15 Grey Foods

Today on things I never thought I'd write about, we're talking about grey foods! "But why?" you may be asking - the answer, my friends, is on you and the SEO gods! We write about what we notice people searching frequently on the Oracle (commonly known as Google). That means that when we notice people searching for grey foods, we don't question why - we just provide answers!

There are a surprising number of grey foods, though many of them are cheeses and mushrooms.

While it may not be the most appetising topic of discussion, it needs to happen - so let's get into it!

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The Grey Foods, They're Everywhere!

We've got quite a few of these bad boys to talk about, so let's start the list right away. We're going to start with mushrooms and cheeses, and will move into the more varied selection once we've got the big ones out of the way. And as a note, I'm doing my best to leave out foods that are more white or silver, as that's not the prompt, is it?

Mushrooms

Now don't get me wrong, this is a bit of a broad-reaching group, but we're limiting it to edible mushrooms. Hopefully that'll keep this list relatively short, at the very least. And one more note, we're going to be counting both exterior and interior colours but only before cooking .

1. Cremini- These are some of the more commonly found mushrooms, often mistaken for button mushrooms. They can range in colour from light tan or grey to a dark, rich brown. The interior is a nice, tasty grey.
2. Oyster- These are some of my personal favourites, though they're a bit hard to acquire, depending on where you live. They look a bit like fan or partially blossomed flower, in (yet again) a range of greys and light browns.
3. Porcini- Porcini mushrooms (cepe or bolete) are pale brown with a grey(ish) interior before cooking. They vary in size greatly and are rather easy to find, but for a price.
4. Button -Commonly mistaken for creminis, button mushrooms are very similar in appearance, though their interior can range from white to grey.

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Cheeses

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Now a truly grey cheese is rather difficult to find, but we've got a list of greyish cheeses that range in tinges from blue to white (mixed with grey).

1. Valencay -This is a French cheese, named after the town Valençay, which comes in two types. The first is coated in wood ash, called Valençay Fermier. The latter is coated with vegetable ash and is named Valençay Laitier. Valencay is a goat's milk cheese, with a blue-grey rind, formed of natural moulds which are darkened with ash.
2. Monte Enebro -A soft-ripened, pasteurized goat's milk cheese, monte enebro is a Spanish cheese. In fact, it's one of Spain's most sought after and well known cheeses!
3. Grey Owl -A Canadian surface-ripened goat's milk cheese, Grey Owl is produced by Fromagerie Le Detour in the Notre-Dame-du-Lac of Quebec, Canada. Vegetal ash is used to give the rind a beautiful grey (hence the name) colour.
4. P'tit Grey -A traditionally French cow's milk cheese, p'tit grey is (unsurprisingly) grey in colour.
5. Appenzeller -A Swiss hard cow's milk cheese, Appenzeller is delicious . It has a well-documented history ranging back over 700 years.

Fish

Okay, I'm going to cheat a bit. These fish's flesh aren't actually grey... until they're cooked or prepared. This is a rather short list.

1. Dried fish -This is a very (historically) common means of preserving fish. Drying a whitefish will result in a grey, generally less than appetising colour of a nice, strong grey.
2. Anchovies (and other oily fish) -These can be silver - you got me. Though, on occasion, you'll find an anchovy that's closer to grey than silver, so I'm counting it!
3. Mackerel (pelagic fish) -Mackerels can range in colour and type as it's a broad name (like trout), but many of them will end up as a rather grey colour. Tasty!
4. Oysters -Don't kid around, you know what oysters are. They're delicious, grey little morsels of flavour!

Fruit & Vegetables

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Okay, now we get to look at some fruits and veggies that many of our readers likely haven't seen! This will be fun.

1. Dried or salted plums -Also known as saladitos, dried plums are common in both Mexico and China, and come in a wide variety of flavours. The drying and salting process turns them grey, usually (depending on the plum).
2. Eggplant -This is less true for the plant itself, but when cooked (especially in stuff like baba ganoush) it turns a light to middling grey colour.
3. Grey hubbard squash -Another broad term, grey hubbard squashes are often used as a substitute for pumpkin and can come in a wide variety of shapes and colours - among them is grey, especially when cooked.
4. Yellow dragon fruit -While the exterior of these delicious fruits is a beautiful golden-yellow colour, the interior is a white and grey speckled flesh with black seeds. Beyond being grey, they're a must-try fruit!

Baked Goods

Another broad and easily-generalized group is baked goods. There's not going to be a list here, as I genuinely can't think of all of the forms of grey baked goods. The long and the short of it is that everything from frosting to the cake or dough itself can be grey, depending on the dough. A common flavour for high-end cakes and their frostings is Earl Grey, which (unsurprisingly) turns it a light grey colour. Some bread comes out a slight grey as well.

Miscellaneous Grey Foods

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Now, all of the others that don't quite fit into others, and a Reddit post discussing this very thing !

• American gravy- Many Europeans think of a nice, rich brown gravy when they hear the word "gravy." Americans, on the other hand, make a dairy and sausage-based gravy for breakfast that is surprisingly delicious, despite its appearance, which ranges from white to grey.
• Overcooked beef and pork -Don't get me wrong, this is a sin of the highest order. But nonetheless, overcooked beef and pork are both grey.
• Beauty and the Beast's Grey Stuff -This is both served at Disneyland , and a recipe that many have tried to recreate. Among them, one of my favourite YouTube cooks, Babish!

Final Thoughts

No matter how hard I tried, grey foods aren't that common. Sure, there's a decent list up above, but food ranges so widely in colour that it's surprisingly hard to find truly grey foods. Hopefully, you enjoyed the list, though! If you want to find some more... appetising options, we've got recent articles making halogen oven roast potatoe s, as well as Paul Hollywood's English Muffins (with a twist or two).