US and UK Cookery Terms
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In designing, writing and constructing a recipe website I have come across a large number of differences in terms of language uses between British and American cookery terms.
Of course, the units are different (whether in terms of cups, imperial units or metric) but the terms used for certain foods and for many cookery terms and ingredients also differ. This can make interpreting American recipes (if you're British) or interpreting British recipes (if you're American) difficult. This glossary provides a conversion for these terms (going from UK to US in this instance).
| UK Term | US Term |
| aubergine | eggplant |
| bap | hamburger bun |
| baking sheet/baking tray | cooking sheet |
| barbecue | grill or outdoor grill |
| beetroot | beet |
| biscuit (sweet) | cookie |
| biscuit (savoury) | cracker |
| broad bean | fava/lima bean |
| cake mixture | cake batter |
| cake tin | tube pan |
| casserole | dutch oven/casserole |
| caster sugar | superfine granulated |
| chicory | endive |
| chickpeas | garbanzo beans |
| chilli | chili |
| chips | french fries |
| chocolate/sweets | candy |
| chocolate, plain | semisweet/bittersweet/unsweetened |
| cling film | plastic wrap |
| cooker | stove |
| cornflour | cornstarch |
| corn on the cob | ears sweetcorn |
| courgette | zucchini |
| cream, double | heavy or whipping cream |
| cream, single | light cream or half-and-half |
| crisps | potato chips |
| filo pastry | phyllo |
| fish slice | spatula |
| flaked almonds | slivered almonds |
| flour, light plain | cake flour |
| flour, plain | all-purpose flour |
| fool | creamy fruit dessert |
| French bean | green bean |
| frying pan | skillet |
| glacé | candied |
| golden syrup | use light corn syrup or 50% molasses, 50% water |
| grated | shredded |
| green pepper | bell pepper/sweet pepper |
| grill (verb) | broil |
| hob | range |
| ice/icing | frost/frosting |
| icing sugar | confectioners sugar, powdered sugar |
| jam | jelly |
| jelly (in the UK, a jelly is also a strained set jam that does not have fruit bits in it) | jello |
| Jerusalem artichokes | sunchokes |
| joint (of meat) | roast |
| ketchup | catchup |
| kitchen towels | kitchen paper, paper towels |
| kipper | smoked herring |
| lettuce (loose-leaved) | Boston lettuce |
| mangetout | snow peas |
| mince/minced meat | ground (meat) or hamburger meat |
| milk (skimmed) | skim milk |
| milk, semi-skimmed | 2% milkfat |
| pear, conference | bosc pear |
| pine kernels | pine nuts |
| pips | seeds |
| pitta | pita |
| prawns | shrimp |
| pudding | dessert |
| rasher (of bacon) | slice |
| rind | peel |
| rocket | arugula |
| semolina | cream of wheat |
| sieve | sift |
| sorbet | sherbet |
| spring onion | scallion |
| stock | broth, stock |
| stock cube | bouillon cube |
| stoned | seeded or pitted |
| sultanas | golden raisins |
| swede | turnip/rutabaga |
| Swiss roll | jelly roll |
| Tabasco sauce | hot-pepper sauce |
| tea towel | kitchen towel |
| tin (baking/roasting/loaf/cake) | pan |
| treacle | molasses |
| tomato passata | tomato sauce (slightly thicker than passata) |
| tomato puree | tomato paste |
| vanilla pod | vanilla bean |
| wholemeal | whole-wheat |
| yellow courgette | yellow straight neck squash |
Whichever side of the Atlantic you're from, this guide should, hopefully, make it easier for you to understand recipes from across the waters.
About the Author
Dyfed Lloyd Evans runs the Celtnet Recipes site as well as the Celtnet Articles Repository. His quest for recipes has led him all over the world and he has redacted and converted recipes from many languages and cultures, both ancient and modern.
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