Rahul Sharma (Editor)

Funistrada

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit

Funistrada is a fictitious food item. The term was inserted in a U.S. Army survey of soldiers circa 1974 regarding their food preferences. Funistrada along with a fake vegetable dish called "buttered ermal" and a fake meat dish called "braised trake" were inserted "to provide an estimate of how much someone will respond to a word which sounds like a food name or will answer without reading."

Funistrada scored higher in popularity than eggplant, lima beans, and cranberry juice. All three items, however, had the highest percentage of "never tried" responses.

Appearances

  • Bill Bryson cited the food in his 1990 book Mother Tongue as an example of a word that is made up for a specific purpose.
  • The Book of Lists 2 also cited funistrada, braised trake, and buttered ermal in a list of favorite and least favorite US Army foods.
  • A restaurant in Michigan named Trattoria Funistrada used funistrada in the name for its restaurant.
  • It appears in CHOW: A Cook's Tour of Military Food by Paul Dickson
  • A Breeders' Cup horse took the name in 1985.
  • References

    Funistrada Wikipedia