What's in a Name?

White Zinfandel is not white wine. It's red. It's not as red in color because the skins of the grapes are removed from the juice shortly after the grapes are pressed. The skins are what gives wine it's color.

Boston cream pie is not a pie but a two-layer sponge cake with a custard filling.

Hamburgers are not made from ham, but from ground beef. (You knew that one, right?)

Chile powder is not chili powder, (notice the spelling). Chile powder is nothing but dried chile peppers. Chili powder is a mixture of chile powder and other spices, usually garlic, oregano, coriander, cumin and cloves.

Pan-broiling is not broiling at all, if done on top of the stove as it usually is. It involves cooking an item in a pan with little or no fat. True broiling is where items are cooked by a radiant heat source above the food.

Oxtails do not come from oxen, (although they did in years gone by). Today they are the tail meat of calves or beef.

2% milk has not had 98% of the fat removed, nor has 1% milk had 99% of its fat removed. Milk is 4% fat. Thus, 2% milk has had 50% of its fat removed.

Jerusalem artichokes are not artichokes but a variety of sunflower.

Asian black bean sauce is not made from black beans, (as in the black beans used for black bean soup and other Latin dishes). They are made from fermented soybeans. (OK, the soybeans they use are black, but "black beans" usually connotes the Latin variety).

White chocolate is not chocolate but the natural vegetable fat found in the cocoa bean. Sugar, milk solids, and vanilla are added to flavor and sweeten it.

Sweet potatoes are not potatoes but a root belonging to the morning-glory family. (They're not yams either. That's another species).

Herbal tea is not tea. It is made from a conglomeration of herbs and spices, not tea leaves.

Chicken-fried steak has no chicken in it. It is a thin steak that is breaded, fried, and served with gravy.

And just for the record, even though its name is not a quandary, tomatoes are not vegetables. They are fruits. So are chile peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, and even corn.

Botanically speaking, a fruit is the organ that emanates from the ovary of the plant and contains the seeds. But for culinary purposes, if it's sweet, it's a fruit, and if not, it's a vegetable.

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