What's in a name? Sometimes, not all that much. Or at least, when it comes to certain foods, not a lot you can trust. Bombay duck doesn't contain a scrap of duck, for example. And grasshopper pie isn't quite as adventurous as it sounds. Here, we’ve rounded up the most deceptively named foods around – how many can you identify from their title alone?

Click or scroll through our gallery to discover the most confusingly named foods in the world, as we count down to reveal the most misleading moniker of all.

We've based our ranking on the surprising nature of each food and on the opinions of our well-travelled (and well-fed) team. The list is unavoidably subjective.

While there’s certainly been an increased interest in consuming protein-rich insects over the last few years, we’re not talking about critters of any kind here. Despite being commonly known as Moreton Bay bugs in Australia, these rather strange looking creatures are in fact flathead, or bay, lobsters. Said to have a sweet, rich flavour and a stronger taste than other types of lobster, these particular crustaceans are delicious devoured straight from the grill, soused with a little lemon juice.

It might be because it was served at Thanksgiving, in lieu of actual turkey, when early New England settlers had little but fish. Or it could be because the Irish in Massachusetts apparently dubbed their Friday fish meal 'Cape Cod turkey'. Whatever the origins, this old-timey dish of salt cod served on a bed of boiled potatoes and dressed with a creamy white sauce, boiled eggs and sometimes crumbled bacon or salt pork, doesn’t contain a single pluck of turkey.

In China, this green tea from the Zhejiang Province is known as zhū chá or ‘pearl tea’. The English name compares the texture of the steamed and dried leaves, rolled into pellet shapes, to the flinty grains of gunpowder rather than elegant jewellery. Its production dates back to the Tang Dynasty, between AD 618 and 907.

Jerusalem artichokes are native to eastern parts of the US and Canada and prevalent in Maine, North Dakota, Florida and northern Texas. They’re delicious sautéed with olive oil or butter and served with a sprig of thyme and a squeeze of lemon. But they’re not artichokes at all. This knobbly, nutty delicacy is a species of sunflower root, sometimes called sunroot, sunchoke or earth apple.

One odd name isn’t enough for this wild mushroom, which sprouts in large clusters that some say resemble chickens with ruffled feathers. Other English nicknames for the fungi include ram’s head, while in China it’s known as monkey’s bench. Prized for its delicate texture and intense, truffle-like flavour, in shops this prized mushroom is often sold under its Japanese name, maitake.

Far tastier than its moniker suggests, this dish is the speciality at historic spot Nick Tahou Hots in Rochester, New York, where the name has even been trademarked. Rather than making a meal of actual rubbish, the hefty plate consists of the diner’s choice of cheeseburger, hamburger, white or red hots (hot dogs), Italian sausage, chicken or grilled cheese, served over a mountain of home fries, French fries, baked beans and/or macaroni salad. A generous drizzle of Rochester-style meat ‘hot sauce’ provides the final flourish.

Similar to a Screwdriver (that’s vodka and orange juice, not the household tool you can never find), a Fuzzy Navel is a combination of peach schnapps and OJ. Ray Foley, founder of Bartender Magazine, named it when a customer remarked he could smell the ‘fuzz’ of the peach schnapps through the juice. Another navel-gazing fact for you: add an extra shot of vodka and you have a Hairy Navel, thanks to the increased potency of the alcohol.

Rather misleadingly, there’s no bread involved in this Welsh delicacy, that's also known as ‘Welshman’s caviar’. A dark green paste made from boiled seaweed, laverbread has been devoured with gusto in Wales since the 17th century. These days, it’s often served on toast or as part of a proper Welsh breakfast, accompanied by cockles, Welsh bacon, sausages and eggs.

It might sound like a rich, gamey feast of a dish, but Scotch woodcock is really just scrambled egg served on toast that’s been spread with Gentleman’s Relish (anchovy paste). Legend has it the name was a dig against the Scots by the English, though nowadays it’s served as a pretty inoffensive hors d’oeuvre, usually on squares of toast, garnished with whole anchovies.

Not dirt, but corn, ground and boiled to a porridge-like consistency. Grits are a real breakfast staple in the US, especially the southern states, and even eaten for dinner with barbecued shrimp. Originating in Native American communities, their deliciousness depends largely on what’s added. Like polenta, creamy grits are a great vehicle for flavours, with cheese, herbs and bacon commonly stirred through or sprinkled on top.

Dolphin is a staple on menus across Barbados, though you can rest assured these are no descendants of Flipper. Mahi-mahi, the large blue fish eaten around the world, is also known as a dolphinfish. Barbadians shorten the name (hence the rather unsettling associations) but it’s the same tender, flaky fish, usually served battered and deep fried.

Founding US president George Washington was apparently partial to a slice of sweetbread pie. The word ‘sweetbread’ was first used a couple of centuries earlier, in the 16th century. Though some might argue there’s nothing sugary about the thymus gland of animals (most commonly calves), the name comes from the fact that this meat is relatively rich and sweet. ‘Bread’ comes from the old English word for ‘flesh’.

