The Differences Between British and American Cooking Vocabulary

If you're traveling in other English-speaking countries, you might be surprised to find that common foods and ingredients have completely different names. In the UK, an eggplant is an aubergine and arugula is rocket! The traveling chefs at Stack Exchange help us across the pond.

Here's a handy reference guide for keeping track of the food terms that differ between dialects of English, or exist in some dialects but not others. Whether your British, Australian, Canadian, or American, you might need to do a little research when it comes to cooking and finding the right word for what you want.

Note that Canada tends to vary by region, especially near the southern border where they often use US terms, while others may use UK terms.

See the full original post here.

Vegetables

• Eggplant (US, AU) is an aubergine (UK).


• Zucchini (US, AU) is a courgette (UK) when harvested young or a marrow (UK) when allowed to mature further.


• Summer Squash (US) are members of the squash family with a short storage life typically harvested before full maturity; typically available starting in the spring and summer; includes zucchini, yellow and crookneck squash.


• Winter Squash (US) are members of the squash family that are allowed to reach full maturity before harvesting; typically available in the fall; includes pumpkin, acorn and butternut squash.


• Arugula (US) is rocket (UK, AU).


• Rutabaga (US) is swede (UK), but also called turnip or neep in some parts of the UK, particularly Scotland.


• Endive (US) is often confused with the Belgian endive, which is chicory.


• Capsicum (US, AU) / bell pepper (US) is a pepper (UK).


• Seaweed (US) has many names based on type of plant, including Kombu (Japan), Nori (Japan), Laver (Wales), and many others. See (edible seaweed).


• Snow peas (US, AU) are mange tout (UK), a word borrowed from French meaning "eat everything." Mange tout also includes sugar snap peas (US).


• Peanuts (US) may sometimes be sold in the UK as "monkey nuts," especially if unshelled. And peanut oil may be known in the UK as groundnut oil.


• Legumes (US) are pulses (UK). "Legume" may refer to the plant and not the seeds (lentils, beans, etc).


• Mealy potatoes (US) are floury potatoes (UK). This refers to high starch, low moisture potatoes that result in significant softening when cooked (useful for mashed potatoes or using for thickening; the opposite of waxy potatoes).

Herbs, Spices and Seasonings

• Kosher salt (US) is flake salt (UK). Some sea salts may be appropriate substitutes.


• Cilantro (US) is known as Coriander (UK), and it tends to refer to the leaf, unless qualified as "coriander seed." May be qualified as "fresh coriander" or "green coriander." "Ground coriander" is always the seed.


• Coriander (US) refers to the seed.

Baked Goods

• Cookies (US, CA) are biscuits (UK, AU, NZ).


• Biscuits (US, CA) are similar to a scone (UK, AU), and usually neither sweet nor savory. Note: bisquit (Germany, no plural) is sponge cake (US).


• Muffin (US, AU) is a quick bread (typically using the "muffin method") baked in forms used for cupcakes. It increasingly has this meaning in the UK too, with the prevalence of American-style coffee-shop chains. Muffin (UK) is english muffin (US, AU), a yeast leavened flat-ish bread, cooked on a griddle with a ring form.


• Scone (US, CA) tends to be sweeter than a scone (UK).


• Pancake (US, CA) generally refers to puffy item made from a thick leavened batter. Pancake can also be called hotcakes, griddlecakes, or flapjacks in the US. Pancake (UK) is made from a thinner unleavened batter, with a result a little thicker than a french crêpe. Drop scone (UK) is similar to a (US, CA) pancake


• Flapjack (US) is the same thing as a pancake. But flapjack (UK) is a baked square usually consisting of sugar/honey, butter, and oats.


• Frosting (US) is icing (UK, CA, AU). In the US, frosting typically has air whipped into it, while icing (US) doesn't and dries harder.


• Turnovers (US) and hand pies (US) are pasties (UK). (Pasties in the US are coverings to comply with nudity laws in strip clubs.) "Turnover" may be used in the UK for sweet versions (e.g. apple turnover).

Meats

• Ground beef (US) is minced beef (AU, UK).


• Canadian bacon (US) is also back bacon (from the loin).


• Bacon (CA, US) is streaky bacon (UK) (from the belly). In the UK, bacon is most likely back bacon.


• Pork rinds (US) are scratchings (UK, when dry) and crackling (AU, NZ, and UK when fresh from a roast).


• Names of cuts of meat in the US may differ from other countries. See Wikipedia for images of US and British names of regions

Dairy

• Cream (US) with 5% butterfat is single cream (UK), while cream with 48% butterfat (US) is double cream in the UK.


• Half-and-half (US) is a mix of half cream, half milk (about 12.5% butterfat)


• Light cream (US) is cream with 18 to 30% fat. But in Canada light cream is cream with 5 to 6% fat.


• Whipping cream (US) is cream with 30 to 36% fat, whereas whipping cream (CA) is cream with 35% milk fat.


• Heavy cream (US) aka heavy whipping cream (US) is cream with more than 36% fat.


• Buttermilk (US, modern usage, aka "cultured buttermilk") is a fermented product, basically a runny yogurt, while historically buttermilk is the liquid left over after churning butter, which when fresh is closer to skim milk.


• Sour cream (US) is soured cream (UK).

That's just the start. There's plenty more to see. Have your own kitchen translation to contribute? Edit the list. And find more questions like it at Seasoned Advice, a question and answer community for professional and amateur cooks and chefs.

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Illustration by Tina Mailhot-Roberge.