You won’t believe the truth behind these famous foods…

From China, not the US

You’ll probably drop your snag sanga on the ground when you hear this one… Chinese sailors created the recipe for the original ketchup (meaning ‘fish sauce’) from fermented anchovies found on the Mekong River! However, Americans were responsible for developing it into the sweet and tomatoey sauce we know and love today.

From Scotland, not India

We tikkan’t believe this curry doesn’t hail from India! There are a few spicy stories about how it came about, but one claim is that it originated when a Glasgow bus driver complained about his too-dry curry in a restaurant, so the chef experimented by adding his tomato soup to it.

From Poland, not the US

Contrary to popular belief, this boiled-n-baked beauty is not from the USA, but rather from Polish descent. Bagels were brought to the States by immigrant Polish Jews and became such a fad during the late 20th century that now most believe the USA as their origin.

From Greece, not America

As much as we all love a big slice of New York cheesecake, the descent of this scrumptious slice of joy is not what its name suggests – in fact we can thank the ancient Greeks for this dish. Efharistó, Greeks!

From the USA, not Italy

Next time you stumble off a busy piazza into an Italian restaurant hoping to find meatballs on the menu, you might be disappointed because this dish was apparently invented in New York City! We don’t care where they come from, they’re deliciozo.

From Belgium, not France

There’s an ongoing dispute between these neighbouring European countries about who owns these crispy little fried potato treats. Some claim that British and American soldiers who arrived in Belgium during World War 1 and believed themselves to be in France gave them the geographically incorrect (but admittedly much snappier) name. Can you imagine asking for ‘Belgian fries’ at your local burger joint?

From Austria, not Denmark

Contrary to what its name suggests, the Danish pastry is actually from Austria. Due to a Danish bakers strike in the mid-19th century, bakery owners were forced to hire Austrian bakers. The Austrian baking methods became extremely popular and so the Danish pastry came about.

From the US, not Mexico

Despite its Mexican sounding name, the fajita is a Texan creation – currently sitting within ‘tex-mex’ cuisine alongside chilli con carne, nachos and men with big mos and hats.

The jury’s still out on this one

New Zealand claims this meringue and cream combo was created by a hotel chef in Wellington when ballerina Anna Pavlova visited there in 1926, while Australia suggests that it was created by Bert Sasche in a Perth hotel. We don’t dare hint at which story we believe!

From India, not Scotland

Och! It doesnae bear thinking about that the wee Scotch egg didnae actually come from bonnie Scotland – nay, it was originally inspired by Indian dish nargisi kofta (narcissus meatballs). Can ye believe it?

From Austria, not France

Although we now think of these flaky pastries as being quintessentially French, the croissant’s ancestor the kipferl has been documented in Austria back as far as the 13th Century. France must be quite, erm, croiss that another country got there first.