10 of the Most Bizarrely Named Italian Foods

It's not unusual to come across Italian foods with names derived from insults or swear words that contrast starkly with the taste and cultural value they express.

Centuries ago, farmers didn’t need to think beyond their products’ literal fragrances or shapes when naming them. Yet some of our ancestors seem to have had the foresight to know such an industry as marketing would emerge, prompting them to come up with some clever names for their goods. So with that in mind, here are 10 of the most bizarrely named Italian foods.

1. Brandacujun

The Ligurians have feasted on Brandacujun for centuries. A close relative of the Provencal brandade (a salt cold, olive oil, and potato emulsion), Brandacujun is a recipe comprising stockfish boiled with potatoes and then whipped together with extra virgin olive oil, minced garlic, lemon, parsley, and pine nuts. The dish was practical and kept well, which made it popular among sailors.

As for the name? Brandare, in the local dialect, means “to shake,” as achieving the creamy texture involved vigorously shaking the pan. The pan was heavy, so when the men were preparing this on the wobbly ship, they’d “brandish” on bended knee so as not lose their balance. The pan was just a couple of inches from the ground, so the gesture looked like they were “shaking” something else….

2. Puzzone di Moena

Puzzone means “stinky” and this cheese, produced in the comune of Moena in Trentino, is aged in cellars where the producers would wet the rind from time to time with water and salt. This treatment creates a practically waterproof layer that promotes fermentation inside, which generates a pungent odor but also an extraordinary taste.

3. Bastardo del Grappa

Bastardo del Grappa is a cheese from the foothills of the Veneto, where Morlacco del Grappa, a soft cow’s milk cheese, is produced. When the climate and the herbs change with the season, it became impossible to produce Morlacco, so the cheesemaker would switch up the process and sometimes even incorporate goat’s milk – in short, a cross-breeding that often seemed like nobody’s child.

4. Strozzapreti

Widespread in Central Italy, particularly in the territories of the former Papal State and Emilia-Romagna, strozzapreti, or “priest chokers,” is an egg-free pasta. Twisted and quite thick, strozzapreti were challenging to chew. So much so that priests, once considered the gluttons par excellence, risked choking on their enthusiasm as they ate them.

Yet in his book The Cuisine of Romagna, gastronome Graziano Pozzetto posits that the name derives instead from the dry and decisive movement with which the l’azdora (the woman of the Romagna house) twists the dough to the point of strangulation to obtain its shape – a well-fed neck like that of a priest. Regardless, the name certainly testifies to the intolerance of the people of the Romagna and Emilian legations for papal domination.

However, strozzapreti is not the same everywhere. The Trentino strangolapreti, Corsican sturzapreti and Apulian and Calabrian strozzapreti are gnocchi. In Umbria, it's synonymous with strangozzi, a long shoe-string-like pasta. In Lazio and Abruzzo, it resembles thick spaghetti.

5. Coglioni di mulo

Coglioni di mulo means "mule balls,” but, in reality, the poor mule has nothing to do with it. Mule's balls are simple pork salami with a “particular” shape that encases a small cube of lard inside as a "jewel." It’s widespread in the mountain range between Umbria, Le Marche, Lazio, and Abruzzo.

6. Palle del nonno

“Grandpa’s balls” is an Umbrian salami similar to mule balls, but with larger grinding and a surface full of "bumps". Poor nonno...

7. Cazzimperio

Adding an “o” or an “i” to the first four letters of this word results in an Italian profanity in its singular or plural form. Yet in Roman, cazzimperio refers to pinzimonio, a raw vegetable preparation, and its name has nothing to do with the c-word and most likely derives from the cazza, an ancient ladle.

8. Pane Cafone

Though pane cafone means “crude bread," this Neapolitan bread isn’t particularly crude. Cafone was a derogatory term for the country folk, and here it identifies a "plebeian" bread whose origins were actually urban.

9.Spaghetti alla puttanesca

Tomato, oil, garlic, capers, anchovies, oregano, and black olives comprise one of Italy’s most popular pasta dishes, which has Neapolitan origins. Puttana means “prostitute” and the etymology has had historians squabbling for years. According to some, the manager of a brother in Naples’ Spanish Quarters invented it. Others say it’s inspired by the colors of the ladies' underwear while still others conclude it was simply the colorful idea of ​​some restaurateur.

According to Ischia-based Annarita Cuomo, the name "alla puttanesca" was born on the island in the 1950s thanks to restaurateur Sandro Petri, the owner of Rancio Fellone. Some patrons arrived unexpectedly and, seeing that the restaurateur was running out of ingredients, they ordered any puttanata.

10. Minni di virgini

In Sicily, these "virgins’ breasts" don’t have any erotic associations. These pastries were in fact invented in 1725 by Sister Virginia Casale of Rocca Menna of the order of Maria di Sambuca di Sicilia in Agrigento. She simply wanted to emphasize their grace and candor. The Neapolitan zizze di monaca and the Abruzzese sise delle monache also have a similar history.