then called an Aviator Salad, with leftovers to feed hungry Hollywood holidaymakers. The name was later changed to honour the inventor.
There are various, equally charming stories about how this indulgent treat was invented and named. One is that, due to Midwestern laws prohibiting the sale of soda water on Sundays, soda fountains in Evanston, Illinois began selling ice cream with just syrup. Another is that a shop in Two Rivers, Wisconsin created the dish but it was another, in nearby Manitowoc, who named it the ‘ice cream Sunday’ so he could make it a weekly special and charge extra. He began selling it daily and switched it to ‘sundae’, after a child who wanted it on another day burst into tears.
The origins of this delicious creamy concoction may date back to ancient Rome and a dish of cabbage, vinegar, eggs and spices. But its name is from the Dutch koolsla – ‘kool’ meaning ‘cabbage’ and ‘sla’ meaning ‘salad’. Dutch settlers brought it over to America in the late 18th century and it eventually became anglicised to coleslaw. It was originally a dish of thinly-sliced cabbage mixed with melted butter, oil and vinegar, with mayonnaise later making its way into the popular BBQ side dish.
This Italian restaurant staple hit the big time in the US and elsewhere in the 1980s, when a New York Times recipe published in 1985 inspired dinner party hosts to soak sponge fingers in coffee and get whipping the double cream. But it predates this by at least a few decades, believed to have been served in Italian brothels until the mid-20th century. Its name translates as ‘pull it up’, because it was apparently eaten as a pick-me-up to get clients in the mood.
Australians – and cake lovers further afield – will know this sweet treat of sponge cake covered in chocolate and dusted in desiccated coconut. It’s the equivalent of doughnuts (and maybe whoopie pies) in the US and macarons in France. It’s named after Lord Lamington, governor of Queensland in the late 19th century. The story is that his French-born chef rustled it up for unexpected guests using his imagination and ingredients to hand – and it became a classic. Research has since unearthed an earlier reference to the cake in New Zealand, where it was known as a wellington.
It’s hard to imagine a world without pizza. The cheesy, doughy food is rooted in Naples, Italy, where it was a peasant dish eaten on the move. But the word 'pizza' doesn’t come from there at all. Its etymology has been hotly debated, with theories that it could derive from the same word the Greek flatbread ‘pitta’ came from, or from ‘bizzo’ – meaning ‘mouthful’ or ‘top bite’ in the now-defunct West Germanic language Lombardic. In 2015, a food historian claimed to have solved the mystery after unearthing a reference in a document from AD 997 in Gaeta, north of Naples.
The Japanese word ‘sushi’ translates as ‘it’s sour’, and it actually has very little to do with fish or seafood. It refers instead to the vinegar-laced rice that forms the bed for other ingredients. This rice topped with fermented fish was a staple dish in Japan for millennia, with variations that were easier to prepare developed during the Edo Period between 1603 and 1868.
The original nacho man was called, erm, Nacho. Or at least that was his nickname. Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Anaya was the maître d’ or chef at the Victory Club in Piedras Negras, a small city in Mexico, in 1943. He took pity on a group of US military wives whose husbands were stationed nearby and who, after a day of shopping, hadn’t been able to find an open restaurant. He fried up tortilla chips, threw on some grated cheese and sliced jalapeños, and bunged the lot in the oven. Snacking has never been the same.
Bolognese comes from Bologna, right? Well, it isn’t quite that simple. The name 'bolognese' does refer to the northern Italian city but many insist that no such dish exists there. In fact many (including the mayor of Bologna) argue that spaghetti bolognese – made with minced beef simmered with tomatoes and other veg – is an English invention that bears only a slight resemblance to authentic ragù. The latter is typically a slow-cooked sauce of beef shin, pancetta, tomatoes, carrots, onion and white wine, usually eaten with tagliatelle.
Cottage pie is often confused with shepherd’s pie – and the two dishes do have intertwining origins. Shepherd’s pie is so-named because it contains lamb, which is minced or diced and topped with mashed potato. But cottage pie, usually made with beef, predates it by close to a century. Potatoes, then a relatively new food in the UK, were affordable for poorer workers, who mainly lived in cottages. The mash was spooned over leftover scraps of meat, often from the Sunday roast, and baked.