It's been a while since we've had a vocabulary lesson, so here is a list of particularly British food and drink terms. Enjoy!
Bangers & mash: I'm sure you've heard this one. Sausages and mashed potatoes and usually served with onions as well. Yum.
Bubble & Squeak: But I'll bet this one is new. This was originally the name for all the leftover bits of vegetable after Sunday roast and often served the next day fried up for breakfast or lunch. I'm sure that's still the case, but you can also order many meals with bubble & squeak as a side dish. I even saw it packaged up in the grocery store. Typically a bit of onion, carrot, turnip, leeks ...
Tipple: A wee drink - alcoholic. Not a specific drink just a term to refer to drink in general. "We'll have a bit of a tipple before we go to the theatre."
Crumpets vs Pinklets vs Muffins: There are so many version of baked goods, I really can't keep up. Crumpets are sorta like English muffins but thicker and softer. They have holes all the way through and are served slathered in butter. Unless you use a knife and fork, you'll be covered in butter by the time you finish eating one of these. Pinklets are a thinner version of a crumpet - no idea why. And muffins (English muffins) are similar to those back home, but are denser so the holes are smaller. And yes, they also have muffins like Blueberry muffins. Not sure how you would refer to a muffin vs a muffin - they certainly don't call them English muffins here!
Mince: Yummy mix of spices, raisins, dried fruit. Lots and lots of mince pies at Christmas time and then they're gone - no seriously you can't find them anywhere until Christmas again.
Chips vs Crisps: You've probably heard this already but chips are fries and crisps are chips. Not such a problem when you say fries as everyone gets what you mean (especially with our American accents) but ordering chips when you mean crisps can be a problem.
Biscuits: British word for cookies - they really don't use the word cookie unless referring to something American like oreos. Chocolate chip cookies are seen to be an American thing although you can of course find them everywhere here. British biscuits tend to be crisp and crunchy, not soft and gooey like American cookies. Most likely because they are primarily served with tea. Tea and biscuits - yum.
Puddings: As well as I can understand, puddings are a generic term for dessert, but I've also seen menus that will list puddings and then a list of desserts so it might refer to a particular type of dessert - mainly some kind of cake with sauce. Whatever the pure definition, puddings are yum! Now, if you are actually looking for pudding (that creamy goodness you eat with a spoon) you'll probably have to ask for custard here. I have not seen any boxes of Jello instant pudding in the supermarkets, but you can find custard in the dairy aisle.
Pigs in blankets: We've talked about these before, haven't we? My favorite British invention. Cocktail-sized sausages wrapped in bacon. As good and decadent as they sound.
And on that note, I think it's time for tea (which either means an actual cup of tea, afternoon tea with tea, biscuits and sandwiches, or dinner which is sometimes referred to as tea). Are we sure we're all speaking English?
Bangers & mash: I'm sure you've heard this one. Sausages and mashed potatoes and usually served with onions as well. Yum.
Bubble & Squeak: But I'll bet this one is new. This was originally the name for all the leftover bits of vegetable after Sunday roast and often served the next day fried up for breakfast or lunch. I'm sure that's still the case, but you can also order many meals with bubble & squeak as a side dish. I even saw it packaged up in the grocery store. Typically a bit of onion, carrot, turnip, leeks ...
Tipple: A wee drink - alcoholic. Not a specific drink just a term to refer to drink in general. "We'll have a bit of a tipple before we go to the theatre."
Crumpets vs Pinklets vs Muffins: There are so many version of baked goods, I really can't keep up. Crumpets are sorta like English muffins but thicker and softer. They have holes all the way through and are served slathered in butter. Unless you use a knife and fork, you'll be covered in butter by the time you finish eating one of these. Pinklets are a thinner version of a crumpet - no idea why. And muffins (English muffins) are similar to those back home, but are denser so the holes are smaller. And yes, they also have muffins like Blueberry muffins. Not sure how you would refer to a muffin vs a muffin - they certainly don't call them English muffins here!
Mince: Yummy mix of spices, raisins, dried fruit. Lots and lots of mince pies at Christmas time and then they're gone - no seriously you can't find them anywhere until Christmas again.
Chips vs Crisps: You've probably heard this already but chips are fries and crisps are chips. Not such a problem when you say fries as everyone gets what you mean (especially with our American accents) but ordering chips when you mean crisps can be a problem.
Biscuits: British word for cookies - they really don't use the word cookie unless referring to something American like oreos. Chocolate chip cookies are seen to be an American thing although you can of course find them everywhere here. British biscuits tend to be crisp and crunchy, not soft and gooey like American cookies. Most likely because they are primarily served with tea. Tea and biscuits - yum.
Puddings: As well as I can understand, puddings are a generic term for dessert, but I've also seen menus that will list puddings and then a list of desserts so it might refer to a particular type of dessert - mainly some kind of cake with sauce. Whatever the pure definition, puddings are yum! Now, if you are actually looking for pudding (that creamy goodness you eat with a spoon) you'll probably have to ask for custard here. I have not seen any boxes of Jello instant pudding in the supermarkets, but you can find custard in the dairy aisle.
Pigs in blankets: We've talked about these before, haven't we? My favorite British invention. Cocktail-sized sausages wrapped in bacon. As good and decadent as they sound.
And on that note, I think it's time for tea (which either means an actual cup of tea, afternoon tea with tea, biscuits and sandwiches, or dinner which is sometimes referred to as tea). Are we sure we're all speaking English?
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