Created as a means for making meat go that but further in poor households, toad in the hole is a reassuringly toad-free, thrifty British dish featuring a savoury batter pudding studded with meat. Originally made with pieces of rump steak, lambs’ kidney and even pigeon, these days the Yorkshire pudding batter tends to be dotted with sausages instead and is often served dripping with onion gravy. 

You’ll be pleased to know that this classic burger doesn’t contain any slugs at all. Invented in the US state of Mississippi in the early 20th century, it was in Tennessee that the historic fast food dish really came to popularity. Consisting of a patty made from meat (usually pork or beef) bulked up with potato flour or soybeans and deep fried, slugburgers are traditionally served in a small bun with plenty of pickles, mustard and onions. The name refers to the fact that they used to cost a nickel, as ‘slug’ was the slang term for a five-cent piece.

There’s no pigeon meat in gołąbki, a cabbage-leaf roll stuffed with minced meat (usually pork or beef) and rice. The delicious little parcels, similar to Greek dolmadaki, are made with vine leaves and are often served in Polish households during the festive season. The distinctive name refers to their small, birdlike shape.

Put away the red wine vinegar and shallots. These are a world away from your usual freshly shucked half-dozen. Rocky Mountain oysters are the testes of lamb, boar or calf, usually flattened, coated in seasoned flour, deep fried and served with a dipping sauce. It’s believed the dish was invented by ranchers in Canada’s Rocky Mountain region, and it's still widely considered a delicacy in the American West and western Canada today.

Bringing happy diners a winning combination of chocolate custard and cream cheese (or vanilla pudding) layered in a pecan shortbread crust, this classic dessert from the US state of Arkansas is utterly delicious and, thankfully, entirely devoid of marsupials. While theories about how it got its name vary, many suggest that, like possums (known for playing dead and tricking their predators), this dessert is deceptive, with the thick whipped cream topping hiding layers of deliciousness below.

Featuring juicy chipolata sausages shrouded in a streaky bacon cover, pigs in blankets are a festive classic in the UK – many would deem Christmas dinner incomplete without them. In Scotland, they're often known as ‘kilted soldiers’, while in Germany a similar dish, würstchen im schlafrock (sausages in a dressing gown), refers to sausages wrapped in puff pastry or pancakes.

In the late 19th century, fuzzy headed New Englanders would knock back a raw egg yolk pepped up by chilli and Worcestershire sauce after guzzling a few too many alcoholic drinks the night before. The exact origins are suitably foggy, but this short, sharp hangover cure has been a mainstay of popular culture since the turn of the 20th century, referenced in everything from P.G. Wodehouse novels to anime. It’s often whisked into tomato juice (as pictured) so it slips down more easily. 

Neither the words ‘cowboy’ nor ‘caviar’ sounds particularly healthy, do they? You might expect a bowl of particularly good chilli, or Sturgeon roe smoked over oak. Born in Texas (hence the name), cowboy caviar is a vibrant, wholesome mix of black-eyed peas, beans and crunchy veg, dressed with lime juice, vinegar and honey and eaten as a salad or dip.

This duck dish doesn’t come with plum sauce, pancakes and skinny strips of spring onion. Or, in fact, duck. That's because the main ingredient in Bombay duck, a popular Indian dish, is dried and fried bummalo or lizardfish. The origins of the name are mysterious, though one theory is that the smell reminded the British of the dank wooden floors of the Bombay Dak trains.

What does posh cheese on toast have in common with a rabbit from Wales? Its name. Commonly called Welsh rarebit (though originally spelled ‘rabbit’), this classic savoury snack is elevated above the usual Cheddar slices melted on bread by the sauce. Cheese, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and strong beer are added to a roux. It’s then spooned on bread and browned under the grill.

Don’t be so precious as to ask for a fork if you’re served monkey bread, also known as monkey puzzle bread. Sweet, soft and sticky, this treat is designed to be torn apart and devoured by hand. It became popular in southern California in the 1940s, and is usually made with balls of dough bound together with melted butter and caramel sauce, then baked.

It isn’t cheese, but it is made of heads – usually the meat from the head of a pig, calf, cow or lamb. Becoming more common with the rise in popularity of nose-to-tail eating, headcheese is served as a sausage or in a jellied loaf, similar to a French galantine or terrine.

Insects may be popping (or hopping) up on lots of menus nowadays, but this is a rather more old-fashioned dish. A vibrant green chiffon cream, infused with the mint liqueur crème de menthe, is poured into a crust made from crushed Oreo cookies. The US dessert is believed to date back to the 1950s and was named after the green cocktail invented in New Orleans around the same time.

Featuring sweet, ruby red guava paste sandwiched between slices of soft, salty Minas cheese, it’s not known why this traditional Brazilian sweet – which is loved across the country – was named after the famous Shakespeare play. One rather whimsical suggestion is that the unusual combination of ingredients represents a complex marriage formed between two simple souls. 

