Share ThisA Glossary of English Food Terms
Part of the London For Dummies Cheat Sheet
When you’re in London, you speak English. American English is perfectly fine, of course. Like a major credit card, it’s accepted everywhere. But you may come across a few unfamiliar terms, particularly when you’re talking about food. The following “translations” may help you:
| British English | American English |
|---|---|
| Afters | Dessert |
| Aubergine | Eggplant |
| Bangers | Sausages |
| Bap | Soft sandwich bun |
| Biscuit | Cracker or cookie |
| Black or white | Refers to coffee; white is coffee with cream |
| Broad bean | Lima bean |
| Bubble and squeak | Mashed potatoes mixed with cabbage or meat and then fried |
| Chicory | Endive |
| Chips | French fries |
| Cornish pastries | Pastry filled with meat, onion, and vegetables |
| Cottage pie | Ground meat and mashed potatoes baked in a pie |
| Courgettes | Zucchini |
| Crisps | Potato chips |
| Crumpet | Holier version of an “English muffin” |
| French beans | Green beans |
| Fry-up | Big English breakfast of eggs, sausage and/or bacon, baked beans, tomatoes, and more |
| Gateau | Cake |
| Haricots vert | Green beans |
| Jacket potato | Baked potato served with various toppings |
| Jelly | Jello |
| Joint | Meat roasted on the bone |
| Kipper | Smoked fish |
| Liquor | Green, salty, parsley-based gravy |
| Mange tout | Snow peas |
| Marrow | Squash |
| Mash | Mashed potatoes |
| Mince | Ground meat, usually beef |
| Ploughman’s lunch | Pub grub consisting of crusty bread with cheese or pâté |
| Pudding | Dessert |
| Rasher | Slice of bacon |
| Rocket | Arugula |
| Salt beef | Corned beef |
| Scotch egg | Hard-boiled egg fried in a jacket of ground sausage and bread crumbs |
| Shepherd’s pie | Baked pie of meat and vegetables covered with gravy and mashed potatoes |
| Spotted dick | Sponge cake with fruit and raisins, steamed and served with custard sauce |
| Steak and kidney pie | Pastry-topped pie of steak, kidneys, and mushrooms in gravy |
| Sticky toffee pudding | Spotted dick (see preceding entry) without the fruit and served with warm butterscotch sauce |
| Sultana | Raisin |
| Sweet | Dessert |
| Treacle | Molasses |
| Trifle | Sponge cake soaked in sherry, layered with raspberry preserves, covered with custard sauce, and capped with whipped cream |
| Welsh rarebit | Melted cheddar cheese and mustard or Worcestershire sauce served on toast |
| Whitebait | Small, whole, deep-fried fish |
