British Cooking Terminology

aubergine  eggplant

back bacon  similar to Canadian bacon

bake blind  bake a pastry case empty, by covering with wax paper and weighing down with beans

bangers  sausage. The name bangers is believed to come from the habit of sausages bursting in the pan with a bang if cooked too quickly.

baron of beef  two sirloins in one roast

bap  hamburger bun

beetroot  beet

biscuit  cookie or cracker (sweet biscuit or savoury biscuit)

boiled sweet  hard candy

brill  something like a small turbot

broad bean  fava bean

brown bread  wholemeal bread

brown stock  beef stock

bully beef  corned beef

candyfloss  cotton candy

caster sugar  finely granulated sugar (not as powdery as confectioners' sugar)

Channel Island milk  milk that's almost as thick as light cream

chicory  endive

chipolata  small pork sausage

chips  french fries

chocolate vermicelli  chocolate sprinkles

chump chop  a type of lamb chop

cider  hard cider

clingfilm  plastic wrap

coal fish / coley  black cod

coffee sugar  sugar in large brightly-coloured crystals

coriander leaves  cilantro

condensed milk  evaported milk

corn  almost any grain (see maize and sweetcorn)

corned beef  canned pressed ham (see salt beef)

cornflour  cornstarch

cos lettuce  romaine

courgette  zucchini

crisps  potato chips

crumpet  something a bit like an English muffin ("English muffins" do not exist in England)

custard  custard sauce, or sometimes baked custard

cutlet  chop

demerara sugar  light brown cane sugar

Devonshire cream  a particular type of clotted cream

digestive biscuits  something like Graham crackers

double cream  heavy cream

doughnut  jelly doughnut

duff  a flour pudding boiled or steamed in a cloth bag

endive  chicory

faggot  meatball

fairy cake  cupcake

fillet steak  tenderloin steak

fish fingers  fish sticks

French beans  string beans

gammon  large, thick, round piece of ham

garibaldi  hard rectangular currant cookie

ginger nut  ginger snap

golden syrup  something like corn syrup

greaseproof paper  wax paper

green pepper  bell pepper

icing  frosting

icing sugar  powdered (confectioners') sugar

jacket potato  baked potato

liver sausage  liverwurst

maize  corn

marrow  squash that looks like a giant zucchini

mince  ground beef/hamburger

mincemeat  mince pie filling (dried fruit, peel, brandy, etc; very occasionally contains meat)

mixed spice  a mixture of allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, coriander and cloves

offal  liver, kidneys, tongue, tripe and any other animal organs

perry  hard cider made from pears instead of apples

plum duff  plum pudding

polony  bologna

porridge  cooked oatmeal

prawn  small shrimp

pudding any sweet dish served directly after the main course is often called "Pudding," thus invoking the question "What are we having for pudding?"

ring doughnut  doughnut

rump steak  sirloin

salt beef  corned beef

silverside  top round

single cream  light cream

sirloin  porterhouse steak

sherbet  powdered candy

slice  bar cookie

sponge finger  ladyfinger

squash  juice drink

sugar crystals  see coffee sugar

sultana  white raisin

sweetcorn  whole-kernel corn

swede  yellow turnip

tart  pie

toffee  taffy

treacle  similar to molasses

whipping cream  halfway between light and heavy cream

white stock  chicken or fish stock

whitebait  small silvery fish, usually deep-fried whole



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