Testicles

testicles appear on menus under various euphemisms which prevent the diner from confronting too directly the contents of the plate. Those from sheep are known as ‘fries’ in English, and are sometimes called rognons blancs (literally, ‘white kidneys’) in French, more usually animelles. In N. American English, calf’s testicles are called ‘prairie oysters’ and sheep’s ‘Rocky Mountain oysters’, for there they are served breaded and deep fried. The old English term for testicles was ‘stones’, those of lambs and cocks being most frequently cited.