31 People Made These Silly Food Name Mistakes So You Don't Have To

Some people even made weird-tasting food because of these blunders.

May

• Published in Funny
• January 4, 2022

It is part of being human to make mistakes. We commit them everywhere, from our jobs to relationships, and a lot of times, even in the kitchen.

We have to admit, some of these mistakes are completely embarrassing than the rest. For example, some people never realized that cilantro and coriander are one and the same.

Did you just move to another country? Then you might have experienced looking for a specific ingredient at a grocery store only to realize that it's not available there

We also have people who cannot differentiate scallions, shallots, onions, and spring onions. If you want to make yourself feel better after committing these silly mistakes, head over to annamagda's Reddit thread under the r/Cooking subreddit.

After she shared her mix-up about coriander and cilantro, other people started sharing their own cooking blunders and food mistakes. The confessions by redditors were so hilarious so we've compiled the best ones in this post.

If you committed the same mistakes, that's completely fine. According to cooking experts, just embrace those blunders.

Because in the end, these experiences will be your teachers. Take those mistakes as an opportunity to learn and get better.

And don't dwell on them. Have fun reading the blunders that people shared, instead!

What started it all

A redditor made an intense lasagna.

According to the recipe, 3 cloves of garlic are needed. They don't know what cloves meant and ended up using 3 garlic knobs.

Isle of Man

Two friends were at a grocery store, waiting for their turn at the deli counter. There was a sign behind them indicating there were Isle of Man cheeses.

The roommate wasn't happy with what she saw, wondering if getting cheeses is now gendered. Then the other friend, through her tears, explained that it's a name of an actual place in England.

With a whisper, the roommate told her to never tell anyone about it. Of course, she did the opposite.

Someone from the US who moved to the UK was shocked upon knowing that whipped cream in England is called squirty cream.

A redditor's husband found out recently that popcorn is made of corn.

The redditor was a teenager at the time, and this was before the internet. The entire family thought that Italians were so smart to have invented such a dish.

They had nothing but a poorly translated recipe from a South Asian magazine. The meat sauce needed two tablespoons of red chili powder.

In truth, it needed paprika. On top of that, the redditor was only aware of the Indian red chili powder.

This was the first "Italian" food they made for the family and friends. It was served only on special occasions since it was hard to acquire cheese at the time.

Everyone enjoyed the dish as they wipe the tears falling down their faces. They also commented how the heat of the chili weirdly complemented the coolness of cheese.

The redditor's dad is from Scotland and his mom is from the US.

The couple met in the States then moved to Scotland after marriage. The dad had been on scholarship.

Its terms stated that he had to work for Church of Scotland for a couple of years. That's why they went there.

The redditor's mom wanted to make baked goods with coconut. But since she's in a foreign country, it was hard for her to find it.

The dad told her that she cannot find coconut in Scotland. But when the mom mentioned it to the women of the church group, she eventually found out the truth.

There were indeed coconuts in Scotland and she was told where to find them. The mom went home and talked to his dad in anger.

The truth is, the dad wanted to test how long he could keep it up. They're still married for 46 years, but the talk about the coconuts comes up once in a while.

What paprika really is

I just learned three years ago that paprika is just dried ground-up red bell peppers. I'm 44. I felt like the world had betrayed me.

A redditor who's from the US lived in Germany for nearly a decade.

She typically tries to shop in the local stores instead of the American ones. If she does purchase from an American store, she avoids buying choose.

She also thought that it was strange for German stores to not carry Swiss cheese despite sharing borders with Switzerland. So she had no choice but to replace Swiss cheese with something else (Emmentaler, Edamer, and more).

But it was only recently that she realized that the Swiss won't likely call it Swiss cheese. Until now, she doesn't know which one is the Swiss cheese from 18,000 kinds that the store carries, but she says they all taste good.

One redditor consumed asparagus on the day that they quit smoking.

When his pee smelled of asparagus, he was so shocked, he thought he would die. He thought that quitting smoking negatively affected his urination.

Of course, since we all treat Google like a doctor, he looked up his condition. Upon typing "why does my pee smell" Google autocompletes it with "after eating asparagus."

It was such a relief. Because after all, it was something that normally happens.

A user finally discovered that pickles are cucumbers.

A user always thought that curry is it's own spice, when in truth, it's a mix of different spices.

A user didn't know that scallions and green onions are the same.

A redditor used tartar sauce instead of cream of tartar for a cake.

The apple oops cake

I once grabbed cayenne instead of the little jar of "cake spice" (it's a mix of cinnamon & cloves & anise & nutmeg, etc) when making an apple cake. I realized the mistake before mixing it in and was able to scrape most of it out, but there was a distinct bite to that cake! We referred to it as the "apple oops cake" and have occasionally added a dash of cayenne to cakes since.

A redditor thought that arugula is something that only grows in North America. Then, he found out that it's just the American term for rocket (the annual plant).

A redditor didn't think that bay leaf and laurel leaf are the same.

A user picked up chickpeas instead of garbanzo beans.

A user checks the recipe carefully for bicarbonate soda, baking powder, and baking soda.

A British woman loved blackcurrant squash, which is a type of juice.

But when she came to America, she wasn't led to a shelf of juices. The Walmart worker guided her to the root vegetable section.

UK English uses the French terms for eggplant, zucchini, and rutabaga, which are aubergine, courgette, and swede, respectively. A user was surprised to know about this.

A user who migrated to the US was shocked to find out that Americans use entree when ordering the main course.

The fact that mincemeat does not contain minced meat surprised a user.

A redditor who moved to Belgium loved the country's hot chocolate.

It is made using bars that melt in milk. But what she didn't realize is that she wasn't purchasing 2% milk.

She was using full-cream milk all along. No wonder she was gaining weight.

This one user searched for zucchinis in a local mart.

He could not find them in the store, but he saw something that resembles a zucchini called Italian squash. Eventually, he found out that zucchini and Italian squash are the same.

A redditor didn't know that all-purpose flour is the same as plain flour.

This redditor was initially confused with three kinds of cinnamons.

Eventually, he discovered the difference. Ceylon Cinnamon crumbles in one's hands, while Cassie requires grating.

In a game with friends, this redditor learned that grapes and grapefruit aren't the same.

Chipotle and jalapeño are the same, and this shocked one redditor.

A user previously thought that artichokes are fish, and not veggies.

A redditor did not know that the color of the bell peppers determine when they were harvested.

Remember that everyone commits mistakes, and that includes matters about food.

You've probably learned some new stuff from these posts by the redditors. And now, you don't have to go through the same experiences as they did.

And if in doubt, it's always great to ask and be specific about what you're looking for. And forgive yourself if you indeed committed any food name mistake!

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