What is "funistrada"

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.