There are plenty of foodie favourites that are either named after places or are assumed to come from certain locations.
In a world where we travel from place to place and move from country to country, dishes are bound to be shared around the world.
Here are seven dishes that originate from places you would not have thought about. Can you name them?
Samoosa
A popular Indian appetiser, the samoosa is a fried pastry stuffed with a delicious potato filling or ground meat. This treat can be found all over the world with many countries having their own versions.
However, it is believed that they originated somewhere in Central Asia and travelled along the ancient trade route, which is why it is possible to find them in many locales.
French fries
Despite its name, the French fry is not French. The origins of the French fry have been traced back to Belgium, where historians claim potatoes were being fried in the late 1600s.
It is professed that Belgian villagers, who did not have a lot, prepared potatoes in the winter the same way they prepared fish when the rivers were not frozen. That method was frying.
However, others say that the French were making frites before the Belgians were. While the origin may not be certain, one thing is: that they are delicious.
German chocolate cake
If you are not familiar with this confectionery, a German chocolate cake is frosted with coconut and chopped-up pecans. Well, as it turns out, the cake was created by a British-born man living in America.
His name was Samuel German and he made the cake while working for the Massachusetts Baker’s Chocolate Company. It was then published in the “Dallas Morning News” and the rest is history as we now know it.
Curry powder
The curry powder we know today is nothing like the original spice it was supposed to mimic. It was heavily influenced by the British, and in India, it is not even referred to as curry.
They call it masala, and there are many different varieties. The curry powder we know best is what the British produced when they tried to replicate the flavours they encountered in traditional Indian cooking.
True Indian curry powder is custom-made to accompany whatever food is being prepared.
Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut means “sour cabbage” in German, so you would think it was a German invention. While it goes well with most German food, the origin was Chinese. It came about around 2,000 years ago and was enjoyed by labourers building the Great Wall.
The only real difference is that the Chinese fermented their cabbage in rice wine. The Germans draw out the water with salt.
It was popular with Chinese workers because it was a good source of vitamin, stored easily, did sot spoil and was a cheap and widely available vegetable.
Vindaloo
Vindaloo is a traditional Indian curry made from meat - usually pork - marinated in vinegar and garlic. Considered a staple in Goa in India’s southwest, an earlier variant of the dish was introduced to Goa by the Portuguese in the early 15th Century.
Vindaloo is based on the Portuguese dish, “carne de vinha d’alhos”, which translates to meat marinated with garlic and wine.
And funnily enough, the name Vindaloo is simply a mispronunciation of vinha d’alhos. In Goa, the dish is called vindalho, closer to its Portuguese counterpart, and is usually made with pork.
Over time it was adapted to local tastes, with different meat choices, the addition of Indian spices and chilli, which were also introduced by the Portuguese in the 16th century.
Hawaiian pizza
You might think pineapple on pizza originated somewhere in the tropics, but no. It was a Greek immigrant in Canada who first put pineapple on pizza in 1962, inspired by Chinese-American food that combined sweet-and-sour flavours.
Hawaii had recently attained statehood and supplied the ingredient. Incidentally, pineapple, carrot, and onion in stir-fries is a sure-fire sign of inauthentic Chinese cuisine.