The paper had a word new to me. Its on-line edition gives nonsubscribers an extract only, but the blogsphere may soon reproduce the whole text. The extract is quoted below.

surimi: Minced, processed fish used in the preparation of imitation seafood, especially imitation shellfish.
[Japanese suru to process, mash + mi meat]

If cheese mixed with emulsifiers and other stuff is called "pasteurized process cheese food," what do you call a fish paste made to look like crab meat? Until now, the Food and Drug Administration has required that the product, known as surimi, be labeled "imitation crab." But after a dozen years of lobbying, the seafood industry has succeeded in getting permission to drop that unappealing description. Instead, it may now use a new, long-winded label: "Crab-flavored seafood, made with surimi, a fully cooked fish protein."

I seem to remember the term "extruded meats" from the '70s. It was the same idea as surimi, except with chicken or beef parts and fillers. Anyway, I'd much rather eat something called "imitation crab" or "surimi," which sounds like sushi, than something called "extruded meat!"

WM

I love declaiming the ingredients list of food products at the grocery store as poetry. One of my favorite turns of phrase is mechanically separated chicken in Slim Jims. Not to be confused with meat slurry or Li'l Lisa's Slurry.

During my dedicated watching of American TV shows I have come across the occasional mention of something called a "sloppy joe". It seems to be absolutely delicious if I were to judge from the generally enthusiastic reception it seems to get. The name is rather a turn-off to me, however. Similarly, there is apparently a foodstuff known as "loosemeat" (from Roseanne). That name is also slightly off-putting.

Before anyone says anything, yes, I'm aware that many UK dishes have strange names, too. "Spotted Dick" is an obvious example.

Sloppy Joes are browned ground beef with onions, garlic, peppers, salt, etc. etc., whatever, simmered in a tomato sauce (or sometimes just a mixture of ketchup and mustard) and served on bread or rolls. It is tasty, and very sloppy to eat. I never heard of "loosemeat." Would that be another name for ground beef or pork just cooked "loose" without being formed into any shape, does anybody on our side of the pond know? (I never watch Roseanne. I find her totally annoying!

Wordmatic

Loosemeat sandwiches are kind of like sloppy joes without the sloppy. WM has it right. Ground meat, sauteed, with some spices and Worcestershire sauce. Big in the US midwest, which, as I remember, is where Roseanne takes place. There's a great documentary, Sandwiches Which You Will Like that is worth seeing if you can. My favorite here in California is the Vietnamese bánh mì.

Despite there being a Viet Namese restarurant on nearly every corner here in Portland, I have never had Báhn Mi. Thanks for mentioning it!

WM, I concur about Roseanne. Yuuucchhhhh!!!

Sunflower gave me a neat book entitled, Eat Your Words, by Charlotte Foltz Jones, which discusses the origins, whether provable or apocryphal, of food names and food-related terms. It's worth a look!

Interesting link about sandwiches, zmj. However, rather than "Italian beef," Chicago's sandwich is the Chicago hot dog.