Who knew that a vegetable dish could inspire such fervour? Imam bayaldi (literally translated as ‘the imam fainted’) is a classic Turkish dish featuring smoky aubergines cooked with tomatoes, onions, garlic, spices and plenty of olive oil. The tale goes that upon tasting the dish for the first time, the imam (priest) in question fainted with delight. Variations on the tale say that it brought tears to his eyes, in which case the dish is referred to as ‘the preacher wept’.

It sounds like a well-travelled waterfowl, but a geoduck is actually a huge, soft-shell clam with a long neck, usually dived for in the Pacific Ocean off Washington state and western Canada. Pronounced ‘gooey duck’, its sweet, clean taste and slight crunch are particularly prized in China and Korea, where it’s considered a delicacy. 

Huge bear claw pastries are for those times when a mere croissant or apple turnover just won’t satisfy your cravings for something sweet and doughy. The name makes sense when you see the jagged paw shape of this pastry treat, originating in the US in the 1920s. These buttery, flaky delights are usually served filled with almond paste and raisins.

The story of this devilishly good hors d'oeuvre dates back to Victorian times, when prunes or dates were soaked in tea, wrapped in bacon and grilled. They rose in popularity in the 1970s and 1980s, when they were usually served skewered with toothpicks and passed around at dinner parties.

The saintly flipside to devils on horseback, these oysters wrapped in bacon have murky origins. Many believe the canapé was inspired by the French equivalent anges à cheval, invented in 1866, while others claim it evolved from a dish eaten by the English working class, back when oysters were considered a poor man’s food.

This delightfully named Sichuan dish is made with finely ground beef (the ‘ants’, apparently) and glass noodles, which represent the tree. Its Chinese name, ma yi shang shu, has also been translated as ‘ants creeping up a tree’ and ‘ants climbing a hill’. Thanks to being infused with pungent spices, the dish is as delicious as its various titles are charming.

More ants. And, yet again, no ants at all. This healthy snack, popular across the US and Canada, sees sticks of celery filled with peanut butter and dotted with raisins (or ‘ants’). Parents looking to offer their growing kids a nutritious alternative to sweets and crisps tend to be its biggest fans.

Fear not – no rabbits were harmed in the creation of this iconic South African dish. Essentially a curry that can be eaten on the hoof, bunny chow (bunny, for short) consists of a hollowed-out loaf of white bread, filled with a meat or vegetable curry. The dish is widely thought to have been invented by Indian immigrants in Durban in the 1940s, as a portable meal that could be transported to work easily. It’s now an adored street food around the country.

Here, the name does this sweet treat something of a disservice. While it might be served chilled, there’s certainly nothing dog-like about kalter hund (cold dog), a no-bake chocolate layer cake made with rich butter biscuits, coconut oil and chocolate, sometimes with a little rum flavouring. Very popular in East Germany, it’s also known as kalte schnauze (cold snout) or kellerkuchen (basement cake). 

The only thing this hand-stretched, wheat doughnut has in common with an actual beaver tail is its flat, paddle-like shape. Legend has it the idea came from the 19th century, when actual beavers’ tails and bread dough flattened in the same shape (so it would cook quicker) were cooked over open flames. The name was trademarked by Ontario company BeaverTails Canada Inc. in 1978, and the doughnuts are typically deep fried and dusted with cinnamon, but alternative toppings – such as caramel sauce and sliced banana – have become hugely popular.

Of course, there’s no actual lion involved in this Shanghai speciality, the main element of which is an enormous meatball made with ground pork, crumbled tofu, ginger and soy sauce. They’re either served bobbing in a light broth or smothered with a rich, dark sauce, while cabbage leaves form the lion’s mane.

The cat might get your tongue if you read this on the menu at a Parisian café. But you won’t get its tongue, thankfully, because these are actually slender, crisp biscuits, often elongated and delicately curled. The langues de chat cookie is believed to originate in France, while the Dutch know it as katte tong.

Before you tip this crunchy mix into Fido’s/Daisy’s/Dave’s dog bowl, take a nibble. This homemade snack, popular at picnics and potluck dinners in America’s Midwestern states, is a delicious concoction of Chex cereal mixed with melted butter, peanut butter and chocolate chips, all shaken together with icing sugar.

You’ll often find ladies’ fingers lurking in your Louisiana gumbo or stirred into a bowl of fragrant Malaysian curry. You might even bite into them beneath a delicate glove of crisp tempura batter. These are okra, pod vegetables shaped like elegantly tapered fingers, widely used in African, Caribbean, Cajun and Indian cuisine as a thickening ingredient. Adding to the confusion, sponge ‘ladyfingers’ are something different altogether, layered up in desserts like tiramisù.

This Russian dish conjures all kinds of whimsical images. The herring is ‘dressed’, though not in furs. Pickled fish are diced and layered with cooked and grated root vegetables, usually potatoes, carrots and beetroot, mixed with mayonnaise. It gives the dish, sometimes charmingly called ‘herring under a fur coat’, a colourful, elegant look, like a savoury cake. Or a well-dressed lady. Often served as a zukuski (Russian canapé or hors d’oeuvre) at Chirtsmas, these days restaurants present it in both traditional and modern forms.

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Last updated by Emily Shardlow-Price.